Royal London One-Day Cup final: Durham’s batting might to prevail
Published:The inaugural 50-over Royal London One-Day Cup prepares for a gala finish at Lords, and we’re backing slight underdogs Durham to rob T20 Blast winners Warwickshire Bears of a limited overs double in 2014.
It’s being billed as the ‘Stokes v Woakes’ final as England’s ODI all-rounders go head to head and in our trio of best bets it’s the former who we believe will enhance their World Cup claims further.
Durham to beat Warwickshire Bears @ 11/10
It’s more than just the back-the-better-price-in-a-two-horse-race theory which leads us to Durham’s door.
They bettered the Bears in the group stages with five wickets to spare and arrived in St.John’s Wood after sending the Nottingham Outlaws packing at Chester-le-Street with a mammoth total of 353.
It’s this batting prowess from the likes Stokes and wicket keeper Phil Mustard which can see them win only their second ever domestic final to follow their 2007 Friends Provident success.
Durham also boast paceman Chris Rushworth in their attack, fresh from his incredible 15-wicket haul in the Championship thrashing of Northants.
Century in the match: Yes @ 1/1
Given Stokes’ 164 in the semis and the presence of other England-class batsmen such as Jonathan Trott – who notched a ton in the group-stage meeting – Paul Collingwood and Chris Woakes, the stage is set for a Lord’s centurion.
Ben Stokes to get a 50: Yes @ 13/8
That centurion could well be Durham’s star man, especially after racking up six sixes and 18 fours during his blistering innings against the Outlaws.
However, in case he does not quite hit such dizzying heights at the home of cricket, backing the half-century looks like money well spent.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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