The Group B table in the Royal London One Day Cup is about as congested a league as I’ve ever seen and two sides who will be hoping to break out from the congestion meet in the TV game in the tournament on Wednesday afternoon when Warwickshire host Hampshire at Edgbaston.
Both sides have played five of their matches in the group so far and both have two wins and two defeats. Hampshire have an abandoned match from their bizarre game at Glamorgan which was halted due to a dangerous pitch while Warwickshire have had a washout.
Hampshire will move up to second in the group table were they to win and Essex lose earlier in the day while Warwickshire will go third if they are able to win the match so both have plenty to play for here.
Warwickshire lost their opening two matches but since then have recovered with a pair of wins in which all of their batsmen have scored runs and their bowling attack have restricted two capable sides to totals which they have found easy to chase.
Hampshire were going along nicely with two wins from their opening three matches but that abandonment at Cardiff on Sunday followed by a car crash of a defeat to Essex on Tuesday have left them in limbo a little bit and in need of a win here not just for peace of mind in the table but for confidence too.
Warwickshire have been getting stronger and stronger as key personnel have come back to fitness whereas Hampshire are just wilting, especially with the bat. Their team line up has made little sense in recent matches with Yasir Arafat not getting a game and Will Smith batting way too low down. Arafat has been named in the squad so it doesn’t seem like he is injured so his exclusion is the latest in a lengthening list of weird selection decisions.
Ultimately I think this match will come down to who bats the best and I think that will be Warwickshire. Hampshire’s line up isn’t in good form at all. Their order is all over the place and they face a tough attack here. Warwickshire bat very deep and have real quality most of the way down. Hampshire haven’t been as strong with the ball so you’d have to say this one is well set up for the hosts.
Another bet I like in this match given how poorly Hampshire are batting is under 8.5 sixes. Hampshire have only hit eight sixes in five matches in this tournament so far while Warwickshire have only hit three so for there to be nine sixes in one match is asking a lot.
Admittedly Hampshire have firepower up top with the bat but Warwickshire counter that with strength with the ball. At some area of this ground there will be a big boundary so that sixes line looks plenty high enough to me.
Finally given how badly Hampshire are batting right now I’m going to chance a big priced top batsman in their order for this match and that is the man who actually top scored for them against Essex on Tuesday in Liam Dawson.
Dawson has been away from the Ageas Bowl and found form and has actually gone well in this tournament. He has scores of 73*, 26 and 85 in his three knocks in this competition and with those above him struggling he has to be value at 10/1.
Dawson batted at five on Tuesday which should be a good position given that he can work the spinners before getting stuck into the seamers. Few Hampshire batsmen are in any sort of form but he is one who is so at 10/1 I’ll go with him.
Back Warwickshire to beat Hampshire for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Ladbrokes
Back Under 8.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Stan James
Back L.Dawson Top Hampshire Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with Skybet
In my opinion, Warwickshire will come out as a winner because they have recovered from their past defeats in a very effective manner whereas Hampshire are looking off sinc.