Richard Mann previews Friday night's action from the Vitality Blast where a potential star of the future might be worth siding with.
Cricket betting tips: Vitality Blast June 25
2pts Leicestershire to beat Yorkshire at 13/8 (General)
1pt Ben Geddes top Surrey batsman at 15/2 (Betway)
Surrey v Middlesex
Surrey and Middlesex take centre stage on Sky Sports Cricket on Friday night, with their Vitality Blast clash at The Oval pitting two of the biggest clubs in the South Group against each other, but with both currently struggling to meet high expectations.
Surrey have lost their last two matches, both via heavy defeats, and with the Curran brothers and Jason Roy now away with England, they need others to step up to the plate. Similarly, Middlesex have only won once all season and don’t look any great shakes.
With home advantage, I’d still favour Surrey despite their recent downturn in fortunes, but the submarkets look the best route to a bet and I’m keen to have BEN GEDDES onside in some way.
Will Jacks is Surrey’s leading runscorer (194) in the tournament so far and his typically brisk 65 against Somerset on Wednesday confirms he remains in good form, while Laurie Evans has been a brilliant T20 performer over the years and has shown enough this season to suggest he isn’t a spent force, for all patently nowhere near as prolific since leaving Sussex.
Without Roy and Sam Curran, the top Surrey batsman market looks there for the taking, with Jacks and the returning Ollie Pope the obvious choices. However, both dominate the top of the betting and Geddes looks worth chancing.
The 19-year-old doesn’t have many miles on the clock, but what he lacks in experience he appears to make up for in talent and his promising 28 against a strong Essex attack on his First XI debut was a sign of big things to come.
👏 Ben Geddes' first boundary in senior cricket!
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) June 21, 2021
WATCH 👉 https://t.co/PTrjd8aiYq pic.twitter.com/FIrw3YQI7x
Surrey fans will be anticipating even more from Geddes given the string of high scores he put together for the Second XI in preparation for the Blast. With a classical technique which is very pleasing on the eye on the eye, and dare I say has a touch of AB de Villiers about it, Geddes could go far and don’t be fooled by his age; this young man hits the ball very hard.
Playing overs on Geddes' runs line once he comes to the crease is something in-running punters might want to consider, particularly if he has plenty of overs to bat on a generally true surface, but the 15/2 (Betway) available for the youngster to finish the match as Surrey's top runscorer is big enough to warrant a small play, and I'm happy to add him to Friday's recommended bets.
For Middlesex, more of the same will be required from Thursday's century-maker Stevie Eskinazi now Eoin Morgan is on international duty and I wonder if Chris Green might earn himself a promotion in the batting order following a number of handy cameos of late.
An off spin bowler by trade, Green is a competitive character who can hold a bat and should Middlesex lose early wickets, the Australian could enter the mix for top Middlesex batsman honours if coming in a little earlier than number seven.
Leicestershire v Yorkshire
Elsewhere on Friday, the clash between Worcestershire and Durham promises much in a match between two sides who ought to have genuine qualification aspirations, for all the former have gone off the boil more recently and the latter were beaten by Northamptonshire on Wednesday.
Durham will go off deserved favourites for this one and I’ll look elsewhere for a bet, with LEICESTERSHIRE worth an interest at home to Yorkshire at anything around the 13/8 mark.
The North Group table suggests Yorkshire will be very hard to beat, but following a sluggish start, Leicestershire have really picked up, winning their last two in handsome style as the likes of Scott Steel and Colin Ackerman have found some form with the bat.
The bowling is serviceable, and Naveen-ul-Haq and Callum Parkinson are a good deal better than that, while in Josh Inglis, Leicestershire have a high-class wicketkeeper-batsman who will surely be earning international honours very soon.
The Australian was one of the stars of last winter’s Big Bash as he helped Perth Scorchers to another final and he has proven a fine capture for Leicestershire already, his 269 runs from only seven Blast appearances featuring a brilliant unbeaten century against Northamptonshire on Sunday.
The case for opposing Yorkshire is stronger than first impressions might suggest as much of their early-season success was driven by the blade of Jonny Bairstow, and with him, Adil Rashid, Dawid Malan and David Willey now on England duty, things will get tougher from here on in.
That certainly appeared to be the case when they slipped to 50-5 against Worcestershire on Wednesday and though the exciting Harry Brook again delivered, with the help of Jordan Thompson, to haul Yorkshire to a match-winning score of 191-5, the batting line-up looks less intimating than it did a few weeks ago and certainly more fragile.
With home advantage on their side, I’m happy to take a chance on a resurgent Leicestershire with 13/8 appearing a touch of value.
Posted at 1330 BST on 24/06/21; updated with second recommended bet at 1055 BST on 25/06/21
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