The Hundred Tips Matches 15 and 16: Best bets for Saturday's double header

Birmingham Phoenix v Welsh Fire The Hundred Tips

Click here for Birmingham Phoenix v Welsh Fire odds
Saturday 1 August, 18:30
TV: Live on Sky Sports

Birmingham Phoenix failed to make use of a whopping chase bias at Southampton on Thursday night when losing to the Brave. It stood at more than 70%. And the hard work had been done after they restricted the hosts to just 128.

However, they suffered a panic-stricken collapse and the writing appears to be daubed on the wall in great, big letters. Phoenix are not a team to be trusted. How can they be? With so much in their fabour at the Utilitia Bowl they suffered a major malfunction. They now sit bottom with a significantly worse run rate and are going to to have to win four of their last five in all likelihood to be in with a shout of third.

The match odds market recognises it, too. Fire are odds-on at 1.784/5 on the Exchange. That's the market taking a very firm view. Fire have been solid rather than spectacular but they should be delighted to rock up in Birmingham on what should be a flat Edgbaston wicket.

Their squad building has focused on rejecting Big Boy power and instead favoured studious, smart placement in the form of Joe Root and Rachin Ravindra. The pair should be able to cut loose and hit through the line on a road.

Bringing the Fire batters to the fore leads us to the best betting option (we can't argue the match odds are wrong). Play overs on first-innings runs at 145.5. That is a cheap quote for a wicket which saw Phoenix hit 214 in their first match of the seaosn at the venue.

London Spirit v Southern Brave The Hundred Tips

Click here for London Spirit v Southern Brave odds
Saturday 1 August 18.30
TV: Live on Sky Sports

London Spirit were the selection from these pages on the outright market. They got their first win in the nick of time against MI London last time out. Three straight losses would have been difficult to come back from.

There remains expectation that they put a sequence of wins together to put themselves into contention for at least a third-placed finish. And they couldn't have wished for a better opponent than Southern Brave, who have lost three from four.

The Brave would argue they have a toss bias to contend with in Southampton. But the sluggish pitch actually came to their aid last time, not to mention some hopeless Phoenix batting.

They are likely to find this a much stiffer task against a well-balanced Spirit side who should be full of confidence after taking down MIL in their own backyard. The Betfair Sportsbook are not as impressed, though. They make this a choice affair.

This is curious in the context of the Phoenix-Fire game. There is a clear view in the markets that Phoenix are a disaster zone post that harrowing defeat against Brave. Yet in Spirit's odds for the contest that seems to have been discounted. It's also interesting that beating MIL, consistent favourites and always overrated, is not seen as a bigger achievement.

The upshot is simple. We back Spirit in the belief that they should be odds-on. On the Betfair Exchange 1.9010/11 is available on a Spirit win. That could yet drift further as, unbelivably, Spirit are currently favourites.

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