The second part of the double header in The Hundred on Saturday comes from Trent Bridge where the leaders going into the day, Trent Rockets, play the Welsh Fire who are languishing at the wrong end of the table.
A win for the Rockets will see them looking good for a spot in the latter stages of the competition while the Welsh Fire really need a win here to stay up with the pace. With a number of England players on show we should be in for a cracker here.
Where to watch
The match will only be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Cricket channel where the build-up to the game begins at 5.30pm ahead of the first ball coming down at 6pm.
Trent Rockets
The Trent Rockets have been involved in three very different matches so far. They absolutely dominated their opening one against the Northern Superchargers who just weren’t at the races but then they got extremely lucky to pick up a second win when the Manchester Originals threw away their meeting. The luck finally ran out for the 2022 winners in game three when they had actually got themselves into a winning position against the Birmingham Phoenix only for an incredible last 10 balls from Dan Mousley to deny them.
The Rockets just need to be careful as we head towards the halfway point of the first phase of the competition. Their batting looks in excellent touch and that is never a bad thing in a tournament of this kind however their bowling is yet to hit its straps and that is where the concern lies. They have conceded scores of 138, 144 and 132 and those are numbers just on the high end of comfortable totals to chase so they could do with some senior bowlers coming to the party.
Welsh Fire
The Welsh Fire started off their campaign with arguably the most dominant victory of the tournament so far when they absolutely battered the Manchester Originals but it soon became apparent that the strength of that form wasn’t what the Fire would have wanted. They were then edged out by the Oval Invincibles which isn’t a terrible result but a really average showing against the London Spirit has left them with plenty of work to do.
Their batting just hasn’t got going in this tournament yet and they were bang out of touch at Lord’s in midweek where really they looked to have conditions to suit. They couldn’t lay bat on ball for the first 10 balls though and there was no way back from there. To their credit, they fought very hard with the ball and were probably only one wicket in the middle of the innings away from defending a totally below par total but they couldn’t quite get it done. Their batting simply has to come to the fore.
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Key Players
Joe Root looked in awesome form in his first outing for the Trent Rockets in the defeat to the Birmingham Phoenix but he couldn’t go on and get a really match defining score. Trent Bridge suits him well with bat and ball though so another strong showing is expected.
Jonny Bairstow is becoming a real concern for the Welsh Fire. In previous seasons they haven’t had him for the whole campaign when they would have wanted him and now they do have him all tournament he has just 35 runs in three innings. He needs to light up for them here.
Betting
I’m not going to suggest that I’m not worried about the Welsh Fire batting because it is an obvious concern but a Trent Bridge pitch that is usually great for batting and an outfield which is often lightning fast should be conditions that if this side are going to score runs it will be here, especially against a Rockets attack which is flattering to deceive a touch at the minute. If it is here where they start to score runs then the Fire could be a big price here because they have a bowling attack which is very strong. They have only conceded 86 and 113 bowling first which is a good effort whereas Trent Rockets are yet to concede less than 130. It won’t take a huge amount for the Welsh outfit to be right in this one so at 13/10 they’re a value pick for me.
Speaking of value, I have to get involved in the Trent Rockets top batter market because the Welsh Fire are so good with the new ball at the minute. They have decimated top orders in this competition and so far the top scorer against them has batted nine, six and six. While they are very good up top with the ball there is a drop off in the last 40 balls or so which means that someone down the innings could have some real fun here. It is a long shot that Jordan Thompson gets enough time in the middle but with two left arm seamers and a leg spinner in the fire attack before a left handed batter is probably an advantage here, as it always is at Trent Bridge with that corner shaved off the ground. You can get 50/1 on Thompson top scoring and I don’t think that is the worst play.
Tips
Back Welsh Fire to beat Trent Rockets for a 3/10 stake at 2.30 with Unibet
Back J.Thompson Top Trent Rockets Batter for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Coral
