There is one match in the NatWest T20 Blast on Thursday and although it isn’t on television it is another betting opportunity and one which we will look to take advantage of.
Surrey host Hampshire in the South Group at the Kia Oval with both sides needing a win to restore some confidence going forward in the season even though Surrey won last time they played in the Blast.
Surrey
Since then they have suffered a couple of defeats in the Royal London One Day Cup, the latest of them coming on Wednesday evening when the rain got the better of them against Somerset. Having already lost one game in this tournament and lost it heavily to Glamorgan, Surrey are under pressure to keep winning as their run rate is poor early on.
That said for all the doom and gloom they are currently in if they win here they will go top of the group ahead of the Friday night set of matches so it isn’t all bad for them and slowly players are starting to arrive or return from injury so if they can find a win soon there is plenty to play for still.
Hampshire
Hampshire know all about winning T20 matches but in the cyclical world of sport times have changed and they have gone from being the dominators to being dominated so far this season which isn’t how they would have planned the season out.
Injuries and international call ups are the main reason for their slump but this is a side who have always relied on a number of key players and although they have a good academy there is always going to be inconsistencies whenever young players are blooded and/or given more responsibility.
Team News
Surrey have named a squad of 16 for this match which immediately signals that they haven’t got a certain plan. It also shows that injuries have been a factor for them too but they’ll be glad to have Ravi Rampaul back from injury.
Hampshire have named a 14 man squad although listening to his commentary stint on Wednesday night there is no way Michael Carberry is playing here so that is effectively a 13 man squad. It would take too long to go through all of Hampshire’s injuries but Chris Wood and Reece Topley are big misses as is James Vince.
The Oval
We have only had one match here so far this season in the NatWest T20 and it was a low scoring match purely because of the fact Surrey were a shambles with the bat. Even though they were only chasing 94 to win Glamorgan were still going at 8 an over when they reached the target which suggests there was no demons in the wicket that day.
The wicket here is generally good for batting and while it looks like the game will be in the middle of the square the boundaries are always accessible here because of the angle of both the Bedser stand and the OCS stand so this should be a high scoring game.
Betting
I’m not one for betting on match outcomes between two poor sides. Someone has to win of course but you sense the way these two are playing across the three formats you would think both will do their best to lose before falling over the line and that’s not a position I like having my money riding on.
If I was to pick a side I’d go for Surrey but there’s no way I can back them when their batting can look very flimsy if their top three fail to fire, as we’ve seen already when Glamorgan played there this season. Instead I’m going to the side markets for a punt.
I’m actually quite surprised that Hampshire are the outsiders in the most 6s market. I readily accept Surrey’s bowling attack is much the better of the two but I’m not sure strength of bowling attacks is a concept that matters much when Shahid Afridi and Darren Sammy are in town. It doesn’t matter who you are if it is up it is going to those two and generally going miles too.
Those two aren’t the only two hitters of a cricket ball for Hampshire either. Sean Ervine is a very sweet hitter of a ball while the likes of Liam Dawson and Adam Wheater can hit big when the need arises which is encouraging.
Surrey don’t really have genuine six hitters outside their top three maybe with the exception of Dwayne Bravo but he can be hit and miss. We saw the carnage that Hampshire can cause just last night and at odds against them hitting the most sixes must be the call here.
Tips
Back Hampshire Most 6s for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Bet365
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