Otago Volts vs Wellington Firebirds, SS T20 2021, Today Match Prediction 28 December 2021

ov vs wf Match Prediction & Analysis

Otago Volts haven’t had the season they would have hoped for so far. They have only 1 win from 5 games along with 3 losses and a poor net run rate of -1.139. They will next play against Wellington Firebirds who have also managed just 1 win but from 4 games along with 3 losses at a net run rate of -0.436. They have suffered three consecutive losses and have to get things right before the season slips out of their hands. Wellington has a great record against Otago, which should give them a lot of confidence. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Otago Volts Preview

Otago Volts have now lost two consecutive matches by big margins – by 53 runs against Central Stags and by 36 runs against Canterbury Kings. In their last match against Canterbury, they were chasing a target of 174 and could only muster 137-8. It was another poor batting show by Otago where apart from skipper Hamish Rutherford (62 off 48 balls), none of the other batters could make an impact. A lot is expected from Neil Broom and Nick Kelly but they have failed to deliver so far. Perhaps promoting Anaru Kitchen up the order might give them the necessary boost.

Otago’s main bowlers too have looked a little rusty in the last couple of games. Jacob Duffy and Matthew Bacon are regularly leaking runs. On the positive side, Kitchen keeps things steady while Angus McKenzie impressed with his spell of 2-28 from 4 overs in the last match. He is likely to be given a longer run in this bowling unit now.

Otago Volts Predicted Playing XI:

Hamish Rutherford (c), Neil Broom, Nick Kelly, Anaru Kitchen, Llew Johnson, Michael Rippon, Max Chu (wk), Jacob Duffy, Matthew Bacon, Angus McKenzie, JJ Tasman-Jones

Otago Volts Actual Playing XI:

Michael Rippon, Jacob Duffy, Angus McKenzie, Neil Broom, Tasman Jones, Anaru Kitchen, Llew Johnson, Matthew Bacon, Hamish Rutherford, Max chu, Nick Kelly

Wellington Firebirds Preview

Wellington Firebirds have now lost three matches in a row and desperately need a win to get some momentum going in their campaign. In their last match, they were chasing a small target of 135 against Auckland Aces but could only manage 121-8. It was another poor batting performance where only skipper Michael Bracewell with his unbeaten 58 off 46 balls had a respectable score. Their top and middle order have consistently failed this season. The openers, Finn Allen and Tim Robinson, in particular, have been really struggling these last few matches. Troy Johnson had looked good earlier when he had smashed that 54 against Central Stags but hasn’t got going again. Maybe this will be the game where he gets his nick again.

Wellington’s bowling is in better shape. The likes of Hamish Bennett, Logan van Beek, and Ben Sears have done a good job so far. It was Sears’ spell of 3-22 off 4 overs that helped the team restrict Auckland for a low score. Leg-spinner Peter Younghusband has also been effective in keeping things tight during the middle overs. 
 

Wellington Firebirds Predicted Playing XI:

Finn Allen (wk), Tim Robinson, Troy Johnson, Michael Bracewell (c), Nathan Smith, Jamie Gibson, Logan van Beek, Peter Younghusband, Ben Sears, Ollie Newton, Hamish Bennett

Wellington Firebirds Actual Playing XI:

Hamish Bennett, Logan van Beek, Nathan Smith, Finn Allen, Jamie Gibson, Peter Younghusband, Michael Bracewell, Ben Sears, James Neesham, Tim Robinson, Troy Johnson

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

This will be the first T20 match played at the John Davies Oval in Queenstown. In the few ODIs played on the venue, it’s been seen that it’s an even surface that does tend to slow down a little. It will be interesting to see the kind of surface we get for this match.

The weather at Queenstown on the day of the match is likely to be cloudy. This should help the seam bowlers.
 

Venue Details

Since this will be a fresh wicket, the team batting first will be looking to set a target of around 180 runs. 

Toss: To Bat

Finn Allen (wk), Tim Robinson, Troy Johnson, Michael Bracewell (c), Nathan Smith, Jamie Gibson, Logan van Beek, Peter Younghusband, Ben Sears, Ollie Newton, Hamish Bennett