Cricket: England vs South Africa Twenty20 International & ODI Series

[kevshat]

England play South Africa in a Twenty20 international followed by 5 ODI's.

Schedule:

August 2008

Wed 20 16:30 local, 15:30 GMT	Only Twenty20 International - England v South Africa Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street
Fri 22 14:30 local, 13:30 GMT	1st ODI - England v South Africa Headingley, Leeds
Tue 26 14:30 local, 13:30 GMT	2nd ODI - England v South Africa Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Fri 29 10:15 local, 09:15 GMT	3rd ODI - England v South Africa Kennington Oval, London
Sun 31 10:15 local, 09:15 GMT	4th ODI - England v South Africa Lord's, London
September 2008
Wed 3 14:30 local, 13:30 GMT	5th ODI - England v South Africa Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Twenty20 international odds:

	England	2.1	365" onclick="a(0,302095137,11,10,0,15); return false;" onmouseout=cellExit(this);>2.1	2.1	2.07	2.17	2.1	1.95	2.1	2.1	2.05	2.1	2	2.1	2	2.1	2.1	2	2.1	2	2.2	2.14
	South Africa	1.66	365" onclick="a(0,302095138,4,6,0,15); return false;" onmouseout=cellExit(this);>1.66	1.66	1.65	1.79	1.66	1.75	1.66	1.72	1.77	1.66	1.72	1.66	1.72	1.66	1.66	1.72	1.66	1.72	1.81	1.85

ODI Series odds:

	England	2.5	365" onclick="a(0,300886951,13,8,0,15); return false;" onmouseout=cellExit(this);>2.62	2.5	2.82	2.5	2.25	2.5	2.62	2.62	2.62	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.9	3
	South Africa	1.5	365" onclick="a(0,300886952,4,9,0,15); return false;" onmouseout=cellExit(this);>1.44	1.5	1.57	1.5	1.57	1.5	1.5	1.44	1.44	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.58	1.58

[kevshat]

I'm gonna think about my plays for this series a bit but will come back tomorrow with bets for the twenty20.

[Pie-chucker]

Back SA in the ODIs until they are 3-0 up, then get on England.

However, there's a bit to like about England. A probable XI with Broad at 10 and six or seven decent bowling options. If KP and Fred can fire...

Dunno, could be closer than bookies and rankings might have us believe.

[Sharpe1ne]

Well that was quick. Twenty/20 match against South Africa rained off already,even though it's tomorrow,but it ain't stopped raining up north for 2 days now.

[Charlie Wong]

makes you wonder why the ECB didn't move the game to a southern venue after looking at the forecasts from last week.

[kevshat]

Originally Posted by Sir Fernando

makes you wonder why the ECB didn't move the game to a southern venue after looking at the forecasts from last week.

It was sold out weeks ago. No chance of them rearranging it. Plus having this match was the reason Durham didn't get a test match.

[kevshat]

I'm going to go with 1 outright bet for the series.

5pts ew O.Shah Top England Series Batsman 5/1 Blue Square (1/5 1,2,3)

Owais Shah is a seriously talented batsman and in the one day game where the emphasis is on him to attack the bowling he is excellent. Kevin Pietersen has already said Shah will bat at 3 in this series and I expect him to go very well. He's been one of England's best limited overs batsmen for a while now and that's been batting at 6 so with the freedom of the fielding restrictions and the longer time at the crease I think Owais Shah will have a good series. Batting at 3 he'll likely be at the crease early because Matt Prior isn't good enough to open at international level IMO. Obviously Pietersen rates as the main danger but the captaincy could get the better of him despite his encouraging start in the test series. Blue Square pay each way on the 1st 3 and we get our money back if he's 2nd or 3rd so I'm happy to take my chance that he can come out as the top scorer over the 5 matches.

[kevshat]

1st ODI. I'm going with 3.

10pts England to win 1st ODI 5/4 Coral

England and South Africa come into this ODI series off the back of the test series which the Proteas won 2-1. England now have the chance for some revenge although it will be difficult against a side who were ranked number 1 in the world not so long ago. It's the start of a new era in one day cricket with England being led by Kevin Pietersen now and he'll be eager to start with a win.

England have Steve Harmison in their squad for this match after the big Durham paceman come out of retirement. His Durham teammate Paul Collingwood isn't available here as he's serving the 3rd match of his ban. England are likely to go with Harmison, Broad and Anderson in their bowling attack with Swann as a spinner. Owais Shah will bat at 3 with Prior and Bell opening. Pietersen, Bopara, Flintoff and Wright are likely to make up the batting lineup.

South Africa have a few injury worries. Albie and Morne Morkel are both injured. Albie definitely won't play while Morne is unlikely to play. Although given the way he bowled at The Oval the South Africans might see that as a good thing! Herschelle Gibbs will open the innings with Graeme Smith with Kallis and de Villiers making up the middle order. Johan Botha provides the spin.

