WES (Western Storm) vs NWT (Thunder) Match Prediction

WES

43%

Chance of Winning

NWT

57%

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Apr 29, 202312:30 PM

Great Britain

Sophia Gardens

A seventh-place finish last season and a desire to reach playoffs for the first time prompted Thunder to pull all stops for squad recruitment ahead of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy 2023. They signed West Indies star allrounder Deandra Dottin and USA’s multiple trophy-winning pacer Tara Norris. However, their opening match against South East Stars turned out to be an uncomfortable jolt as they lost the game at Old Trafford in Manchester by 131 runs.

They will look to find their first win of the season on Saturday against Western Storm on April 29, 2023 at 10.30 AM BST at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.

Storm, meanwhile, have been focused on keeping their core group intact. They retained England captain Heather Knight alongside Fran Wilson and skipper Sophie Luff. They have also promoted younger players like Sophia Smale, Lauren Filer and Niamh Holland by handing them professional contracts.They came up against defending champions Northern Diamonds in their first and were thoroughly outclassed in all departments, resulting in a 105-run defeat in a rain-curtailed match at Headingley, Leeds.

Western Storm vs Thunder Chance of Winning

Western Storm have been lucky last year as they eked out a win off the last ball and the year before, they managed to edge out Thunder by 2 wickets. Even though they have now lost three matches in a row in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, Thunder can still hope for a win in this tie which has eluded them. Thunder being an underdog for the tie means, the oddmaker has marked their win at a yield of 1.73 as compared to Western Storm’s odds of 2.03.

WS’ chance of winning - 43%

Thunder’s chance of winning - 57%

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Western Storm vs Thunder Betting Tips

Sophie Luff to score runs above 30 (Parimatch)

Western Storm captain Sophie Luff’s batting performances have been key for them to finish in the top half of the last year. The 29-year old started off the season with a measured 33 in the first match as she built a partnership of 89 for the third wicket with Fran Wilson after Storm lost both their openers for just eight runs. She will be expecting to play the anchor role once again.

Western Storm vs Thunder Match Toss Prediction

Teams usually prefer to chase a game at the Sophie Gardens in Cardiff as teams batting second have won 18 times at the venue compared to the eight wins for teams batting first in 50-over games. Thunder captain Eleanor Therlkeld will hope that things can favour her side if she can win the toss and elect field.

Weather Report

Saturday’s weather is reportedly cloudy with gusts of winds blowing across Sophia Gardens in Cardiff which can make for some interesting bowling displays. Swing bowlers will be expecting some movement off the pitch early on. The humidity is expected to be at 79% which can also make batting difficult as the match progresses.

Thunder Player List

Ellie Threlkeld, Steph Butler, Alice Clarke, Danielle Collins, Kate Cross, Naomi Dattani, Deandra Dottin, Sophie Ecclestone, Phoebe Graham, Mahika Gaur, Alex Hartley, Liberty Heap, Laura Jackson, Hannah Jones, Emma Lamb, Fi Morris, Daisy Mullan, Tara Norris, Shachi Pai, Hannah Rainey, Seren Smale, Sophia Turner, Olivia Thomas.

Predicted Playing XI

Thunder Team Form

Thunder have always been a team that should’ve made it big in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. They have finished third in their pool in 2020 and in 2021. Things didn’t change much last year as they finished seventh in the table with one win, one No Result and five losses. They began the tournament with a loss against Northern Diamonds and followed it up with two more losses against Lightning and South East Stars. Their only win of the season came against Central Sparks while their match against Sunrisers was washed out. Even with a big recruitment drive before this year’s tournament, they were outclassed by South East Stars in their season opener as they were bundled out for 203 in chase of 335.

Western Storm Player List

Sophie Luff, Emma Corney, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Alex Griffiths, Nicole Harvey, Niamh Holland, Heather Knight, Claire Nicholas, Lauren Parfitt, Mollie Robbins, Chloe Skelton, Sophia Smale, Fran Wilson, Nat Wraith

Predicted Playing XI

Western Storm Team Form

It’s not the lack of wins, but the absence of big wins and bonus points that robbed them of a playoffs spot. Despite starting their campaign with a 75-run win over Lightning (Now called The Blaze), Storm had a bumpy road ahead as they lost to Central Sparks in the next match. They got out with a three-wicket win over Sunrisers which was followed by a winless three-match streak. They finished fourth, with three wins and as many losses and one abandoned match. They were 11 points short of a top-three finish and starting this season with a 105-run defeat against Northern Diamonds is not ideal either.

Western Storm vs Thunder Head-To-Head

Storm and Thunder have faced off twice in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy with the former winning both the clashes. The first time around, Storm made it past Thunder with just a wicket in hand and off the last ball. Last year was also a tight finish as Storm got over the line with just two wickets in a curtailed match in Manchester.

Western Storm vs Thunder Betting Odds

Alex Griffiths’ form has been key for Western Storm’s fortunes last season. The fast bowling allrounder got off to a poor start to this season with the bat when she was sent back for a duck against Northern Diamonds, but she was excellent with the ball bowling a maiden from her seven overs and claimed two quick wickets including Lauren Winfield-Hill who was moving towards a hundred. Expect Griffiths get better with the bat against Thunder.

Western Storm vs Thunder Best Batters

Heather Knight to be Western Storm’s top batter (Parimatch)

Last time Thunder and Storm met, England captain Heather Knight was in rampaging form as she smashed a 90-ball 91 to take them to a winning position before everything went haywire. However, it still remains the best score for a Storm batter against Thunder.

Deandra Dottin to be Thunder’s best batter (Parimatch)

When you have an allrounder of Deandra Dottin’s caliber, you can expect that she will deliver in any of the departments. She began this year’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy with a superbly-paced 51 off 42 balls when her teammates were queuing up to the pavilion. She was the lone bright spot in a bad batting performance. She will be expecting to carry on that form and hope the others can also contribute.

Western Storm vs Thunder Best Bowlers

Lauren Filer to be Western Storm’s top bowler (Parimatch)

Lauren Filer has been a menace with her new-ball spells whenever Western Storm faced Thunder. Her 3-46 last year pegged back Thunder to 242/5 in 50 overs and clamped down the scoring in the early exchanges in 2021 bowling a spell of four over and conceding 20 runs. She started this season well with 2-54 against Northern Diamonds.

Kate Cross to be Thunder’s top bowlers (Parimatch)

The England pacer has the ability to extract the most of the new ball and is doubly effective when she is paired with someone who can contain runs. In the first match against South East Stars, she filled in the restricting role as fellow Tara Norris picked up an early wicket. Cross also has good memories against Thunder where her 3-35 from took her team the closest ever to a win. She will be expecting a few more scalps in Cardiff.

Our Prediction

Favorites to win: Thunder

Even though both sides have started the season with massive defeats, Storm are looking a more balanced side despite Thunder having a star studded line-up of international players. Thunder can mostly hope the likes of Emma Lamb, Kate Cross and Deandra Dottin contribute heavily with the others also chipping in with useful runs and wickets. They are very well capable of a big win in Cardiff.

WS to win @ 2.03 (Parimatch)

Thunder to win @ 1.73 (Parimatch)

Shankar Shekh

Sportscafe's author

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