*THE HUNDRED MENS COMPETITION 2023- LONDON SPIRITS VS SOUTHERN BRAVE PREVIEW*
*THE BUILD UP:*
Lords, an iconic venue of sorts- it never fails to disappoint the crowd and the energy that it brings to the table is insane. The hundred already is a buzzing competition where the ECB is trying to attract crowds and with Lords hosting the eleventh game of the tournament, the scene becomes exciting. The Lord's Cricket Ground surface is known for being batting-friendly, along with favouring bowlers with a good bounce in the first innings. Therefore, the captain winning the toss will prefer to bat first to put the opposition under the pump by posting a huge total on the board. Both captains would love to carry the baton forward with Southern Brave pushing towards a second win whereas the Spirits searching for their first win of the tournament with Lawrence at the helm of things in a revamped side.
*LONDON SPIRITS PROBABLE XI:*
Dan Lawrence (c), Adam Rossington (wk), Michael-Kyle Pepper, Matthew Wade, Daryl Mitchell, Ravi Bopara, Matt Critchley, Jordan Thompson, Liam Dawson, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Worrall
Keep your eyes gazed on Adam Rossington, a vital wicket keeper who had a fair share of success with the gloves in hand and ended up scoring crucial 39 runs as well. He will open the batting for London in what is expected to be a belter, one can only expect the damage that he’s going to cause next. The role of Wade also magnifies after that 27 ball knock that he played in Londons second last game vs the Manchester Originals. He’s adorning a different sort of a role as a middle order batter and it’s always refreshing watching a veteran do his magic tricks again.
I have always liked watching the pair of Ellis and Worrall operating in tandem. Where the former uses seam to dominate the batters, the latter is keen upon extracting swing from the wicket and making it count. I can’t wait to see what they have in store next vs the Southern Brave after they ended up sharing just a single wicket in the 30 balls they bowled together vs Manchester.
*SOUTHERN BRAVE PROBABLE XI:*
James Vince (c), Devon Conway (wk), Finn Allen, Leus du Plooy, Tim David, Joe Weatherley, George Garton, James Fuller, Craig Overton, Rehan Ahmed, Tymal Mills
James Fuller will be the one bowler to watch out for in the clash between London Spirit and Southern Brave. He has remained wicketless in all three matches Southern Brave has played so far this season. However, the all-rounder, who has fine stats in the T20 as well as in first-class cricket will be eager to bowl his team to a victory in the upcoming game.
The kiwi opening duo of Conway and Allen, two established T20 openers failed again and their brittle game on these tracks came to the fore where the English batter Vince finally got going but still managed to look a little rusty. The Brave No3 scored 33 off 27 at a strike rate of 122 and couldn’t capitalise completely on a ground where he boasts of a stellar record. The big 3 of the Brave will be pushing to get their side to another victory after a boring performance last time where they gifted away a massive sixty run loss to the Northern Superchargers.
*MY PREDICTIONS:*
*FOR LONDON SPIRITS:*
Highest run getter- Rossington/Matthew Wade
Highest wicket taker- Daniel Worrall/Nathan Ellis
*FOR SOUTHERN BRAVE:*
Highest run getter- James Vince/Devon Conway
Highest wicket taker- Rehan Ahmed/Craig Overton
*FOR THE GAME:*
London Spirits to win at their home ground.