Northern Superchargers vs Manchester Originals Prediction: One of MO’s Big 3 can go BIG

The Originals have run their race, but the Superchargers still have plenty to play for at Headingley on Tuesday, start time 18:00, live on Sky Sports Cricket.  

Jamie Pacheco talks us through his analysis and his tips for the match as he previews the game for us here at Betfred Insights and gives us his top Northern Superchargers vs Manchester Originals Prediction...

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

Northern Superchargers 

Three matches in Leeds, three wins. A huge 198 against the Invincibles last time out was always going to a steep challenge and despite the latter coming somewhat close, eventually managing 182, the NSC never really looked like losing the game in the chase.  

Earlier, Zak Crawley (and us) were cruelly denied a top bat win at 7/2 when his quick fire 49 was bettered by Harry Brook's 53, made all the more frustrating by the fact that Brook was dropped early on in his innings. It was also Brook's first fifty of the campaign - even more frustrating for us – though in all matches he's boasted an excellent strike rate. David Miller finally had a decent hit too and his 37 off 16 as crucial in getting his side to such a big score.  

Even though they're guaranteed a Playoff place already, they can do even better than that by finishing top and going straight through to the final. But they'll only have a chance if they win this one.  

Manchester Originals  

We've spent plenty of time discussing what went wrong with the Originals this year: a combination of a poorly balanced side and the fact that two of their overseas stars - Noor Ahmad and Heinrich Klassen – had disappointing tournaments, although Klassen has admittedly found some form over the last week or so.  

The bottom line is that…they're currently bottom. Bizarrely, the curator at Old Trafford on Sunday produced a raging turner which certainly didn't play to the hosts' strengths. They posted just 109/7 against the Phoenix, who didn't seem to find the track nearly as tricky as the MO did. Not that it made much difference, as the game was a dead rubber anyway.  

Pitch and conditions

The last two first innings scores here at Headingley have been in the 190s – both by the Superchargers – and both somewhat easily defended. If they have the chance, they'll want to bat first again, though getting some practice at chasing ahead of the Playoffs wouldn't be the worst thing, either. Whoever bats first, will be looking at somewhere around 185 at least.  

Key Odds

The hosts are 4/6, implied probability of 60%. The Originals are 5/6, or 45.5%.  

You could argue that's a decent price about the hosts who are: at home, have won 3/3 at home, are already in the Playoffs, still have something to play for and have been a far better side than the MO all season.  You'll see far worse odds-on shots this week than that one.  

The fly in the ointment is if the Originals bat first and post a big one, a position the hosts haven't been in yet.  

*You can check out all the latest and live Northern Superchargers vs Manchester Originals Odds over on betfred.com

Manchester Originals Top Bowler  

Josh Tongue can look forward to a Christmas card from me in a few months' time. He's won for us as top bowler at 10/3, dead-heated at 3/1 and won again on Sunday at 11/4. So, three bets on him have produced two wins and a dead-heat.  

Sadly, the Betfred odds-compilers have cut him again. With good reason. He's now just 5/2 and this is the point we say enough is enough, partly because it gets to the stage where dead-heats, always a consideration in this format, doesn't return much at those odds, especially if it's a three-way dead heat.  

Sony Baker, also impressive, is a bit bigger at 11/4. Rachin Ravindra looks good at a generous 6/1, but we worry he won't get a fair crack of the whip in that he's unlikely to bowl the full 20.  

Pick Your Punt: At Least One of PD Salt, B McKinney or JC Buttler To Score 50+ Runs in Their Innings 

As we know, this track is a road, so big scores are there for the taking among top-order batters who like to smash it.  

Such as Phil Salt, Jos Buttler and Ben McKinney. Betfred are offering 4/5 in their Pick a Punt specials that one of those three gets to 50. I doubt it will be McKinney, but Salt has one fifty this year and Butter has two. On a belter of a wicket, one or even both, both world-class players, can improve on that.  

Jamie Pacheco Cricket Hundred P/L 2025: 

• Points Staked: 24.5
• Points Returned: 27.91  
• Current P/L: +3.41

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...