South Africa v England second ODI preview and free cricket betting tips

Recommended bets

2pts Joe Root to make a half-century at 13/8

1pt Joe Root to be Man of the Match at 9/1

For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record

In their first ODI since being crowned world champions at Lord's last summer, England came crashing down to earth when comprehensively outpointed by a new-look South African side at Newlands on Tuesday.

England clearly missed the experience of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler in Cape Town but more concerning was the lack of firepower in the bowling department in the absence of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.

The emergence of Archer and return to fitness of Wood was a crucial factor in England's World Cup triumph and the absence of any real pace on Tuesday allowed Quinton De Kock and Temba Bavuma to make short work of England's below-par total of 258-8.

Having collapsed to 131-6, England were indebted to Joe Denly (87) and Chris Woakes (40) for hauling them to something close to a competitive total on a slow surface but with the bowling lacking penetration, captain Eoin Morgan was forced to continually shuffle his pack with little success.

Morgan was unusually scathing at the post-match presentation, admitting his side were "way off the mark" and saying that "South Africa completely outplayed us today in all departments. We've got no excuses."

With experienced heads such as Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Morgan himself still in the ranks, it is fair to expect England to offer a response on Friday and though the bowing might well lack a little bit of the X-factor, it remains to be seen what the remainder of South Africa's batting has under the bonnet if De Kock and Bavuma aren't able to contribute heavily once more.

With that in mind, there will be plenty of people willing to give England another chance at 8/13 but perhaps a better bet to be struck comes in the shape of Root, a modern-day master at number three in this form of the game with an outstanding record demonstrating the point.

Root is now averaging an impressive 51.06 in this form of the game from 144 matches, numbers just superior to the likes of Kane Williamson, Rohit Sharma and comfortably clear of Steve Smith.

While Root has come in for some fierce criticism for not converting half-centuries into centuries in Test match cricket, the same charge cannot be made against him in this form of the game with the Yorkshire star having already made 16 ODI hundreds, six of which have come since the beginning of 2018.

Root finished England's successful World Cup campaign as the team's leading runscorer with two more centuries seeing his stock rise even further and he looked in good typically good touch until being run on out 17 in the series opener.

Prior to that, Root stroked a fluent 91 in their warm-up match Cricket South Africa Invitation XI to follow the pair of fifties he had made in Engand's fourth Test victory and there is every reason to think he is close to his best form.

The 13/8 on offer (William Hill) for Root to make a fifty in the match looks worth an interest as he adopts his usual role as England's anchor after Roy and Bairstow have strutted their stuff against the new ball.

Furthermore, Root's improving off spin got through seven economical overs on Tuesday after he had been the man to finally see the back of de Kock and with that in mind, he appeals at 9/1 for Man of the Match honours.

With Lungi Ngidi down on pace at Newlands, Beuren Hendricks' variations and left-arm angle made him of interest for top South Africa bowler at 7/2, particularly given how well he bowled at the death on Tuesday, but he might not prove a huge threat with the new ball and with the home spin attack shining already, the waters are just too murky to justify a bet in this market.

Posted at 1255 GMT on 05/02/20

Related links

Responsible gambling

We are committed in our support of responsible gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

Sky Bet's responsible gambling tools are detailed here and if you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or visit begambleaware.org.