Manchester Originals vs Southern Brave Prediction: Back Buttler to Batter Brave

Manchester Originals will be looking to get off to a positive start after a poor campaign in 2024 when they take on last year's losing finalists, Southern Brave, at Old Trafford. 

Dan Thomas previews Wednesday's action, live on Sky Sports from 18:30, as he gives us his Manchester Originals vs Southern Brave prediction… 

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

Expect improvement from Originals  

After making consecutive finals in 2022 and 2023, Manchester Originals had a nightmare 2024, winning just once and finishing second bottom. But there were mitigating factors, most notably Jos Buttler missing the entire campaign with injury, and they should be much more competitive this summer.  

They have plenty of star quality in the batting ranks with Buttler joined by skipper Phil Salt, Heinrich Klaasen and, later in the tournament, Rachin Ravindra. On the bowling front, spinner Noor Ahmad looks an excellent addition to the ranks after an impressive IPL campaign, while wildcard pick James Anderson has been superb in the Blast, with 17 wickets from nine matches, and will offer control and threat with the new ball. They look like a good price in the outright market at 11/2. 

Brave will contend again 

Brave (4/1 in the outright) have been a consistent performer over the years, winning the inaugural tournament in 2021 and pushing the Oval Invincibles last year and they should be in the mix again. 

Captained by the outstanding James Vince, Brave boast a well‑balanced unit, with star performers including Finn Allen, Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills. Jason Roy is an interesting addition; he has struggled for form in recent franchise competitions but looked in decent nick in the early part of the T20 Blast so could play a part.  

*You can see all of Betfred's Manchester Originals vs Southern Brave Odds and betting markets over on betfred.com

Pitch and conditions 

Old Trafford has been batter friendly all year - just ask the England and India bowlers -  and there have been some big first innings scores in the Blast, including a 216/3 for the Lancashire Lightning. Looking back to last year's Hundred, it was a similar story if you ignore the disastrous 86/8 from the Originals in their opener against Welsh Fire, so we can expect runs. 

Weather Forecast

The weather looks well set, with no rain expected and temperatures of around 20c.  

TV

This is a Sky Sports Cricket exclusive game. Start time is scheduled for 18:30 and you can live stream the match via Sky Go.

Top Batter 

He may now be a podcaster, but Buttler remains one of the most dangerous white-ball batters in world cricket and comes off the back of a superb IPL campaign, where he hit 538 runs at an average of 79.7 and a strike rate of 163. He's the favourite here to top score for the Originals at 13/5 but is hard to look beyond. 

It's a similar story for Vince who was exceptional in last year's competition, smashing 424 runs at an average of 53, and he's also chalked up at 13/5. Fellow opener Allen (7/2) is one to watch - he scored a frankly ridiculous 151 off 51 balls for the San Francisco Unicorns in the Major League Cricket tournament this year, including a world record 19 sixes.  

Top Bowler 

Spin sensation Noor heads the market for the Originals at 5/2 with Anderson rated a 7/2 chance. If we see as much early movement with the ball as in last year's Hundred, the 43-year-old will be worth keeping onside.  

It remains to be seen how many matches Jofra Archer plays with the ECB managing his fitness, but he's 14/5 favourite for Brave. The canny Jordan is probably the value play at 3/1.  

Best Bets 

It's easy to see why Originals opened as even money outsiders given last year's performance but it's hard to underplay just how important Buttler is to them and I'm still happy to back then at 10/11 on home soil. I'll also back the skipper to pick up where he left off in the IPL and top score at 13/5. 

Dan Thomas 2025 Cricket P/L:

• Staked: 4.5pts 
• Returned: 2.1pts 
• P/L: -2.4pts