Yorkshire vs Lancashire Prediction: Roses rivals to revel in joy of six

There is rarely such a thing as a dead rubber between Yorkshire and Lancashire but Thursday's Roses clash in the Vitality Blast at Headingley has little tangible riding on it (18:30 BST, Sky Sports Cricket).

Lancashire are top of the North Group and all but heading into the quarter-finals, while rivals Yorkshire are eliminated despite still having two games left.

Team News

Yorkshire will almost certainly make changes after a soul-destroying eight-wicket drubbing by bottom county Derbyshire at the weekend.

Lancashire will hope that Saqib Mahmood has recovered from a knee injury. The Lightning will be looking to power hitters such as Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, plus old hand Jimmy Anderson, to earn them the win to keep them top of the group.

Yorkshire vs Lancashire Odds

Yorkshire have won each of the last three Vitality Blast showdowns with their cross-Pennine rivals yet are 5/4 outsiders to make it four in a row. Lancashire, who have won twice as many matches as the Tykes in the competition this season, are 8/13 to avenge last week's 19-run loss to the White Rose county at Old Trafford.

Cricket Odds

Over 17.5 Match Sixes @ 5/6

It was a sixes firestorm when Lancashire and Yorkshire met at Old Trafford in the Blast last week so expect something similar with the ropes in at Headingley.

Yorkshire can get nothing out of this other than bragging rights while Lancashire will want to keep their momentum going into the quarter-finals.

So that means there is something riding on a game which always gets a big crowd and pulses racing and with all the usual big-hitters in place, expect the boundaries to be cleared again and again.

Last week, Jonny Bairstow hit 10 sixes in an astonishing show of strength but he wasn't alone.

Yorkshire totalled 18 sixes in their 20 overs with Lancashire replying with nine of their own.

Each county averages over eight sixes per match this season and with the weather set fair and the pitch at Leeds a belter, go for over 17.5 combined sixes.

Luke Wells Under 17.5 Runs @ 5/6

Lancashire No.4 Luke Wells has gone off the boil of late and his runs - even at 17.5 - might be pitched too high.

The veteran has slapped 296 runs in 12 knocks for the Lightning with a couple of 50s. The last of those, however, was at the end of June.

Since the campaign's resumption two weeks ago, Wells has been to the crease five times with scores of 15, 1, 18, 8 (against Yorkshire) and 17.

Batting at No.4 behind a hefty front three he may not get long in the middle anyway and his dip suggests 17.5 runs could be a tall order.

Find more Cricket Betting Tips here at Betfred Insights