Manchester Originals vs London Spirit Prediction: 10/3 Salt in the Spirit Wounds

The Originals are struggling while the Spirit at least have one win on the board, making this an important match at Old Trafford on Monday afternoon, start time 18:00, live on Sky Sports Cricket. 

Jamie Pacheco tells us why the obvious bet is sometimes the right one as he picks his Manchester Originals top batsman wager as his top Manchester Originals vs London Spirit Prediction...

*You can check out all of our Cricket Odds over at betfred.com

Manchester Originals  

Manchester are struggling with two defeats from two matches.   

A below-par 128 was always unlikely to be enough to down the Oval Invincibles - the defending champions-  and so it proved with only Phil Salt the only one passing runs 30 and not much in the way of anyone putting their hand up with the ball, either, the great James Anderson being reminded that Test cricket and the shorter formats are a very different kettle of fish. 

Skipper Phil Salt has put in strong back-to-back strong performances, but he really needs Jos Buttler and Heinrich Klassen to offer him more support.  

London Spirit  

They beat a vulnerable-looking Welsh Fire side on Sunday to record their first win after losing their initial match largely thanks to an excellent 70 off 45 from David Warner, the controversial Aussie rolling back the years to smash eight fours and two sixes as they posted a very competitive 163, which proved to be too many.  

Defending that total, they put in a professional performance, with Liam Dawson and Daniel Worrall particularly effective.  

That said, skipper Kane Williamson continues to look ill-suited to this format with a pedestrian 14 off 14; no one doubts his class, it's just his strike rate that's an issue.   

Pitch and conditions. 

We're at Old Trafford for this one, where the Originals posted 131 during the week and weren't able to defend it against the Southern Brave, who came on top in a tight contest.  

140 should be a competitive first innings score here with something in the wicket and maybe either side will fancy batting first here, which is something of a rarity in franchise cricket these days.    

Manchester Originals Top Batsman  

Sometimes the obvious choice is staring at you right in the face and that may just be the case here. Phil Salt has really upped his game in the last couple of years, including on the international stage, and looks a player perfectly suited to this format.   

He's won this market twice already with scores of 60 and 41 and as tough as it is to do it three times on the spin, he's obviously in brilliant form and as an opener holds all the trump cards, so he's not exactly an under-the-radar choice. But that doesn't mean he's not a good one, at a decent-looking 10/3. Buttler is 13/5 and the obvious danger while the very capable Mark Chapman is 4/1 but it's hard to make a case for him at number four, when our man Salt opens and is in fantastic form.  

Jamie Pacheco Cricket Hundred P/L 2025: 

• Points Staked: 8
• Points Returned: 6.75 
• Current P/L: -1.25  

Jamie Pacheco predominantly covers Cricket and European Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out his Cricket Betting Tips, along with those from the rest of the team, at our Cricket hub page...