Oval Invincibles vs Manchester Originals Prediction: Back Sam Curran to outfox Originals

Saturday's early Hundred clash sees the Invincibles, who barely broke sweat in their first match, host the Originals, who lost in a thriller to the Brave. 

Dan Thomas is here with a look at the two teams and his best bets for the game, live on Sky Sports from 14:30, as he brings us his Oval Invincibles vs Manchester Originals predictions… 

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

Defending champions straight back into their work 

Oval Invincibles were dominant in their opener, sweeping aside a sorry looking London Spirit by six wickets as they chased down 81 with 31 balls to spare. One wonders if Dave Warner might have been better practising his batting than stoking up Ashes warfare.  

Sam Curran delivered a standout performance with 3/18 - including one of the slowest slow balls you'll see - and a handy 20 runs, while Rashid Khan weaved his magic on debut with 3/11. 

Promising signs for Originals despite defeat 

Manchester Originals were on the wrong end of a penultimate-ball thriller against Southern Brave, losing by a single wicket, but there were some good performances on the night.  

Skipper Phil Salt lit up Old Trafford with an excellent 60 off 41 balls, while New Zealand batsman Mark Chapman - a late addition to the squad as cover for compatriot Rachin Ravindra who is on international duty - added a quickfire 22, including two maximums.  

Pitch and conditions  

With a 14:30 start, this match will be played entirely in natural light, making use of the floodlights unlikely. It's expected to be a hot and dry afternoon, with temperatures reaching 25c. 

The Oval pitch has generally played true in The Hundred, offering something for both bat and ball, while we've seen stacks of runs in the Blast this summer, including an incredible performance from Surrey as they chased down Glamorgan's 222.  

Key odds 

Invincibles have been the standout performers for the past two campaigns and looked in very good shape at Lords; there will be worse 4/7 shots on offer over the weekend. The Originals are rated as an 11/8 chance. 

Opener Will Jacks is the 13/5 favourite to top score for the hosts, with the highly rated Jordan Cox a 7/2 shot. Big hitting Donovan Ferreira is one to watch in this market - he can score rapidly in the middle order and may be worth an interest at 8/1. Salt is 10/3 to repeat his top scoring efforts for the Originals in the opener, with Jos Buttler the 13/5 favourite.  

On the bowling front, Khan is the 3/1 favourite to take the most wickets for Oval after his debut heroics, with Curran and Gus Atkinson - who may return after England Test duty - at 7/2. For the Originals, Noor Ahmed looked very sharp on debut, nabbing two wickets with his left-arm spin, and he's the 13/5 jolly.  

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

Best Bets 

Curran is one of the best white-ball cricketers on the circuit and he's rarely away from the centre of the action. With a new super-slow ball added to his armoury - particularly difficult for lower order batsmen to read - I'm happy to take the 7/2 for the left-arm seamer to be top Oval bowler.  

*Dan Thomas is pulling double duty on The Hundred this Saturday. You can read his Welsh Fire vs London Spirit Predictions elsewhere here on Betfred Insights.

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