Northern Superchargers vs Birmingham Phoenix Prediction: 5/1 Clarke deserves another chance, 10/3 Duffy has every chance

This is a huge game for two sides who are fresh from crucial wins last time out and are looking to move up the table when they meet on Friday afternoon, start time 18:30, live on Sky Sports Cricket. 

Jamie Pacheco talks us through his analysis and his two top tips for the match as he goes through his top Northern Superchargers vs Birmingham Phoenix Predictions...   

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

Northern Superchargers  

The Superchargers got up against the Southern Brave, chasing 140. England men Zak Crawley and Harry Brook scored at a fast rate in getting 29 and 24 respectively, while Mitchell Santner's 24 off 16 was invaluable as well, a reminder of the value of having a class overseas all-rounder in your middle-order.  

But the man who really got them overt the line was the underrated Graham Clark, whose 38 off 24 was the match-wining knock. And yes, we've seen better balls delivered as the last of the match than the one bowled by Tymal Mills but you still need to put them away, which Clark did for six to win the game. It would do the side no harm for him to come in ahead of the out-of-form Dan Lawrence.  

Jacob Duffy's arrival will improve matters, and his figures of 3/26 were excellent in the first game, but they don't look like a side with set plans of how they're going to go about their business.  

The way they're playing, I'd be surprised if they make the Playoffs.  

Birmingham Phoenix 

The Phoenix chased 181 against the Invincibles in midweek, the highest chase of the season so far by some distance and one that owed much to the brilliance of Liam Livingstone.  

Good contributions from Will Smeed (51) and Joe Clarke (27) meant they were in the chase, but it took something special from the skipper to get them over the line. 60 off 27 including five sixes was one of the best knocks you'll ever see in this competition.  What is a bit of a concern is the absence of big contributions from Jacob Bethell and Dan Mousley. A lot is expected of these two, but they haven't got going, yet.  

If their Kiwi trio of pacers starts to find some form and Clarke and Livingstone carry on firing with the bat, they could be dangerous. They may however consider giving Ben Duckett a rest. Scores of 0, 20 and 7 suggest he needs one.  

Pitch and conditions. 

The Welsh Fire posted 143/9 against the Superchargers here in Leeds at the start of the competition but the fact the latter chased that with 11 balls to spare suggests 160-165 is a more realistic first innings score at Headingley, which over the last few years has proved to be a road.  

Livingstone may be tempted to chase again if he wins the toss though the Superchargers look better suited to bowling first, as well.   

Match Winner Odds 

The Superchargers are 4/5, implied probability of 55.56% with the Phoenix evens, which is obviously 50%. 

If I had to pick one of the two, it would be the Phoenix. But there are better bets elsewhere.   

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

Birmingham Phoenix Top Batsman  

I tipped up Joe Clarke to be the Phoenix top batsman against the Invincibles at 9/2 and at one stage he would have been a warm favourite to win it when going well on 27. But he fell to a brilliant catch by Rashid Khan, Livingstone entered the fray and the rest is history.  

But scores so far of 29, 36 and 27 suggests he deserves another chance. For two additional reasons. Firstly, because he's a bigger price than last time at 5/1 and secondly, because in the previous game he came in at three rather than four, so the same could happen again here.  

Northern Superchargers Top Bowler  

If we asked you who was the Number 1 ranked T20I bowler in the world, who would you go with? Rashid Khan? Jasprit Bumrah? How about the West Indies' Akeal Hossein? No. It's Jacob Duffy, whose rise to the top of the rankings surprised many, including himself, as revealed in a recent interview.  

He certainly hit the ground running with those three wickets in the first match and more to the point, doesn't have a huge amount to beat with Adil Rashid (10/3) his main threat.  

Duffy is the same 10/3 as Rashid and should come pretty close.  

Jamie Pacheco Cricket Hundred P/L 2025: 

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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...