*THE HUNDRED MENS COMPETITION MATCH 29- OVAL INVINCIBLES VS TRENT ROCKETS 2023 PREVIEW*
*THE BUILD UP:*
Life is in the best of affairs if you’re a Oval Invincibles fan. They are flying at the moment, kissing the skies with 5 wins and just a single loss to mourn about. What makes them special is the fact that they are celebrating and gelling together, getting stronger from time to time in every single department. What highlighted their tremendous campaign is their last win where after a disappointing batting performance, they came back stronger to defend a total of 139 runs. Led by the mastery of Sam and Tom Curran with the bowl, the Invincibles proved their worth and were able to bury the Braves down. Inspirational stuff from the batters again is what they would look at, as they search for their sixth win in the tournament and a near perfect record.
The Rockets on the other hand, are coming off a powerful win. Their middle order and the lower middle order has been stepping up for the Rockets which is very positive sign for this side. The likes of Colin Munro, Sam Hain and Daniel Sams chipping in with impactful cameos is incredible and to stop the high flying Invincbles, their effort would be desperately needed.
*OVAL INVINCIBLES PROBABLE XI:*
Jason Roy, Will Jacks, Tawanda Muyeye, Sam Curran, Sam Billings, Jimmy Neesham, Ross Whiteley, Zak Chappell, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson, Nathan Sowter
How Zampa operates in this game could be game defining. The likes of Hales and Root struggle vs Leg spin upfront and he could be used as an attacking option to try and target the wickets of these two big guns.
Spencer Johnson has surely taken the Hundred by storm. He has impressive and daunting figures to show already and only the lords know what he’s capable of doing as the tournament reaches the business end. Excited to watch him go about his usual activity as Invincbles look to extent their unbeaten run.
*TRENT ROCKETS PROBABLE XI:*
Alex Hales, Joe Root, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sam Hain, Colin Munro, Daniel Sams, Lewis Gregory, Luke Wood, Ish Sodhi, Matt Carter, Sam Cook
For Rockets to give themselves a chance of reaching the knockout stage, their bowlers will need to put a shift in. Daniel Sams took three wickets in their last game, but they will need consistency across the board. Luke Wood, Lewis Gregory and Ish Sodhi will need to contribute to stifle a deep batting order.
We saw Joe Root opening the batting for the Rockets last game and he ended up with a run a ball 8. I feel the decision of him opening the batting is a poor one and not one of proper construction. He is better suited to the middle order (batting at either no 3 or no 4) building an innings and showing his class as a middle order enforcer. I don’t see this decision of him being at the top being a long lasting one. He can be the real deal for the Rockets if he bats lower down the order.
*MY PREDICTIONS:*
*FOR OVAL:*
Highest run getter- Will Jacks/Jason Roy
Highest wicket taker- Adam Zampa/Spencer Johnson
*FOR ROCKETS:*
Highest run getter- Cadmore/Root
Highest wicket taker- Daniel Sams/Luke Wood
*FOR THE GAME:*
Oval Invincibles to win again