Otago Volts vs Wellington Firebirds, Super Smash 2019-20, Today Match Prediction 06 Jan 2020

ov vs wf Match Prediction & Analysis

Super Smash 2020 season has come to the last stages of the league phase where every win and lose matters. And every player has a big chance to make a mark to the Kiwi Selectors with a big World Cup coming up.

Wellington currently leads the points table and will look to finish off the league stage on the top. But, Otago is their closest competitor for the No.1 spot and they will look to dismantle the Wellington so that they can directly qualify for the finals. The winner of this match not only moves ahead of the other end but also moves one step closer to directly qualifying for the finals by finishing at the top spot.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Otago Volts Preview

Otago lost the previous match against Central Districts by 5 wickets despite putting 184 runs on board. Hamish Rutherford and Nick Kelly came up with quick-fire 40s to build the momentum of their innings. Anaru Kitchen and Dale Philips came up with vital 20+ cameos to build partnerships in the middle.

All the five bowlers used by Otago took a wicket each but gave away runs at over 8 RPO. Skipper Jacob Duffy, Michael Rae, and Michael Rippon are amongst the wickets column regularly this season. Anaru Kitchen and Travis Muller need to bowl more consistently to help their team bowling department with regular wickets.

KEY PLAYERS

Nick Kelly – Nick Kelly played a good knock of 24-ball 45 in the last match to continue on the momentum build by the openers. He has scored 267 runs at a strike rate of 142 this season and is their leading run-scorer so far.

Michael Rippon – Rippon has taken 6 wickets this season with 4 of them coming in the last three matches. He seems to be peaking at right time with finding his form and rhythm with the ball in hand.

Otago Volts Predicted Playing XI:

Neil Broom, Hamish Rutherford, Anaru Kitchen, Michael Rippon, Jacob Duffy (c), Josh Finnie, Michael Rae, Nick Kelly, Dale Phillips, Travis Muller, Max Chu (wk)

Otago Volts Actual Playing XI:

Michael Rae, Jacob Duffy, Dean Foxcroft, Nick Kelly, NT Broom, Anaru Kitchen, Michael Rippon, Hamish Rutherford, Joshua Finnie, Max chu, Dale Phillips

Wellington Firebirds Preview

Wellington comes off after a clinical win against Northern Districts by 52 runs. Michael Pollard`s fifty steered their batting unit in the first half of their innings. Rachin Ravindra and James Neesham came up with crucial knocks with the bat to help their post a good total of 188 runs on board.

All the six bowlers registered their names in the wickets column to bowl out the opposition for just 136 runs. Skipper Hamish Rutherford and Ollie Newton took 3 & 2 wickets respectively to derail the chase. Neesham Ravindra, Van Beek, and Nofal chipped in with a wicket each in the middle overs.

KEY PLAYERS

James Neesham – James Neesham has scored 207 runs at a strike rate of 135 this season. He has scored crucial runs to finish the innings with a flourish and also has 8 wickets to his name.

Ollie Newton - Ollie Newton has 14 wickets at an economy rate of 8 RPO this season. He is the joint leading wicket-taker of this season along with Ajaz Patel. We expect him to continue his good form with the ball in hand.

Wellington Firebirds Predicted Playing XI:

Devon Conway (wk), Michael Pollard, Rachin Ravindra, Michael Bracewell (c), James Neesham, Fraser Colson, Jamie Gibson, Malcolm Nofal, Logan van Beek, Ollie Newton, Hamish Bennett

Wellington Firebirds Actual Playing XI:

Rachin Ravindra, Hamish Bennett, Devon Conway, Logan van Beek, Ollie Newton, Fraser Colson, Peter Younghusband, Michael Bracewell, Michael Pollard, James Neesham, Jamie Gibson

Weather Conditions

The weather forecasts down not look promising with more than 60% chances of rain on match day. The previous match at this venue was also washed away by rain as No-result.

Venue Details

Dunedin will be a good pitch to bat with the ball coming onto the bat nicely. We can expect average scores of around 160-170 here.

Toss: To Bowl

Chasing is the best option in the rain-affected games as the DLS equation comes into play. Both captains will be aware of the weather forecast.