Canterbury Kings vs Wellington Firebirds Match Prediction

The 11th match of the Ford Trophy will have a rematch of opening day when Canterbury face off against Wellington at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The match will begin at 3:30 AM Indian time on December 8. Both teams are level on nine points having played three games apiece with Canterbury marginally ahead thanks to their net run rate. The winner of the game will not only gain an advantage on their opponent in the race for the trophy but will also leapfrog Central District for a place atop the Ford Trophy table.

Bet on Ford Trophy

Canterbury Kings vs Wellington Firebirds Chance of Winning

While both teams have won two games apiece, Canterbury appear to be the more impressive side. Not only have they already beaten Wellington in a head to head match-up by 102 runs, and secured a win against the hapless Auckland Aces by eight wickets, they lost to Northern District by DLS in a rain affected game.

However, that does not mean that Wellington do not have a shot in this match-up. Following their 102 run loss to Canterbury, Wellington beat current table toppers Central District by a cool 50 runs before inflicting the same result on Northern District as well. In the only game between the two sides in last season’s Ford Trophy, it was Wellington who came out on top. The closely fought game was decided by three wickets as Nathan Smith and Finn Allen helped the team chase a target of 219 quite easily.

The bookmakers have decided to name Canterbury favourites for the tie offering odds of 1.68 for the Kings. For punters who want to pick Wellington in this game, they will get fabulous odds of 2.13 on Melbet. This would mean that the implied odds for Canterbury to win the game stand at 59.52% while the same number is at a cool 46.95% for Wellington.

Our Prediction

This is one of the closest games to call this season as both teams have looked in great touch so far. However, no matter how hard one tries, it is impossible to forget the trashing handed out by Canterbury in the first game. The 102 run margin of defeat is just too much for us to look beyond and as such we will back Canterbury Kings to come out on top in this game as well.

• Canterbury Kings to win @ 1.68 (Melbet)
• Wellington Firebirds to win @ 2.13 (Melbet)

Canterbury Kings vs Wellington Firebirds Tournament Prediction & Betting Tips 2022

Canterbury had a season to forget last year where they managed to win just one game all season. In their first game against Northern District, they sealed a seven wicket win before losing back to back games to Otago which was followed by a loss to Wellington. After their next three games were washed out, they ran into an inform Auckland who breezed past them in consecutive games one of which was a 219 run loss.

This time around they seemed to have figured it out. With Henry Shipley running riot with the ball and Chad Bowes wreaking havoc with the bat, they are more than a handful for any team in the competition right now. Following a disappointing performance in the opener against Wellington, Bowes has scored back to back 80+ scores in two completely different circumstances. With wickets falling at regular intervals against Northern District, he held the fort at one end to guide the team to a respectable 176, contributing 81 runs in the process. He followed that up by scoring an unbeaten 85 in a 163 run chase against Auckland on the tricky wicket. Henry Shipley has been the star of the show not just for Canterbury but throughout the tournament. His 10 wickets in three games is the highest so far and his average of an incredible 8.4 just sounds unbelievable. If they can keep this up, we would not be surprised if they go all the way this time around.

Wellington started last season like a house on fire and looked destined to win the Ford Trophy before mother nature had its say. After beating Otago in back to back games to start off, they were handed their first defeat of the season by Auckland on New Year’s Day. However, they had their revenge two days later before dispatching Canterbury as well. That is when things started going wrong for them. Their next three games, two against Northen District and one against Canterbury, were washed out and the momentum was lost. A loss against Central District via DLS was compounded by a close two wicket defeat to the same opposition as they were knocked out of contention.

This year they started with THAT loss to Canterbury before they started putting things together. Apart from two knocks - one from Nick Kelly (84) and one from Rachin Ravindra (105), their batting has looked quite ordinary so far. However, where they have excelled is with the ball in their hands. After getting restricted to a measly 170 by Central District, Ollie Newton managed to score a six-fer while conceding just 33 runs to hand them their first win of the tournament. In their last game against the Northern District, the batters finally managed to put up a competitive score piling on 270 runs in their allotted overs. Ben Sears (4/41) and Ravindra, who scored his century in the same game as well, (3/52) managed to restrict Northern District to just 220. They could have a shot going deep in the competition but for that to happen, the batting unit needs to put up some solid numbers.

Canterbury Kings vs Wellington Firebirds Match Toss Prediction

This will be the first time that the Hagley Oval will be used in the Ford Trophy this year. Surprisingly, there was not a single game played at the venue in last season’s tournament as well. During the 2020-21 Ford Trophy, however, there were four matches played at the venue - including the final of the event. On every single occasion, the team that won the toss decided to bat first. However, only once did the team come out on top as the chasing side had a 75% win rate during the tournament. In International cricket though it is the opposite. In the last four men’s ODI games played at the venue, going all the way back to 2017, captains have opted to bowl first. On every single occasion, barring one (India’s recent no result against New Zealand), the chasing team has come out on top. Considering all of this, it would be very unlikely that the winning captain decides to bat first in the upcoming game.

Weather Report

The good news for cricket fans is that there is no chance of rain on Dec 8 even if there is a likely to be a cloud cover throughout the game. The maximum temperature for the day, according to World Weather Online, is going to be 16C while the minimum will be a cool four degrees lower. After what Wellington had to go through last season, this will come as a big relief for them.

