Champions League Twenty20 Betting -- Eagles wings to be clipped by Somerset
by Juris Graney
Diamond Eagles vs. Somerset CCC
Friday, October 16 - 6am
Champions League Twenty20 Betting Odds:
Diamond Eagles +120
Somerset CCC -150
If it comes down to a battle of nerves between South African franchise Diamond Eagles and English lads Somerset in their second round clash of the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 tournament, the smart money is on the former taking the prize.
Having played out the first ever tie at this tournament then winning in the Eliminator over – an aptly named do-or-die affair – would suggest the smart money is on the Eagles however their first match proved that if you can snare early wickets, they are not so much Eagles as they are pigeons.
After NSW posted 144, the Eagles failed to crack triple figures, rolled for just 91 thanks in part to the niggling line and length accuracy of Australian international Stuart Clark (3/12) and the medium pace of Portuguese-born Moises Henriques (2/13).
Ryan McLaren was the key man for the Eagles in that innings scoring almost half his team’s petite total with 40. But like every team in this tournament, the real pressure is on the opening batsmen to set their team off to a frenzied start.
That responsibility for the Eagles lies with Rilee Rossouw and Adrian McLaren (Ryan’s older cousin).
After Rossouw’s failure in the first match he bounced back against Sussex showing an unmerciful disposition smacking two sixes and seven fours on his way to a match-high 65 off 62 balls.
McLaren on the other hand added just five more runs to his first game 11 which must be worrying for captain Boetta Dippenaar, who himself is struggling in this tournament scoring a pair of sevens.
Morne van Wyk, who has played six ODI for the Proteas averaging 32.50 at a strike rate of 66, is another Eagles batsmen struggling at this tournament in the crucial number three batting spot.
First-drop batsmen need to be skilled at coming in early and steadying an innings or coming in late and blasting runs, van Wyk has done neither scoring a five-ball duck against NSW and just two in the tied match against Sussex.
The Eagles batting frailty is somewhat tempered by the fact that a lot of their batsmen can score small totals quickly which is fine if you are setting a mediocre total that their bowlers have to work their backsides off to protect, but not so good in chasing down a big score.
Turning to the Eagles bowling attack, they have in both their fixtures failed to dismiss teams outright taking six wickets against NSW and seven against Sussex. Their lack of a genuine international quality strike bowler will only work against the South African team, touted as that country’s most prolific.
The Marcus Trescothick led Somerset accumulated a win against Indian Premier League franchise Deccan Chargers in their opening match of the tournament with seven of their 11 batsmen scoring double figures, non higher than 30no from South African-born right arm opening bowler Alfonso Thomas batting at number nine.
It was left to another South African born player, Zander de Bruyn, to try and rescue their run chase against Trinidad and Tobago however his 43no was tempered by the fact that only one other player hit double figures, former Australian opener Justin Langer, who scored 15 (and sundries of course which added 14).
Somerset also hold a slight advantage having played at the batsmen’s paradise known as Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, in Hyderabad.
The ground has featured scores above and beyond the 140 mark which, if Somerset can achieve when they bat first, will be way too much for the Eagles.
