The Hundred Men’s 2025: Top 3 players battles to watch out for in match 20

The 20th game of the current The Hundred Men’s 2025 competition will see the Trent Rockets against the Manchester Originals. The Trent Bridge stadium in Nottingham will host this match on August 19, 2025.

Manchester Originals will enter this game fresh off a decisive victory over the Northern Superchargers. With two victories in five games and eight points overall, this has enabled the Originals to climb to fifth place in the Hundred Men’s 2025 competition points standings.

According to the Hundred Men’s 2025 points standings, the Rockets are ranked second. They have 12 points and three victories out of four games. They would like to extend the streak against Manchester as well, having just defeated Southern Brave in a decisive game.

Here are the top 3 players’ battles to watch out for in match 20 of The Hundred Men’s 2025:

Jos Buttler vs Lockie Ferguson

Jos Buttler’s brilliance and experience have been the driving force for Manchester Originals this The Hundred season. He has scored 189 runs with two fifties to his name and a good enough strike rate of 136.95. His explosive starts pose the greatest threat to opposing bowlers because of his ability to accelerate in the middle part of the innings.

Buttler’s habit can be broken, though, if the Rockets use Lockie Ferguson, their fastest bowler, against him. Ferguson is well known for bowling at a sharp pace and can produce that wicket-taking delivery more often than not. His best bet to shift momentum in Rocket’s favor will be to force Buttler on the back foot and play defensive cricket.

Tom Banton vs Josh Tongue

Tom Banton has been the most dangerous batter for the Trent Rockets. He has 175 runs in four innings with a strike rate of 142.27. While he is yet to hit a fifty, Banton has ensured the Rockets get a quick start when he opens the innings. He is a dangerous opponent because of his ability to take on pacers early with creative shots and unafraid intent.

Josh Tongue has impressed everyone with his wicket-taking ability in this The Hundred tournament. He has 9 scalps in three matches with a best of 3/21. Tongue can extract steep bounce from the Nottingham surface and trouble Banton in timing his shots. If Tongue gets Banton early, the Manchester team will breathe a sigh of relief.

Phil Salt vs Marcus Stoinis

This is a battle of the two power hitters in this upcoming contest of The Hundred Men’s 2025 tournament. One of the tournament’s most lethal openers, Phil Salt frequently sets the pace for the Manchester Originals with his purpose in the powerplay overs.

On the other hand, Marcus Stoinis has hammered 57 runs with a strike rate of 172.27. But surprisingly, he has excelled with the ball also. Stoinis has six wickets in four games to show for it and might be a good way to get Salt out early. Stoinis could entice him with his medium pace to play a false shot and give the advantage to Rockets.