Otago Volts vs Wellington Firebirds Prediction: Volts are yet to win a game

Otago Volts and Wellington Firebirds are going head to head in the 7th Match of the Super Smash T20 League at Molyneux Park in Alexandra on 28 Dec 2023. Otago Volts are yet to win a game in the league so far. Who will win this game of cricket?

The most recent game played by the Otago Volts was against Canterbury, but unfortunately, it had to be cancelled due to rain. As a result, the Otago Volts earned one point, but their progress in the points table has been limited. They are currently positioned in 5th place. Leading the batting charge for the Otago Volts is the right-handed batter and skipper, Dean Foxcroft. In his last ten matches for Otago, he has scored 380 runs with an average of 42.22. Another notable right-handed batter, Jake Gibson, has achieved a score of 321 runs in his previous nine innings with an average of 40.12. Llew Johnson, also a right-handed batter, has contributed 141 runs in his last ten games for Otago. Matthew Bacon has been successful in picking up 14 wickets from his last eleven innings, maintaining an average of 23.85. Michael Rae has collected 13 wickets in his previous nine matches with an average of 18.92, while Ben Lockrose has gathered nine wickets from ten innings. These players are essential to Otago's success in scoring runs and taking wickets this year. We anticipate their continued strong performance for the team.

HD Rutherford, J Gibson, DN Phillips, D Foxcroft (C), MW Chu (wk), LC Johnson, Ollie White, BNJ Lockrose, ATE Hazeldine, T Muller, MB Bacon

The Wellington Firebirds team will be relying on Tim Robinson to make a strong impact early in the innings. Robinson showed excellent form in the first game of the season against the Otago Volts, scoring 177 runs in his last five appearances for Wellington, with an average of 35.40. Troy Johnson, with an average of 32.60, has scored 163 runs from his previous seven innings, while Nick Kelly has scored 162 runs from his last eight matches, with an average of 20.25. These three players are expected to be the leading run-scorers for the team this season.

On the bowling side, the team will be counting on Nathan Smith, a right-arm medium-fast bowler who has taken 11 wickets in eight games, averaging 17.45. Peter Younghusband, who has picked up nine wickets in his last eight games for Wellington, averaging 17.88, will also be an important asset. Rachin Ravindra, who had an impressive performance in the ODI World Cup, is expected to shine again, even with the ball. Ravindra has taken seven wickets in his last seven matches, with an average of 21.28. These bowlers will play a crucial role in providing the Wellington team with timely breakthroughs.

Tim Robinson, Nick Greenwood, NF Kelly (C), Muhammad Arslan Abbas, Jesse Tashkoff, Nathan Smith, Callum McLachlan (wk), Logan van Beek, Peter Younghusband, Michael Snedden, Ian McPeake

The bowlers will benefit from the venue of Molyneux Park. The pitch at Molyneux Park is particularly suitable for faster bowlers. A total of nine T20 domestic matches have taken place at this location. Out of these, the team batting first emerged victorious in four games, while the team batting second won five. Therefore, there is no clear advantage to either batting or bowling first on this pitch. The upcoming match between Otago and Wellington, which will be held at Otago's home ground, can expect predominantly cloudy conditions with a temperature around 27 degrees. However, there is no chance of rain during this match.

Otago's presence on the points table is due to a match being abandoned in their first game of the season. Conversely, Wellington achieved a convincing victory in their opening match of the Super Smash. As a result, we predict that Wellington will be the favored team to win this contest and strengthen their position on the points table.