Oval Invincibles vs Birmingham Phoenix Prediction: Oval are defending champions

Oval Invincibles are all geared up to take on Birmingham Phoenix in the First Game of The Hundred Men at the Oval, United Kingdom, United Kingdom on 23rd July 2024. Oval are going into the season as defending champions. Who will win this game of cricket?

Oval Invincibles are going to open the batting with probably Dawid Malan along with Will Jacks. They have strengthened their middle order with Donovan Ferreira, Jordan Cox, and Tom Lammonby to go with team captain Sam Billings and Curran brothers Tom and Sam. In the absence of Gus Atkinson, Spencer Johnson and Saqib Mahmood will spearhead the bowling attack into battle, ably supported by the all-rounder Curran brothers, adding balance that is necessary to the outfit. For the spin bowling option, Nathan Sowter and Adam Zampa will contest for a spot if the team decides to play a lone spinner in their playing eleven.

Will Jacks, Dawid Malan, Jordan Cox, Sam Billings, Donovan Ferriera, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Spencer Johnson, Saqib Mahmood, Nathan Sowter/Adam Zampa, Tom Lannonby

Manchester Originals won their most recent head-to-head encounter against Birmingham Phoenix! Read about their win-loss stats and team averages. For the current season, Birmingham Phoenix will be led by the captaincy of Moeen Ali. However, they will have to do without the services of Ben Duckett, Chris Woakes, and Jamie Smith until the end of the England Test series against the West Indies. They are likely to open their batting with Louis Kimber and Benny Howell. Thereafter, what follows is a strong lineup: Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Dan Mousely, Jacob Bethel, and Sean Abbott. On the pace attack, they have a strong ensemble of Tom Helm, Sean Abbott, James Fuller, and the New Zealand pair of Adam Milne and Tim Southee. The squad also includes a plethora of spin all-rounders as Moeen Ali, Jacob Bethel, Liam Livingstone, and Dan Mousely are expected to start in this match. 

Louis Kimber, Benny Howell, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Dan Mousely, Jacob Bethel, Sean Abbott, Adam Milne, James Fuller, Tom Helm, Tim Southee

The Oval Invincibles have altered this batting order by including 2-3 new players in the starting XI. They have immense batting and bowling talents as they have a good number of all-rounders. The Birmingham Phoenix will miss most of their major players because of national duties, rendering the batting lineup quite inexperienced. While they do have a pretty good bunch of fast bowlers, their spin options rely on all-rounders, mostly. With such dynamics in place, Oval Invincibles become favorite to win the contest as they seem to have a much more comprehensive and balanced unit in comparison with Birmingham Phoenix.