Cricket betting tips: England v Australia ODI preview and best bets
It could be another tough day for England when they face Australia in the third ODI from Durham on Tuesday, writes Richard Mann.
Cricket betting tips: England v Australia ODI
2pts Jamie Smith top England batsman at 8/1 (Sky Bet)
The weather forecast isn’t too flash for Tuesday’s third ODI in Durham, which might offer England some respite having lost the first two matches heavily.
The second defeat at Headingley was particularly disappointing having restricted Australia to 270 with the bat, only to make a mess of their run chase as Australia's returning big guns, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, impressed.
Hazlewood appears to have England opener Phil Salt in his pocket, so as long as the big Aussie quick isn’t rested for this fixture, I’d be tempted to play unders on Salt’s runs here, especially in overcast conditions on a ground that generally offers sideways movement to the seamers.
At the time of writing, the prospect of a full match appears unlikely, but that could yet change, meaning we might also look to play unders on England’s innings runs.
Backing runs paid dividends in the first match of the series at Trent Bridge, but England were a long way off the pace at Headingley and for all the pitch wasn’t its usual excellent self in Leeds, it was much better than England's 202 all out.
Durham was a mixed bag for runs in this season’s T20 Blast, but I’m not reading too much into that and think it’s fair comment to say that overhead conditions play a big part here.
To that end, I’d be happy playing unders on England’s innings runs should we get anything close to a full innings in predicted autumnal weather. If the excellent Hazlewood plays again, confidence in that bet would increase considerably.
I wouldn’t be quite as confident regarding Australia, who look a strong batting outfit, as demonstrated by their brutal run chase in Nottingham.
At this stage, the one bet I want to strike is on JAMIE SMITH to be top England batsman.
For what it’s worth, it’s my opinion that England ought to use these final three ODI matches of the summer to trial Smith as an opener.
Anyone who has watched the Surrey star make a brilliant start to his Test career in the last few months will agree that he is certainly capable of doing the job, and it would potentially open up more options long-term, especially when captain and wicket-keeper Jos Buttler returns.
It shouldn’t be set in stone that Salt is England’s first-choice opening batsman for the foreseeable future, not with only a relatively modest record to date in this format, while Ben Duckett still needs to make the other opening position his own. Smith should at least be viewed an as option.
Sadly, I don’t see that happening just yet, though perhaps number five in the order is a nice berth for this match, shielded from the new ball and Starc and Hazlewood.
That certainly looked to be the case when Smith made a good 49 in Leeds, top scoring and looking the most accomplished of England’s batting line-up in the face of a such a high-class bowling attack.
In likely challenging batting conditions on Tuesday, that might well be the case again and I want a player with a strong, Test-match class technique on my side.
Smith fits the bill and the 8/1 with Sky Bet looks wrong.
Posted at 1715 BST on 22/09/24
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