With the Edgbaston Test match in the books the televised attention turns to the Royal London One Day Cup for a few days starting with the Glamorgan vs Hampshire match at the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday.
The two sides sit in the qualification places in the group table going into this match but the winners of it will move into the top two and be in position to force a home tie in the quarter final. With a full fixture list elsewhere the losers are likely to drop down the table remarkably so this is a big match for both sides.
Glamorgan have two wins and a no result from their three matches so far. They would normally be second in the table but a 2pt deduction carried over from last season leaves them in fourth spot. Their batting has been very solid in this tournament so far with Colin Ingram in amazing form although Chris Cooke’s form isn’t too shabby either.
Hampshire have played three matches in this tournament so far and have won two of them very comfortably against Sussex and Middlesex with a defeat against Kent in between. Hampshire’s win over Middlesex on Saturday was a very quick one which might well have helped them as they would have been tight for time had it gone the distance.
Graham Wagg is back in the Glamorgan squad after he missed the match with Kent and that will boost both the batting and the bowling for the Welsh side. Jacques Rudolph’s form hasn’t been what he would like in their two matches so far and he’ll be looking for runs here.
Will Smith made it into Hampshire’s side on Saturday as did Jackson Bird even though he wasn’t named in their original squad. Bird and Fidel Edwards both bowled brilliantly in that match but one could make way here if Hampshire choose to bring Danny Briggs back into their side on a tired wicket.
These two sides met twice in the T20 competition and each side won on the other’s home ground but I sense Glamorgan might be better suited to these conditions over this format. They bat pretty deep and are good at working the ball around on a slower wicket. Hampshire’s batsmen prefer hitting through the line like they are able to do at the Ageas Bowl. There are also concerns over Hampshire’s death bowling in a tight match so Glamorgan are worth a bet at odds against.
Perhaps a better bet in the match though is Graham Wagg and his performance line. It sits at 42pts which is eminently achievable for the all-rounder. He will bowl 10 overs barring something strange and in the four overs he bowled here against Hampshire in the T20 he took four wickets so 10 overs should yield points. He is also a fine batsman. He made 27* in that T20 game and 62* in the win over Essex in this competition on Friday night so he’s in good form with bat and ball and that line looks low given an average game with bat and ball covers it or a good one with either.
The final bet I like in this match comes in the Top Hampshire Batsman market. Hampshire are very top heavy in terms of form in recent times. Carberry, Adams and Vince score the baulk of their runs at the best of times but with Glamorgan having Hogan and Wagg with the new ball there is no guarantee they’ll score well here especially with all three liking to hit the ball rather than work it around.
That could play into the hands of someone down the order. Liam Dawson could be that man. Dawson has 73* and 26 where he was run out in this tournament so far so he’s batting well. When he was on loan at Essex he scored 99 here in the Championship so this Glamorgan attack hold no fears to him and if Glamorgan can go through the top order like we saw them do in both the Kent and Essex matches it could be Dawson who goes well down the order at a crazy price.
Back Glamorgan to beat Hampshire for a 3/10 stake at 2.25 with Stan James
Back G.Wagg’s Performance – 42 or more pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back L.Dawson Top Hampshire Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 21.00 with Stan James
Blog cricket YTD: -34.96pts
