San Francisco Unicorns v Washington Freedom MLC Tips: Don't rule out chaos in the opener

• Repeat of last year's final for the first match

• Alarm for batters as drop-in pitch used at Oakland

• Keep tie trade in mind with close affair possible

• Netravalkar an early option for top bowler wager

• Read the unmissable MLC team-by-team guide HERE

San Francisco Unicorns v Washington Freedom
Friday 13 June, 02:00
TV: Live on Willow

San Francisco Unicorns v Washington Freedom MLC team news

San Francisco were runners-up last year. They prized batting power over bowling economy in a gamble which fell at the final hurdle. This season they aim to go one better and they don't appear to have changed tactics.

The front three has the potential to be explosive. Finn Allen and Matt Short are a great pairing and there is the feel of a gurantee of quick runs. The fly is Jake Fraser-McGurk. He sure has the eye but his form has dipped significantly.

Romario Shepherd has turned up in the squad list in the last 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether he will be a late arrival due to West Indies' T20 series against Ireland. He will likely be a starter ahead of Cooper Connollly when available.

Possible San Francisco XI: Allen, Fraser-McGurk, Short, Krishnamurthi, Seifert, Connolly, Hassan, Anderson, Rauf, le Roux, Drysdale

Washington are the champs and on the batting and bowling run rates they were by far the best team. Likewise their net run was far in advance of their rivals.

They have lost the services of Travis Head and Marco Jansen but there is notable batting power through the likes of Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillips. Obviously they are without Steve Smith for the opener slot. That frees up a spot for Mitch Owen to open. 

Saurabh Netravalkar, the USA bowler, is the best domestic bowler by a distance. Some might say the same about Andries Gous with the bat. The Freedom coach is Ricky Ponting and the nickname is apt for the way they will play. Kiwi pacer Ben Sears has been added to the squad. 

Possible Freedom XI:  Owen, Gous, Mukhtar, Maxwell, Chapman/Phillips, Owen, Pienaar, Dill, Ferguson, Netravalkar, Behrendorff

San Francisco Unicorns v Washington Freedom MLC pitch report

The Oakland Colisuem (a baseball ground) has never staged a match before and it is the first time that an elite-level game will be played on the West Coast. "It's a dream come true," Anand Rajaraman, one of Unicorns' co-owners, said. "I'm both excited and nervous. I hope the pitches play better than they did in New York. The curator says they will, because they've had more time to bed in, but fingers crossed." Rajaraman is right to be nervous about the drop-ins.

The surface in New York for the World T20 were a disaster for batters, at least.  In eight games the run rate was 5.7 and five matches were won by the chaser. The highest first-innings score was 137. 

It would be folly to be bettting big before we've had a good look. The gamble is, though, that we see another minefield. Certainly with the first nine matches played at the ground we expect it to tire. Extremes on first-innings runs at under 130 is a cheap lay. Sportsbook also offer no first-innings 50 at 2/13.00. 

San Francisco Unicorns v Washington Freedom MLC match prediction

The early match odds show has this shaping up to be a choice affair. Given that is is a repeat of last year's final that seems to be fair. However, it could be argued that the early absence of Smith gives Unicorns a slight edge in terms of strongest XIs. 

If fears about the drop-in pitch are realised (and we do recognise that the angles of the ground could mean we see sixes fly), the market could well be spooked with the team bowling first. That's to mean that they get very short indeed only for a chase to prove tricky.

There was plenty of back and forth in those World T20 games in New York. To that end, do keep the classic tie trade in mind. In-play we can expect to the chance to take big numbers from 30.029/1 with fingers crossed that a last-over finish drops into the teens.

San Francisco Unicorns v Washington Freedom MLC player bets

Smith has four wins in 19 so we await his arrival with interest for top Freedom bat. In the meantime we have a focus on Netravalkar for top Freedom bowler at 7/24.50. He has four wins in 13 MLC matches and is probably underrated against more established stars. With the bat, Corey Anderson sticks out for Unicorns. It's three wins in 14 so the 10/111.00 is a price which attracts. 

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