The second leg of the double header of action in The Hundred on Sunday takes us back to Headingley for the big derby match between the rival duo of the Northern Superchargers and the Manchester Originals.
The Originals head across the Pennines looking for their first win of the season while the Superchargers have come to life in a big way in recent times and another win here will send them into the top three.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Cricket channel with the build-up to this one beginning around 5.30pm after the women’s match ahead of the first ball at 6pm.
Northern Superchargers
The Northern Superchargers were unbelievably bad in their opening game but they clearly knew that they didn’t reach the heights expected of them because they have bounced back with two very good performances and if they continue to improve with each game, which they might well do as more players come into the fold, then they are highly likely to have a huge say in who wins this competition when we get to the business end of the season.
We knew that the Superchargers would be a force to be reckoned with because you can’t load a side up with the power batting that this lot have and not be a tough team to beat. It isn’t like they are all about the batting either. They have a bowling unit which can hold its nerve and trouble the big hitters in the opposition as we saw in the win over Oval last time out. That bowling unit is going to improve the more Harry Brook gets used to captaining it so there is a lot to like about the Superchargers at the minute.
Manchester Originals
The Manchester Originals are having a bit of a nightmare season it has to be said. They have played three and lost the lot and with the exception of the match against the Trent Rockets which they threw away from a winning position, they haven’t really shown much in the competition at all. We know that they had their issue with Jos Buttler and his injury on the eve of the tournament starting but they have had a couple of weeks to come to terms with that so there are no excuses now.
The dreadful start to the season has left the Originals with no wiggle room if they want to make it into the finals. They have five games left and with the weather looking set fair for at least the next week they are probably going to need to win all five if they are going to make the latter stages of the campaign. If that is going to happen then their batting has to come to the party. It might be worth them sending a pinch hitter in just to see if they can get ahead of the rate.
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Key Players
We knew that Nicholas Pooran was one of the best T20 batters in the world and might well be the best one right now. He gave us a reminder of that at The Oval on Friday night and if he gets in here all sorts of carnage could ensue.
Paul Walter was a huge player for the Manchester Originals last season but he hasn’t got off to the best start in this campaign. He fills a key middle order slot and is an option for a side who don’t have a lot of death bowling resources so they need him to come good soon.
Betting
I’m a little surprised that we can get as big as 10/11 on the Northern Superchargers to hit the most sixes in this match. Manchester Originals have only hit eight sixes in their three matches so far and while Old Trafford is one of the bigger home grounds in the competition it isn’t that big that they should be averaging less than three sixes per match. If you take Phil Salt out of the equation they don’t really have any six hitters until much deeper in the innings. Contrast that to the Northern Superchargers who have 18 sixes in their three matches with Nicholas Pooran having more than the Originals on his own with 10. Ben Stokes is expected to be back for the home side here too and that price on the powerful Northern Superchargers to hit the most sixes just looks too big.
Another price that looks too big is Jamie Overton to top score for the Manchester Originals. He has come close to top scoring in the competition already but been pipped at the post on big grounds. He might have the advantage here though because this ground is so small in the areas that he targets that even mishits could go for six. If there is a weakness in this Superchargers side it comes at the death with Reece Topley missing and if all goes to plan Overton should be doing his best work at that stage of the innings. At 14/1 I’ll pay to see if he can get some hits away and lead the scoring for his side here.
Tips
Back Northern Superchargers Most 6s for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
Back them here:
Back J.Overton Top Manchester Originals Batter for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 with Bet365