Manchester Originals and Welsh Fire will start their campaign in the 2024 Men's Hundred when they clash with each other at Old Trafford on Thursday. Manchester Originals were the runners-up in 2022 and 2023 whereas Welsh Fire gave their best showing last season when they finished fourth.

LAST 5 MATCHES

MANCHESTER ORIGINALS: WWLWL

WELSH FIRE: WLLWW

THE LIKELY PLAYING XIs FOR MANCHESTER ORIGINALS & WELSH FIRE

MANCHESTER ORIGINALS likely XI

Batters: Phil Salt, Wayne Madsen, Max Holden

Allrounders: Jamie Overton, Sikandar Raza, Tom Hartley, Paul Walter

Wicketkeeper: Jos Buttler

Bowlers: Josh Hull, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Usama Mir

WELSH FIRE likely XI

Batters: Glenn Phillips, Tom Kohler Cadmore, Stephen Eskinazi

Allrounders: David Willey, Roelof van der Merwe

Wicketkeeper: Jonny Bairstow, Joe Clarke

Bowlers: Haris Rauf, Jake Ball, Matt Henry, David Payne

Statistical Performance (Manchester Originals)

1. JOS BUTTLER

Jos Buttler has a great record in The Hundred with an aggregate of 632 runs in 17 matches at an average of 39.5 and strike rate of 141.7 with five fifties.

JOS BUTTLER IN THE HUNDRED

2. PHIL SALT

Phil Salt is one of the most destructive batters in the shorter formats and has been in devastating form in The Hundred for the Originals. No batter has scored more runs than Salt in the history of The Hundred!

PHIL SALT IN THE HUNDRED

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Manchester Originals)

1. PAUL WALTER

Paul Walter is a seasoned all-rounder from England whose wicket-taking ability has stood out in The Hundred. He has bagged 21 wickets in 17 matches at an average of 15.9, economy of 8.17 and strike rate of 11.6.

2. TOM HARTLEY

Tom Hartley, the slow left-arm orthodox England international, is the third-highest wicket-taker in The Hundred with 26 wickets in 24 matches at a strike rate of 13.6 and economy of 8.21.

Statistical Performance (Welsh Fire)

1. GLENN PHILLIPS

Glenn Phillips will be the mainstay of the Welsh Fire batting line-up. He has scored 312 runs in 15 matches for them at a strike rate of 139.28.

GLENN PHILLIPS IN THE HUNDRED

2. DAVID WILLEY

David Willey is a top-notch all-rounder in the shorter formats and has bagged 19 wickets in 21 matches at a strike rate of 16 and economy of 8.56.

DAVID WILLEY IN THE HUNDRED

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Welsh Fire)

1. STEPHEN ESKINAZI

Stephen Eskinazi is a destructive middle-order batter who has hammered 208 runs in 8 innings in The Hundred at a strike rate of 155.2.

2. DAVID PAYNE

Left-arm fast-medium, David Payne, has picked 18 wickets in 22 matches in The Hundred at a strike rate of 21. He has bagged 225 T20 wickets in 175 innings at a strike rate of 16.

TEAM HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

Manchester Originals have clashed with Welsh Fire thrice in the Men's Hundred and won two of these encounters.

Venue and Pitch

The iconic Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester has hosted 11 matches in the Men's Hundred competition with the team batting first winning four of these encounters. The team chasing has been victorious in five while two matches have been called off due to rain. Chasing is the preferred option at the venue with the captain winning the toss fielding first on 7 occasions. The team which has won the toss has been victorious in 5 of the 9 result matches at the venue for a win probability of 55.56%.

The average score batting first at Old Trafford is 148 whereas the average score batting second is 128. The pitch at Old Trafford assists the fast bowlers with the new ball and the spinners have also done well at the venue. In fact, the spinners have outshone the fast bowlers in Manchester and have a better bowling average, strike rate and economy at the venue. It is the worst wicket for the batters with the lowest batting average amongst all venues in The Hundred.

MATCH PREDICTION

Welsh Fire have a very destructive batting order and two high quality pace bowlers and start favourites against Manchester Originals. Welsh Fire have a 60% chance of winning the match.

FANTASY XI

This is our Fantasy XI - Our batters will include Cadmore, Phillips, Salt and Eskinazi and our designated keeper is Jos Buttler. The all-rounders will be Willey, Walter and Hartley whereas the bowlers include Rauf, Payne and Mir. The captain will be Willey and the vice-captain is Walter.

Fantasy XI:

Wicketkeeper: Jos Buttler

Batters: Glenn Phillips, Tom-Kohler Cadmore, Phil Salt, Stephen Eskinazi

Allrounders: David Willey (C), Paul Walter (VC), Tom Hartley

Bowlers: Haris Rauf, David Payne, Usama Mir

BACKUP PLAYERS:

BATTER – Wayne Madsen

BOWLER – Fazalhaq Farooqi

ALL-ROUNDER – Jamie Overton