Canterbury Kings Player List

Canterbury Kings Squad:

Chad Bowes, Matthew Boyle, Cole McConchie(c), Leo Carter, Mitch Hay(w), ZG Foulkes, Henry Shipley, Angus McKenzie, Ish Sodhi, William ORourke, Ed Nuttall, Theo van Woerkom, Matt Henry, Henry Nicholls, Sean Davey, Tom Latham

Canterbury KingsPredicted XI

Chad Bowes	Batsman
Matthew Boyle	Batsman
Henry Nicholls	Batsman
Tom Latham	Batsman and Wicketkeeper
Cole McConchie	All-rounder
Leo Carter	Batsman
Henry Shipley	All-rounder
Ish Sodhi	Bowler
Matt Henry	Bowler
William ORourke	Bowler
Ed Nuttall	Bowler

Canterbury Kings Team Form

Canterbury Kings are the team to beat at the moment in the Ford Trophy. They have won two games sandwiched between a DLS loss to Northern District. Their net run rate of +1.265 is even more impressive when you consider the fact that they were handed an eight wicket defeat vis-a-vis the DLS system against Northern District.

Wellington Firebirds Player List

Wellington squad:

Tom Blundell(w), Rachin Ravindra, Troy Johnson(c), Nick Kelly, Tim Robinson, Lauchie Johns, Luke Georgeson, Logan van Beek, Peter Younghusband, Ollie Newton, Michael Snedden, Ian McPeake, Ben Sears

Wellington Predicted XI:

Tom Blundell	Batsman and Wicketkeeper
Rachin Ravindra	All-rounder
Troy Johnson	Batsman
Nick Kelly,	Batsman
Tim Robinson	Batsman
Lauchie Johns	Batsman
Logan van Beek	All-rounder
Peter Younghusband,	Bowler
Ollie Newton	Bowler
Ben Sears	Bowler
Michael Snedden	Bowler

Wellington Firebirds Team Form

After a harrowing defeat in the first game against Canterbury Kings, they have done well to come back into contention for one of the top two spots. Their bowling has been the standout for them in the last two 50-run wins against Central District and Northern District. Rachin Ravindra’s century in the last game showed how dangerous this team can be but they will need to find some consistency as soon as possible if they want to be considered title contenders.

Canterbury Kings vs Wellington Firebirds Head to Head

Wellington Firebirds and Canterbury Kings have gone up against each other 77 times in the past. While it is not a one sided rivalry by any stretch of the imagination, Canterbury do hold the upper hand right now with 44 wins. Wellington, on the other hand, have come up with the W on 33 occasions. In the last six matches, however, there is nothing to separate the two teams as both have split the games three apiece.

Canterbury vs Wellington Betting Odds

Wellington to have the higher opening partnership

The Wellington batters have failed to impress in the ongoing edition of the Ford Trophy. However, there is one market that can be a massive payout for any punter in the Canterbury vs Wellington match up. In every game that Wellington has played thus far, they have managed to outscore their opponents as far as the opening partnership is concerned. In the opener against Canterbury, they scored 41 as compared to their opponents 4. In the second game, all they could manage was three runs but Ollie Newton ensured that they would still outscore Central District by claiming Brad Schmulian’s wicket with just one run on the board. In the game against Northern District it was the same again as Wellington’s 31 triumphed 27 by four runs. Considering the cloud cover, it is very likely that you can make a good punt on this one.

Canterbury Kings vs Wellington Firebirds Top Team Batsmen

Chad Bowes to be Canterbury Kings’ top batsman

There could only be one name for this pick. Bowes has been tremendous in the Ford Trophy so far. He has already scored 173 runs in just three matches at an average of 86.5 runs - a number that puts him at the very top of the tournament's run getters. To put his form into context, he scored a mere 7 runs in the first match before back to back 80+scores. Even with Tom Latham in the team, he has to be the pick for the best batsman considering his incredible form at the moment.

Rachin Ravindra to be Wellington Firebirds’ top batter

In a team where it is the contingent bearing the leather that has dominated, all we can look at is current form to pick Wellington’s best batter. And that means Rachin Ravindra gets the nod. At the age of 23, Ravindra already had a List A century under his belt before he went on to assert his dominance against a very good Northern District bowling attack with a century. He has been the best in a very dodgy Wellington batting lineup and is by far the best pick for top batter.

Canterbury vs Wellington Top Team Bowlers

Henry Shipley to be Canterbury Kings’ top bowler

Could there be anyone else? Henry Shipley leads the wicket takers in the current standings of top wicket takers in the Ford Trophy. He was the top bowler in the first match against Wellington claiming six wickets. He missed out on repeating the feat against Northern District by .4 on economy rate before reclaiming his crown with a three wicket haul against Auckland. This might be the best pick available for this game considering his performance against Wellington.

Ollie Newton to be Wellington Firebirds’ top bowler

There were only two real options for this pick - Ollie Newton and Michael Snedden. We have picked the former for good reason. After his solitary wicket against Canterbury in the first game, he came back strong and almost single handedly sealed a win against Central District with figures of 6/33. With Ravindra wreaking havoc against Northern District, he was restricted to just five overs. As Wellington have a pretty shaky batting lineup, he should be able to pile on the pressure with the new ball considering the conditions on offer.