Colin Munro
Colin Munro

Vitality T20 Blast betting preview by Richard Mann: Middlesex v Hampshire


The Sky cameras will be at Lord's on Thursday where Middlesex host Hampshire in the T20 Blast and Richard Mann has found three bets to go to war with.

Recommended bets: T20 Blast - Middlesex v Hampshire

1pt Colin Munro to be named Man of the Match at 8/1

1pt Ashton Agar to be Top Middlesex Batsman at 20/1

1pt James Fuller to be Top Middlesex Batsman at 50/1

For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record


Middlesex and Hampshire renew hostilities having played out an entertaining match in Southampton on Friday and picking the winner is no easy task.

Hampshire made use of home advantage in that clash - winning by 21 runs - but with so much batting talent at their disposal, Middlesex remain a dangerous outfit who could easily turn the tables if finding their best form.

The home side can boast a batting line up that contains the likes of Eoin Morgan, Dwayne Bravo, Dawid Malan and Paul Stirling and as such, they will be disappointed to have only won one game in the competition so far.

Their bowling efforts have been more encouraging, though, with little known names James Fuller and Tom Helm impressing while Australian Ashton Agar is developing into a fabulous cricketer who ought to give Hampshire's classy right-handers - James Vince and Sam Northeast - plenty to think about in the middle overs.

Hampshire boast a high-class spinner themselves, however, in the shape of Afghanistan's Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who lit up the IPL earlier in the year and has started his spell on the south coast well.

Although he has yet to claim the big haul of wickets he would like, Mujeeb's mystery and clever variations have proven very hard to score off and he only conceded 23 from his four overs when these two sides met on Friday.

Hampshire's batting houses as many big names as Middlesex, with Vince and Northeast joining South African Rilee Rossouw and dynamic New Zealander Colin Munro.

Munro's blistering 63 from only 40 balls helped Hampshire overcome Middlesex in the aforementioned reverse fixture last week, also chipping in with a couple of wickets for good measure, and he was deservedly awarded the Man of the Match award.

He continued his good form with a rapid 38 against Essex on Saturday and the 8/1 available for him to pick up the Man of the Match award again looks well worth taking.

The quick nature of the Lord's surface should suit Munro's aggressive style down to the ground and of all the visiting batsmen, the left-handed Munro will be best equipped to cope with the left-arm spin of Agar with the sweep shot expected to prove a profitable scoring option.

Given the quality of players within their ranks, Middlesex could easily bounce back to form sooner rather than later but with Hampshire continuing their improved form in a thrilling tie against Essex on Saturday, I'm happy to swerve the outright market and look elsewhere for a second bet.

The Middlesex top order still needs to find form and as a result, there could be some value to be had in the Middlesex top batsman market with Agar and Fuller catching the eye at 20/1 and 50/1 respectively.

Ashton Agar
Ashton Agar is developing into a fine cricketer

Agar was run out last week but is an excellent player who enjoyed a good time of it with the bat for Australia in the ODI series against England earlier in the summer.

Scores of 40, 46, 25, 19 in that series came in a losing cause and should Middlesex suffer early casualties again, he could be well placed to pull off another rescue act and is worth a small wager at 20/1.

Along the same lines, I can't resist a second bet on teammate Fuller who has the potential to make up into a genuine all-rounder and scored 71 in this week's County Championship match against Warwickshire.

Fuller might not be pencilled to come in until number eight but has already made handy contributions of 33 not out and 18 not out at strike-rate of 190.90 in this competition so far.

As with Agar, he looks worth having on side for small stakes at odds of 50/1 in the hope that Middlesex suffer another top-order wobble.

Posted at 1130 BST on 25/07/18.

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