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Cricket betting tips: England v Australia ODI preview and best bets for Headingley
Richard Mann was on the mark with an 11/4 winner in the first ODI – check out his preview and best bets for Saturday's action here.
Cricket betting tips: England v Australia ODI
2pts Both Teams To Score 300+ Runs at 2/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
1pt Both Teams To Score 325+ Runs at 9/2 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
*Available under 'What Odds Paddy?' and '#OddsOnThat' tabs
Big runs were the toast of the day at Trent Bridge on Thursday as Australia chased down 316 at a canter, and I’ll be betting on more of the same in the second match of this ODI series in Leeds on Saturday.
Trent Bridge and Headingley have long been two of the best places to bat in England in limited-overs cricket, and the lack of potency in both attacks on show means this series in general looks ripe for runs while the weather remains good.
Depleted bowling attacks in trouble
Another decent forecast for Saturday augurs well on that score, and with the strong possibility that England will be forced to rest Jofra Archer for this match, and doubts remaining over the fitness of Josh Hazlewood and health of Mitchell Starc, both attacks could be up against it again.
Pat Cummins, remember, is back at home in Australia, and it’s also worth noting that Australia’s recent record without the 'big three' together is largely poor. I’d expect Hazlewood to return on Saturday, and wrist spinner Adam Zampa is world class, but this is a long-way from Australia’s best bowling line-up.
England are the same. If Archer does sit this one out, he’ll join Mark Wood on the sidelines, and the other seamers just didn’t look up to the mark against Travis Head (154 not out) and the rest of this powerhouse Australian batting line-up in Nottingham. The tourists should have Glenn Maxwell back for Saturday, too.
To that end, I have no concerns about Australia’s batting. Head is quickly becoming one of the most destructive white-ball batsmen in world cricket, and there is so much quality afterwards in the form of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and then Maxwell.
England batting can keep pace with Australia
As for England, I really like the move to open with Ben Duckett and Phil Salt. They ought to complement each other well, and Duckett played superbly for his 95 in Nottingham, continuing his excellent white-ball form this summer. Will Jacks was similarly impressive as he stroked a brisk 62.
With Harry Brook and Jamie Smith in there, this looks a strong England batting unit, for all a little light on experience and brains – judging by Thursday’s implosion. Still, there is no shortage of talent, and I’d expect them to get better if conditions remain good for batting.
Stats say back runs at Headingley
As is always said about Headingley, when the sun shines, as is expected to be the case on Saturday, this is so often a good place to bat.
We saw a score of 185-5 on this ground in The Hundred last month, and a comfortable chase of 147 in 85 balls. Prior to that, three 200+ scores were posted here in the T20 Blast, and a successful run chase of 182-1 in 18.1 overs. And if anything, I don’t think the pitches for the Blast were as good as I have seen at Headingley in previous years, quite possibly due to the incredibly wet spring we endured.
In the most recent County Championship match played in Leeds at the beginning of the month, Yorkshire amassed 601-6 declared batting first, before Middlesex replied with 522. Yorkshire then added 150-2 in their second innings before both teams shook hands and settled for a draw.
The last ODI played here came back in 2022, when the sun certainly wasn’t shining. Nevertheless, South Africa has still cruised to 159-2 from 27.4 overs before rain forced the match to be abandoned.
All the evidence suggests another good batting surface can be expected. As such, I’ll again be backing BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 300+ RUNS, this time at 2/1, with a smaller stake on BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 325+ RUNS at 9/2.
Posted at 1210 BST on 20/09/24
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