Oval Invincibles Men vs Birmingham Phoenix Men Preview & Prediction | The Hundred 2024 | League Stage
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2023 Men’s Hundred champions Oval Invincibles begin their 2024 campaign at home against Birmingham Phoenix, who are still yet to win the competition.
DATE & TIME: Tuesday July 23rd 2024: USA ET – 1:30pm / USA PT – 10:30am / UK – 6:30pm / INDIA – 11:00pm
VENUE: The Kia Oval, London, England
WEATHER: Dry with sunny intervals and temperatures at 23c come the start of play
HOW TO WATCH THE HUNDRED: USA – Willow & DAZN / UK – Sky Sports & BBC / INDIA – Fancode Click here for a list of broadcasters in other territories
HOW TO GET TICKETS FOR THE HUNDRED: Click here for the latest ticket information for Oval Invincibles Men vs Birmingham Phoenix Men
OVAL INVINCIBLES MEN FORM: BILLINGS’ MEN AIMING AT GOING BACK-TO-BACK
With a strong core of players which have served them well over the past few years, Oval Invincibles appear to be in good shape. The biggest change comes at the top of the order with Jason Roy having been released after a poor 2023 tournament and replaced by Dawid Malan, who joins from Trent Rockets.
BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX MEN FORM: LOOKING TO REBOUND AFTER A DOWN YEAR
It’s been a long time since Birmingham Phoenix reached the final of the inaugural men’s Hundred back in 2021, with it being a disappointing time for them since then. A sixth-place finish last year represents their worst since the competition’s formation, having won just two games of a possible eight.
OVAL INVINCIBLES MEN BETTING ANALYSIS
The last time Sam Curran walked out to bat at the Kia Oval, it was for Surrey in the T20 Blast last Thursday. What happened next was incredible, a brilliant 102 not out from 58 balls saw his side to victory and marked a first ever T20 century for the England all-rounder. Curran offers good betting value for Oval Invincibles within multiple markets when you also take into account his quality left-arm bowling and small stakes on him in both the ‘Team Top Batter’ and ‘Team Top Bowler’ markets could prove lucrative.
Whilst an operation to remove his appendix has side-lined Jordan Cox for Essex over the past couple of weeks, the batter has been enjoying a memorable season with the bat in all formats and is expected to carry that through into the Hundred. Although any investment in Cox should be held back until the team line-ups are confirmed, he would be well worth backing to score over 21.5 match runs if he was to play.
BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX MEN BETTING ANALYSIS
As is the case with Oval Invincibles, Birmingham Phoenix also have a player coming off the back of a T20 Blast hundred in his last game, that being Moeen Ali. The Phoenix captain has often proved talismanic for his side across this tournament and it would be no surprise if he starts the Hundred well with the bat. Consider backing Moeen to record 30+ runs here via the ‘Batter Milestone market.
A former Men’s Hundred MVP, the big-hitting exploits of Liam Livingstone don’t need reminding of and following a disappointing ICC T20 World Cup campaign for England, he’ll be looking to take his frustrations out on the bowlers he faces across this tournament. His two T20 Blast appearances for Lancashire saw him accrue 90 runs and backing him to score over 1.5 match sixes looks very good value.
OVAL INVINCIBLES MEN VS BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX MEN EXPERTPREDICTION
Both these two sides contain players that come into this game in excellent form. Normally an excellent batting surface at the Kia Oval, a high-scoring encounter should be on the cards which suits Oval Invincibles nicely. The Surrey core within the home squad know this ground inside out and as we’ve seen throughout the Hundred across the first few years of its existence, home advantage has proven a key factor in the group stage.
Whilst Birmingham Phoenix are also capable of putting big runs on the board, their bowling attack does not look as potent compared to that of Oval Invincibles when you consider that the latter can call upon the likes of Sam Curran and Adam Zampa. Therefore, back the hosts and reigning champions to make a winning start to the 2024 Men’s Hundred.
OVAL INVINCIBLES MEN VS BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX MEN TOP TIP: OVAL INVINCIBLES MEN TO WIN
