London Spirit vs Manchester Originals predictions: Overton to inspire Originals at Lord's
- London Spirit have lost four of their five matches this season
- Jamie Overton was player of the tournament in The Hundred in 2023, scoring 202 runs off 111 balls
- Recommended bet: Jamie Overton top Manchester Originals runscorer
Manchester Originals' last fixture at Lord's was the 2023 final of The Hundred, where they made a stunning start against Oval Invincibles before subsiding to a 14-run defeat.
This season the Originals, missing injured captain Jos Buttler, have lost all five of their games and they are desperate to break their duck against fellow strugglers London Spirit.
A talented Spirit squad has failed to deliver the goods this summer, suffering four defeats in five matches, so they will want to put in an improved performance on Friday evening.
Team news
London Spirit are missing England Test opener Zak Crawley due to a fractured thumb.
Keaton Jennings has replaced Crawley at the top of the order and fast bowler Dan Worrall should return after being rested for Wednesday's defeat to Trent Rockets.
Manchester Originals captain Jos Buttler has been ruled out of the tournament with a calf injury, so his England team-mate Phil Salt is leading the side.
The stats
London Spirit have lost four of their five matches this season and Liam Dawson is their leading runscorer this season, despite batting at number seven or eight.
The opening stands in this season's three matches at Lord's have been six, four, five, four, four and 39
Manchester Originals have lost their last six matches in The Hundred, but opener Matthew Hurst has scored 78 and 50 in his last two appearances.
Jamie Overton was player of the tournament in The Hundred in 2023, scoring 202 runs off 111 balls.
Prediction
The Originals reduced the Invincibles to 34-5 in the early stages of last year's final at Lord's and the new ball has done plenty of damage at the Home of Cricket this summer.
In six innings at the venue, the first wicket has fallen with the score at six, four, five, four, four and 39, so Manchester middle-order man Jamie Overton is worth backing to top-score for the visitors.
Overton was player of the tournament in The Hundred last year, cracking 202 runs from just 111 deliveries including a brisk unbeaten 28 in the final.
That was the second-highest score of the Manchester innings and the powerful right-hander could bat as high as number five in the order on Friday.
Spirit number eight Andre Russell and Birmingham Phoenix number six Jacob Bethell were the top team runscorers in this summer's first game at Lord's, so it may pay to look beyond the top-order batters.
Overton has had the second-highest score of the Originals innings twice in five games this term, making 23 against Welsh Fire and 25 against Southern Brave, but he remains a big price to lead the way at Lord's.
