England will go into this ODI World Cup Group match in Chennai on Sunday against South Africa in somewhat of a bewildered mood having been on the receiving end of a sensational defeat at the hands of Ireland the other day. It is probably for that reason why Bet365 have installed the Proteas as 1/2 odds on favourites to win this match, with England, the underdogs at 13/8.
Against Ireland the England team witnessed an innings of extraordinary proportions by Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien , who brutally smashed the England attack into pulp in the hour or so he spent at the crease. It was a once in a lifetime innings that deserved to win any match but England should not let it dominate their thoughts as there were several positives that they can take out of the game and from the tournament so far.
Firstly the England top four batsmen have all been in great form, indeed captain, Andrew Strauss is the leading run scorer in the tournament so far and Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott are both in the top six. England is averaging over 300 runs per innings in their three matches played so far, which frankly is a fantastic effort. Bowlers, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann have both proven their wicket taking abilities and improvement has been noticed in the field. However they surely need to consider the inclusion in the team of ‘quickie’ Jimmy Anderson, who simply has not found his line and length on the sub-continent yet. It is also apparent that Stuart Broad is not 100% fit and would benefit from a break.
In Ajmal Shahzad and Chris Tremlett they have two quick bowlers who could give the South Africans something different to think about, particularly Tremlett who was superb against Australia in the recent Ashes series. He however is only travelling reserve and would need one of the squad bowlers to be ruled out of the rest of the tournament. In the middle order, Paul Collingwood has become a liability and should either be moved down the order or dropped completely allowing for the inclusion of Ravi Bopara.
These would be bold moves but would be regretted if not made should the three out of touch players fail again as it could cost England the match; a match that will be hard enough to achieve anyway.
Like England, the South Africans have also been in great form with the bat with AB de Villiers hitting two centuries from two innings played at a frightening strike rate of over 118. It is odd therefore why bet365 do not have him as favourite to be the top South African batsman on Sunday. They have installed Hashim Amla instead to carry that burden with odds of 3/1 while de Villiers looks an unmissable bet at 7/2; he can also be backed to score a third consecutive century with odds of around 13/2.
Understandably, Strauss is the 3/1 favourite to be England’s top batter, but the best industry price of 4/1 offered by Bet 365 on Trott being top scorer against his home country looks a sound proposition as he has plenty to prove against them.
In the bowling department Dale Steyn, regarded by most as the best pace bowler in the world is the 2/1 odds against favourite to be top bowler for SA, while their leading wicket taker in this tournament so far, Imran Tahir is 3/1 with Morne Morkel next best at 10/3. For England Swann is the 2/1 favourite to take most wickets, with Broad and Bresnan both at 7/2.
The pundits are all predicting a South African win in Chennai, but this match is one of the few ‘heavyweight’ encounters so far seen in the tournament and the true form of the Proteas is not fully known. England has proven themselves highly capable at the crease and if they can put together a decent bowling performance and forget the Ireland match, then they have every chance of claiming the points.
England v New Zealand Tips
Tip #1: AB de Villiers to be top SA batsman @ 7/2 with Bet365.com
Tip #2: Jonathan Trott to be top England batsman @ 4/1 with Bet365r.com
Tip #3: Tim Bresnan to be top England bowler @ 7/2 with Bet365.com
Match Odds
1/2 South Africa
13/8 England
Top England Batsman Odds
3/1 Andrew Strauss Virender Sehwag
10/3 Kevin Pietersen
4/1 Jonathan Trott
9/2 Ian Bell
13/2 Paul Collingwood
9/1 Ravi Bopara
11/1 Matt Prior
Top SA Batsman Odds
3/1 Hashim Amla
7/2 AB de Villiers
4/1 Graeme Smith
15/4 Jacques Kallis
8/1 JP Duminy
8/1 Colin Ingram
Odds provided by Bet365, who will be operating a variety of betting markets, including in-play betting, throughout the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
Posted: Friday, 4th March 2011
Author: Rodney Wise
Tags: cricket world cup, chennai, england, south africa, bet365,
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