Somerset vs Hampshire Prediction: Back both teams to clear the ropes early

High-flying Somerset will be looking to bounce back from their first defeat of their Vitality T20 Blast season on Thursday night, when they welcome in a Hampshire side reeling from a shellacking against Surrey.

The form suggests a home win is highly likely and the odds support that. This leaves to Neil Monnery to delve into the prop markets to try and find a spot of value for this T20 clash and he has found a couple of interesting prices. Let's check out his Somerset vs Hampshire Predictions for Thursday's clash…

You can check out all of the betting markets and latest Cricket Odds over on betfred.com

Recent Form:

Somerset: L-W-W-W-W-W

Hampshire: L-T-L-W-W-W

Somerset went into Sunday’s home match with Kent having won five-straight and looking odds-on for a home tie in the quarter-finals.

A 49-ball century from Daniel Bell-Drummond, ably supported by 70 from his opening partner Tawanda Muyeye saw the visitors notch up a strong 228, but the hosts looked set to chase it down with relative ease as Tom Banton and Will Smeed teed off in the powerplay. Fred Klassen and Joey Evison stemmed the run rate however and saw the Spitfires eke out a four-run victory.

Hampshire started the season by winning their first three but defeats at Canterbury and at home against Surrey, coupled with a thrilling rain-affected tie with Middlesex, has seen them drop-off to the middle of the pack in the south group. A powerful batting line-up has stuttered and the bowling attack has struggled to take wickets.

Despite Somerset falling just short on Sunday, they are clearly in excellent form and should be considered the betting favourites here.

Somerset vs Hampshire Odds

The betting numbers back up that assumption as Somerset are priced-up at 4/6 to win with Hampshire 6/5. When we flip that into implied odds, the hosts have a 60% chance of emerging victorious, with the visitors seen as a 46% shot.

Date & Time:

Somerset vs Hampshire will play one another in the Vitality T20 Blast on Thursday, June 19, 2025 with first ball set for 18:30. It is part of a double-header, with the women's teams playing at 14:30 on the same pitch.

TV:

Somerset vs Hampshire is not set to be shown on live TV in the UK. The match however will be available to watch for free via a Live Stream on YouTube hosted by the Somerset County Cricket Club channel, which will get underway a few minutes before the start of play.

Weather Forecast:

High pressure has made its way over the UK and Taunton will be covered in gorgeous sunshine for Thursday’s match. A high of 26 degrees with temperatures near that for the first ball. There is just a 2% chance of showers impacting the match.

Team News:

The home side have named an unchanged squad from Sunday’s defeat to Kent. There is no expectation of any changes to the first XI. Jack Leach is available having been overlooked by England but a pace-heavy attack is expected to continue.

Looking at the visitors to Taunton, they name a 15-man squad, which surprisingly includes Eddie Jack. The youngster was expected to be up at Headingley with the England team as a net bowler but was released for county duty. He could come in for John Turner, who has been expensive in recent matches. Scottish international Brad Wheal is another eyeing up that final spot in the bowling attack.

Betting Tips:

I’m not going to back the match result, even though I think Somerset are rightfully classed as the betting favourites in this one.

What I have noticed is that Somerset are 4/1 to score a six in their first over and Hampshire are 9/2 to do the same. This means that if either team does hit one over the rope in their first six balls, the punter is going to be quids in if you back them both.

Craig Overton is likely to open the bowling for the home side and he will be tough to hit out of the park. James Vince can certainly go deep but he’s more likely to hit a classy four. Lhuan-dre Pretorius though will certainly try to clear the boundary and has enormous power.

Chris Wood is expected to send down the first over for the visitors and he is someone who can be got at if the ball doesn't swing. Tom Banton and Will Smeed will fancy their chances against the veteran left-armer.

When you consider the fact Taunton is a postage-stamp of a ground and the track is generally very good for batting, I think the chances of a ball going over the ropes in the first over of either inning is far better than the 4/1 (20%) and 9/2 (18%) than the odds indicate.

You can check out all of our Cricket Betting Tips over on our main Cricket page right here on Betfred Insights.