We begin the third set of matches in The Hundred competition on Wednesday when the former champions Trent Rockets take on the Birmingham Phoenix as the tournament heads to Trent Bridge for the first time this season.
The Rockets were the 2022 champions and have started off 2024 in great shape with two wins from two whereas the Phoenix have a win and a loss to their name so two good sides face off in what should be a good match here.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket channels with the build-up to the contest beginning at 6pm ahead of the first ball at 6.30pm.
Trent Rockets
The Trent Rockets went into the competition with people wondering how they would get on with a bit of a changed side with two key cogs in their title winning wheel not with them this season. Those fears were strengthened with one or two players being late to the party this term and a couple of players who looked like they would be key men coming into the event with their form a little on the light side of where they would want to be.
It didn’t take long for those doubts to disappear though and having won their opening two matches things are looking good for the Rockets who already have Rashid Khan in place and who will also have Joe Root available for the first time this season in this match. The Rockets have dominated one match and won the other when they were clearly second best and the latter will give them plenty of confidence for the remainder of the competition.
Birmingham Phoenix
When the Birmingham Phoenix were blown away in their opening match of the competition things looked a little ominous even though we knew they had some big players to come into the side. The way they went about things will probably lead itself to some incredibly good days and some very bad ones and if they were going to have a bad one then to have it away to the defending champions probably wasn’t the worst time for it to happen.
It looked like they were going the same way in the second match when their top order were shot out for little but as we saw a lot in the early stages of the competition, two men got together in the middle of the innings and worked things out and in the end the Phoenix edged their way home. They are having to do it the hard way with three away games to open up the competition but if they can win this and have two wins on the board before their first home game they would be sitting pretty.
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Key Players
Joe Root will be in The Hundred for the first time this season and having missed out on the T20 World Cup earlier in the season he might feel that he has a point to prove. In the hot conditions his off spin might come in handy.
Jamie Smith announced himself to the world in the recent Test series with England and he has all the tools to be a franchise star in the game. He has the chance to earn some lucrative winter contracts with a big performance here.
Betting
When you consider the batting power that these two teams have shown in this competition so far I’m very surprised that we can get a sixes line of 11.5 for this one. Birmingham Phoenix have laid their stall out to be aggressive with the bat even if it gets them into trouble and they have Ben Duckett and particularly Jamie Smith to help with that so they have a top order who could all go big on a ground which certainly isn’t big enough to contain them.
The Trent Rockets have hit 15 sixes in their opening two matches and Alex Hales hasn’t really come to the party in the competition yet so you would have to think there is more to come from them as well. Both of these sides have good seamers first up but they can both go a little weak when the opposition come at them. Trent Bridge isn’t a big ground and I always point out that left handers can target that short sided corner. I don’t think this line is high enough with these two teams.
Tips
Back Over 11.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
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