Trent Rockets vs Manchester Originals Prediction: Back Banton to Bat Big

This is pretty much a case of drinking in last-chance saloon for the Originals but also a chance for the Rockets to cement their place in the Top 2 as the action gets underway at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, start time 18:30, live on Sky Sports Cricket and BBC Two.

Jamie Pacheco talks us through his analysis and his tips for the match as he takes us through his Trent Rockets vs Manchester Originals Predictions...    

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

Trent Rockets  

The Rockets are sitting in second place with three wins from four, that one defeat coming against the struggling London Spirit, when they failed to chase a stiff-looking 163.  

So, they're in a good position but they may have to have a rethink regarding Joe Root's role.  

Scores of 6, 20, 27 and 6 alone suggest he's struggling but when you look at the strike rate, you realise he could be guilty of doing more harm than good. Strange thing to say about the second-highest run scorer in Test match history but different formats require very different skills and tempo, and this format doesn't look like it's up Root's street.  

His fellow opening partner, Tom Banton, has been excellent though.  Marcus Stoinis provided a good winner for us last time out at 5/1 for top bowler honours with two wickets, which proved to be enough, and continues to be a key cog. George Linde comes into the side now that Akeal Hossein has left for the CPL.

Manchester Originals

Two wins and three defeats has the Originals in a pickle and they'd pretty much have to win all their remaining matches if they were to go all the way.  

It's a shame for them they didn't have Rachin Ravindra around for more of the tournament. A quick-fire 31 off 16 followed by two wickets with the ball in their win against the Superchargers were typical of the Kiwis' all-round skills.  

How they also wish that Heinrich Klassen had shown some form earlier. He smashed 50 off 25 on Sunday, a reminder of what he can do on his day.  

Pitch and conditions

The Trent Bridge pitch has been providing fair contests between bat and ball with first innings scores of 124 and 140 so far.   

That slightly tacky, slow wicket suggests batting first may be the way to go. Anything over 140 would put considerable scoreboard pressure on the chasing team knowing they can't swing for the rooftops every ball and pacing the innings in a chase will be crucial.   

Key Odds

The Rockets are 8/11, implied probability 57.9% with the Originals 11/10, which is 47.6%.  

As has been the case for most of the tournament, those prices look about right.  Had the Originals been a bit bigger, we may have chanced them with their all-star top order batting line-up finding some form but at those prices, we'll leave the market alone.  

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

Trent Rockets Top Batsman

Tom Banton has now top-scored in three of his four matches so far with scores of 43, 37 and 46 and that could easily have been four from four when his 49 against the Brave was trumped by an extraordinary knock of 55 from 30 by Tom Moores.  

But Banton is obviously in some form and as good as that Rockets batting line-up is, he holds the trump card as an opener, so the 10/3 will do us just fine.  

Manchester Originals Top Bowler  

We were on course for a good win on the Originals top bowler market at 10/3 after Josh Tongue had taken three wickets. But Sonny Baker hit back to take a hat-trick (over two sets of 5 deliveries) so that ended up being dead-heated.  

Unlucky for us but that's not to take anything away from Tongue, who has taken three wickets in each of his three matches so far, impressive stuff. His Hundred record now stands at 16 wickets in 8 games. He's been cut ever so slightly from 10/3 to 3/1, but that doesn't put us off going in again.  

But it's worth having a saver on Rachin Ravindra, who took 2-13 off just ten balls. That performance may make skipper Phil Salt more inclined to bowl him more next time out and the 7/1 looks big, so we'll have half a point on him, too.  

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...