NK vs OV Match Prediction & Betting Tips - Jan 06, 2023
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The Northern Braves will be looking to claim the number 1 spot on the points table as it faces the Otago Volts on Friday in the ongoing season of Super Smash.
Both teams haven’t been in the best of forms and have lacked consistency in their performance. As both the teams are desperate to win a few matches going forward, this should be an interesting contest to watch.
NK vs OV Team Previews
Northern Knights
Northern Braves are the defending champions for this season and much was expected from them when a fresh season started. However, the Braves have alternated between victories and losses throughout the 4 matches played so far and find themselves in the second spot in the points table.
The top-order batsmen of the Northern Braves are in good form though, as Katene Clarke, Tim Seifert, and Jeet Raval have all played a couple of good innings. The middle order however has been a bit subdued in its performances so far and that has been one of the key reasons for the lack of consistent performances from the Braves.
The team made a couple of changes in the last match, bringing in all-rounder Frederick Walker and Peter Bocock in place of Mitchell Santner and Scott Kuggeleijn. Both the players did show some flashes of brilliance but only time will tell how they perform going forward. Losing the veteran Santner to the national team would be a blow to the Braves as he has been a great all-rounder in the squad.
Tim Pringle and Kristian Clarke have bowled some decent spells and have picked up 5 wickets each, while Brett Hampton has picked up 4.
Northern Knights Playing 11
Tim Seifert, Jeet Raval, Henry Cooper, Peter Bocock, Brett Hampton, Kristian Clarke, Frederick Walker, Zak Gibson, Tim Pringle, Joe Walker, Katene Clarke.
Otago Volts
The Volts didn’t have the best of starts to their campaign as they lost two opening matches. However, they came back strongly in the third match, beating the Auckland Aces by 37 runs. Their latest match was also against the Aces, a reverse fixture, which ended in a tie. As a result, the Volts are 4th on the points table. However, a win here will take them ahead of the Braves to the second spot.
Otago's recent success has been powered by some excellent all-round performances by Dean Foxcroft, who is back in New Zealand after a 2-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Foxcroft has scored 2 half-centuries in 4 innings this season and has an average of 49.50.
He is also the leading wicket-taker for the Volts, picking up 9 wickets so far, including a fifer. However, the batsmen around him haven’t been in the best of forms, with Hamish Rutherford, Josh Finnie, and Jake Gibson all failing to get a big inning. Llew Johnson played an excellent cameo of 46 from just 27 deliveries and more will be expected of him going forward.
This will also probably be Jacob Duffy’s last outing in the league before he departs for India to join the New Zealand ODI squad.
Otago Volts Playing 11
Hamish Rutherford, Dale Phillips, Dean Foxcroft, Joshua Finnie, Thorn Parkes, Llew Johnson, Jake Gibson, Benjamin Lockrose, Andrew Hazeldine, Travis Muller, Jarrod McKay.
NK vs OV Toss Prediction
The captain winning the toss will likely opt to bat first here.
Read our guide on toss predictions to learn how we analyze and come up with our tips.
Pitch and Conditions
The pitch at Seddon Park is quick with plenty of bounce and is good to bat on. The fast bowlers will also enjoy bowling here as they can get some movement off the seam. The spinners however are likely to struggle. The average first-inning score here in Super Smash is around 165.
There is a very high probability of rain in Hamilton on Friday and we might see some delays or even a washout. The skies are expected to remain heavily overcast and the temperature will rarely cross the 20-degree mark.
NK vs OV Betting Tips
Looking at the recent form of both teams, there is little separating the two at this stage. However, a look at the squad reveals that the Northern Braves have a better balance of players compared to their opponents, who are reliant on the performance of a few individual players. We are therefore tempted to back the defending champions here.
Bet on the Northern Braves to win.
We are eager to know what you think of our match predictions, if there is anything we can do better or if you want to let us know your own predictions for the match.