Cricket Betting: South Africa vs England ODI Series Preview
South Africa will have a chance to even things up against England in the five-match ODI series that starts at Bloemfontein on Wednesday February 3rd. The hosts were hurt losing the Test series and the talk in the camp is to massage that hurt ego.
The Proteas are traditionally a very good one day side and have won seven of their last nine bilateral series. They were beaten by Bangladesh at the end of last year but that was on spinning tracks. The hosts’ batting understandably will revolve around AB de Villiers while Quinton de Kock will be under the spotlight after piling runs in his last series against India. The presence of Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy gives the side a settled look but again that was the case even in the Test series, where they floundered.
Dale Steyn is back after missing the Test series with injury and should lead the attack while all eyes will be on Kagiso Rabada who was all over England in the Test series. There could be a place for Imran Tahir in the final eleven but can he find some consistency to go with the turn he generates?
England’s ODI squad, captained by Eoin Morgan, bears a different outlook compared to its Test outfit. This side has seen massive improvement after the disappointment of World Cup. For long, England was criticized for being too far away from the realities of ODIs but this squad has a vibrant look and believes in playing fearless cricket. Batting will revolve around Morgan but watch out for the steady influence of James Taylor at number three. Stuart Broad makes a comeback to the ODI side but it could be Reece Topley and Adil Rashid who are the game changers.
In the practice match against South Africa ‘A’, England crushed their opposition registering 368 and winning by 163 runs. Almost everyone contributed in the win which must have heartened Morgan. The only worry as the series starts is the injury to Jason Roy which could force Moeen Ali to open.
South Africa are warm favourites to win the series at $1.53 at Sportsbet and that looks a safe bet.
De Villiers is in rich form and should once again pile up runs for the hosts. Back him to be the top scorer for South Africa in the series at odds of $3.40 at Sportsbet. Watch out for the pocket dynamo De Kock as well. Rabada should be another safe bet to be the hosts’ leading wicket taker in the series at odds of $3.75 at Sportsbet.
For England, Taylor could turn out to be their series top scorer and his price of $6.50 at Sportsbet offers plenty of value while Adil Rashid could be their top wicket taker at $5.00 at Sportsbet.
Will it be the new-found aggression of England or the old wise heads of South Africa that will hold sway? All pointers indicate a tough series.
