Major League Cricket Tips Matches 24 and 25: Back Powell runs at 7/1

• Big runs still look unlikely at Lauderhill

• Rain could reduce overs

• Powell a potential 7s bet for top bat

• Evidence fours line too high

• Betfair Predicts is your essential guide to England v India this summer

LA Knight Riders v MI New York
Friday 30 June, 00:00
TV: Live on Willow

LA Knight Riders v MI New York MLC tips

This is about as low quality a contest as one can imagine in Lauderhill. These two teams have two wins between them in 14 and LA have only three wins in 14 including last season's disaster-class.

Let's all have a laugh (in fear) at the prospect of backing the New York franchise at odds-on. Their 1.784/5 price at least forms a nice entry point for lessons in value. They're not it. End of lesson.

We won't be backing LA either, who are lesson two. Both have lost to Seattle who before playing MINY and LA respectively were in danger of the wooden spoon. On both ocassions MINY and LA contrived to lose from winning positions. 

MINY were more guilty of incompetence than LA. Inexplicably Kieron Pollard bowled a legside long hop off the last ball to his mate Shimron Hetmyer with six needed to win the game. He helped it over the ropes like a good old boy assisting an OAP across the road with heavy shopping bags.

Two games in to the Lauderhill leg and we're not entirely sure of the surface. In game one on Wednesday Orcas-Unicorns was a low-scoring affair. The rampant Unicorns line-up could only manage 168 batting first.

It has not often been a slogfest at the venue.  In the last nine now (five-year study) the RPO is 8.2. More than 180 has been busted three times and there have been no scores of more than 200.

Rain meant a five-over per side game was only possible for Texas-Freedom on Thursday with the former defending a score. We noted that sixes still flew at 11. Rules dictate that at least 16 overs need to be bowled for fours/sixes bets to stand.

Sportsbook go under 20.5 sixes for this one, which seems very high even at 4/51.80. That would have won in seven of the eight. Maybe a better angle is under 28.5 fours, a winner in eight out of eight. It could be that bigger bats and shorter boundaries are turning fours into sixes in this competition.

Unfortunately there is more rain forecast. Betting options could be limited, then. With quick runs required, Rovman Powell could get a promotion up the order for top LA bat. We need 10 overs for bets to stand. Betfair Sportsbook offer 7/18.00.

San Francisco Unicorns v Texas Super Kings MLC tips

San Francisco Unicorns v Texas SK
Saturday 30 June, 20:00
TV: Live on Willow

The forecast is not much better for this one with potential disruption coming from rain and thunderstorms. Unicorns may be secretly praying for a washout as they have lost their last two and are in danger of now missing out on a top-two finish.

They are now tied on points with Texas and Washington with two to play. But a last-day finish against LAKR might be a reprieve. Twice now the Unicorns batting, which had fired their onslaught on the ladder, has flopped. It is perhaps a symptom of lower-order players not getting much crease time so they could be better for the experience.

At least Unicorns have a seven-wicket thrashing over Texas earlier this term to give them confidence. But it is a different Texas team. They have changed tactics in terms of moving away from being a batting team that accumulates.

So out went Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway from the XI for a big chunk. Mitchell actually came into the team for the five-over slog against Freedom but was retired out because it was such a struggle. If Faf Du Plessis is fit he will come straight back in for Mitchell. They could do with Marcus Stoinis stepping up and finding form, though.

We are looking at shorting fours again for this one but I will update closer to the time when we know more about the Florida weather and, of course, LAKR-MINY.

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