Article: Middlesex Crusaders v Lancashire Lightning Twenty20 - Late News
Middlesex temporarily re-locate from the home of cricket to The Oval for the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup.
Having just seen Extrabet's line for the match wides market, I think we have some fantastic value. Out of twenty matches played between the sides so far, there have only been three matches where the wide count has exceeded five or more. Therefore, under six wides in the match @ 1.84 is a confident play for us.
As for the match itself, Middlesex have a team full of unsung heroes, and they are arguably the most improved team in the tournament this year. Dirk Nannes has been a revelation with his left-arm seamers, while Tyron Henderson has backed up some big-hitting down the order with 18 wickets - the joint highest in this year's competition. The batting is generally solid if unspectacular, with the likes Dawid Malan and youngster Billy Godleman prospering. They are bolstered by the presence of Owais Shah for this match, who will add fantastic balance to the batting.
Lancashire will be buoyed by the presence of talismanic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, although his batting so far this season has been a huge disappointment with just twenty two runs in three innings so far. New Zealander Lou Vincent has forged an aggressive opening partnership with veteran Mal Loye, and Lancashire 's main threat will come at the top of the order. However, they are likely to struggle against Nannes up front, and this is where we think Middlesex have the slightest edge. Too much emphasis is often placed on batting in this format, but the Middlesex bowlers have shown wicket-taking ability and tactical nous in the middle order, with Shaun Udal impressing in particular.
In addition, young South African Francois du Plessis seems worth backing in the top run-scorer market for Lancashire . He has been a welcome addition to Lancashire 's middle order in this format and has shown good versatility, whether re-building after a collapse or finishing off an innings at the death. With 184 runs @ 30.7 this season, he is worth a small investment as top-scorer.
NJ's bets:
Under 6 wides - 4pts @ 2.6 Sportingbet.com
Middlesex to beat Lancashire - 1pt @ 2.2 (Totesport)
Francois du Plessis to top score for Lancashire - 1pt @ 7.0 (extrabet)


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