The Royal London One Day Cup continues on Saturday with just one match in the competition which sees Hampshire taking on Middlesex in a crucial Group B clash at the Ageas Bowl.
After a series of surprising outcomes on Friday the two group tables have condensed even more than they already had and so these two sides will be looking to pick up a win and move themselves into a nicer position to launch a bid for the quarter finals.
Hampshire go into the game with a win over Sussex and a defeat to Kent to their name but a win here will move them up to third in the table so it is a big game for them. In fact this is a big week for Hampshire because they play four matches in the next five days so they’ll know where they are at once they’ve been to Warwickshire on Wednesday.
Hampshire have Fidel Edwards back in their midst now which should boost their bowling attack further but for me it is their batting which is the worry especially with Sean Ervine out injured. I’m amazed Will Smith hasn’t played in this competition yet this season but after a hefty defeat to Kent last time out he could come back here.
Middlesex couldn’t play any of their first match of the tournament against Warwickshire because of the rain and then they were edged out in a low scoring thriller by Lancashire but they bounced back with a good win over Kent on Friday and as long as the schedule isn’t catching up with them they will head to Southampton full of confidence.
Middlesex will be without Steven Finn for this match as he won’t be released by England after Jimmy Anderson’s injury in the 3rd Test and they are without Paul Stirling too as he came back from international duty with a niggle. Junaid Khan has joined as the overseas player and he’ll be looking to show his skills in this match.
It is ‘Cricket Live’ day at the Ageas Bowl on Saturday with a Boyzone concert taking place there after the match so the crowd could be bigger than usual for a Royal London One Day Cup match and as such I’m sure Hampshire will be out to entertain and try and tempt a few of the newer visitors back later in the competition but they’re not much of a price even though I’d expect them to win.
There aren’t really many markets around for the match given that it isn’t on television so after a horrible betting day on Friday I’m largely going to keep my powder dry for the week to come where there are a lot of betting opportunities with TV matches from Sunday-Wednesday where hopefully I can start to recover the losses of the last few days.
I won’t let the match go completely without a bet though. I always like backing Eoin Morgan whenever he plays at the Ageas Bowl. He has a sensational record there and while he hasn’t been in great form there isn’t a lot in this Hampshire attack that will worry him. With a large enough crowd to entertain this could be the day Morgan bounces back to form. He averages 70.50 on the ground in ODIs with two of his eight tons coming here so with his record here in mind I’m happy to take a small speculative bet on the 4/1 on him top scoring for the visitors in this match.
Back E.Morgan Top Middlesex Batsman for a 2/10 stake at 5.00 with Bet365
Blog cricket YTD: -32.96pts
