Lancashire vs Durham Betting Tips 16/07/2021

15:29, 16 Jul 2021

Senior Author

15:29, 16 Jul 2021

Zohaib Ahmed is a sports journalist whose profession is to report and edit but whose passion is to predict and bet. He’s been in the industry for more than a decade and has worked/written for various bookmakers/tipsters. His expertise is in cricket, football, MMA, boxing and basketball.

The 13th round of matches in North Group of the 2021 Vitality Blast sees Lancashire take on Durham at Old Trafford in Manchester on July 16 (Friday). The match is scheduled to begin at 11pm IST.

Teams Status

Lancashire

Lancashire have had a mixed run of late, winning two and losing the other two of their last four games. They boast a dozen points from as many games and sit fourth on the points table just above Durham – their opponents tonight.

Further demonstration of their mixed form this campaign is the fact that they have won five and also lost exactly five.

In their last game, they defeated Northamptonshire by eight wickets, thanks to the bowling of Liam Hurt, who inflicted a lot of hurt on the opposition batsmen, claiming the scalps of three. With the bat, Finn Allen was the primary reason why Lancashire got to the modest 143-run target with more than four overs to spare.

The main problem for Lancashire this season has been their unimpressive bowling. None of their ball hurlers have had much of an impact on a continued basis, with the sole exception being legspinner Matt Parkinson, who will need more help from his teammates, especially the pacers, as the tournament progresses.

Durham

Durham are as mid-table as mid-table can be, which translates into fifth place in a nine-team group. They would have been higher than this though, had they not had a horror run that has seen them lose three successive matches.

In fact, they have lost five of their last six games – a run that has massively dampened their title hopes. Before this run, they had lost just one game and seemed genuine title contenders.

In their last game, which was a defeat to Derbyshire, the contest went down to the wire and was decided on the final ball. In that game, Durham batters had done a decent job by posting 176 in what was a collective effort.

Although the target set wasn’t gigantic by any mean, it could still have been defended. While most of Durham bowlers did okay, one man who cost them big was Matty Potts, who leaked a ridiculous 50 runs in his four overs.

What do the Sportsbook Say

Brand	Lancashire	Durham
	1.72	2.10
	1.712	2.144
	1.80	1.95

Lancashire are the betting favourites in this fixture. Bet365 has Lancs priced at 1.72 and Durham at 2.10. MelBet has Lancs available for 1.712 and Durham for 2.144. Meanwhile, 888 has priced Lancashire at 1.80 and Durham at 1.95.

Tipster’s Angle

Tip: Lancashire to win @ 1.80

Considering their circumstances on the points table and overall body of work so far, there is little to choose between these two. That said, the dip Durham have experienced of late has been more than alarming and is indicative of a fundamental flaw, which is why we’re rooting against them. The play here is to back Lancashire to win @ 1.80 with 888 sport.

Tip:

Top batsman for Lancashire – Finn Allen @ 3.50

Young New Zealand batter Finn Allen was in ridiculous touch in the last game as mentioned above. Before that innings of 66, he had his starts but was unable to convert into something big. Now that he has the confidence at this level, he can be relied on to do more damage up top. With Lancs lacking too much quality down low, we believe that backing Allen to be his side’s top batter against @ 3.50 with Bet365 is a decent enough play.