England will be confident coming into this game having won the last test at The Oval and then seeing England Lions, which contained a few of these players, beating South Africa last week. There's also the day night value to consider too and that makes England a value bet at 5/4.

10pts G.Swann's Performance Pts 40&Over Evs Bet365

Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket.

Graeme Swann is a very good and very consistent one day performer for England. He'll bowl his off spin here and I'd be surprised if he doesn't bowl all 10 overs. He usually gets wickets with his bowling and could be enhanced in his quest for wickets by the fact that the South African's don't play spin very well. Two wickets will see Swann's performance come in but he's a decent batsman and could well field at slip, especially when Flintoff is bowling so runs and catches aren't out of the equation either and for a pretty much 3D cricketer I think 40pts is well within reach so I'll take the overs.

10pts AB de Villiers -2.5 runs to beat M.Prior 5/6 Ladbrokes

AB de Villiers is a really top notch batsman, especially in this form of the game. We already know he's in good form because he topped the run scoring charts in the test series between these two. His one day record suggests there are plenty of runs in him in this series too. Matt Prior could find himself under a bit of pressure in this match. All eyes will be on him as he's back in England's problem position at the top of the order. Prior only made 5 and 33 against this attack for the England Lions and that was batting down the order against the older ball. He could go very quickly against the new one. de Villiers will bat at 4 and I think he'll safely outscore Prior in this match.

[Charlie Wong]

think England will win, SA are however on a winning streak of nine-straight victories!

[kevshat]

England won pretty comfortably but de Villiers didn't outscore Prior thanks to that pillock Philander dropping the easiest catch you'll see. Swann didn't play so that bet was void which was annoying given how the spinners took control. +2.50pts for the series though which I'll take. 2nd ODI is another day night match on Tuesday from Trent Bridge.

[Charlie Wong]

Originally Posted by kevshat

England won pretty comfortably but de Villiers didn't outscore Prior thanks to that pillock Philander dropping the easiest catch you'll see.

even i'd have caught that one mate,.

[kevshat]

2nd ODI is tomorrow at Trent Bridge. I saw nothing in the 1st game to stop me backing England again here. I'm going with 3.

10pts England to win 2nd ODI 11/10 Boylesports

England won the first match of the series very convincingly with a very good performance at Headingley. Graeme Smith admitted his side had plenty to work on. Whether boycotting the Champions Trophy was on their mind I'm not sure but they didn't seem themselves. They'll point to a couple of injuries but on the whole England just outplayed them. Of course batting 1st helped.

England are likely to make just one change to their side. Paul Collingwood has completed his 4 match ban now and will return. It looks likely he'll return in place of Luke Wright who didn't really get a chance to do much at Headingley. Ryan Sidebottom has been ruled out of the series so Tim Bresnan is back in the squad as cover. Owais Shah is set to continue at 3 with Bell and Prior opening again. Collingwood is down to bat at number 6.

South Africa would like to bring the Morkel brothers back into their side but the vibes going round are that neither are quite fit for this match. Andre Nel has a scare on the eve of the match when he bashed knees with Jacques Kallis playing football but the weird one is set to play. Unless either Morkel is fit, South Africa are likely to go in with the same side.

England played good cricket in that 1st game and Kevin Pietersen was quick to stress we need to do it for 5 matches. This is a day night match although the lights at Trent Bridge are permanent so don't have quite an effect that the ones at Headingley did. South Africa looked a bit flat there and with England full of confidence I think they can open up a 2-0 lead.

10pts A.de Villiers Match Runs - 25&Over 5/6 Bet365

I'll stand by my original thoughts on AB de Villiers. He was unlucky not to beat Prior for me in the 1st ODI and he fell one short of this target but that ws a strange dismissal and I wouldn't expect him to get out like that again for a long time let alone in this series. He showed in the test series that he can play spin well and naturally he'll play pace well. I think de Villiers is a very exciting and highly talented cricketer and Trent Bridge, with it's short boundaries could be just to his liking and I would expect the young South African to go past 25 here.

5pts ew P.Collingwood Top England Batsman 6/1 Boylesports (1/4 1,2,3)

For all his struggles this summer, Paul Collingwood is still one of England's best one day batsmen. He'll come in at 6 in this match which I actually quite like because I think he's an excellent finisher to the innings. He has a way of scoring from yorkers and anything of length at the end of the innings get the treatment. He showed in the test series that he can play this South African attack when he hit that brilliant century at Edgbaston. He comes into this match off the back of a quality knock for Durham on Sunday so he has runs under his belt and with no captaincy pressures on him I expect him to go well. As well as being a good finisher, he can also rebuild an innings if it goes pear shaped early doors and so at 6/1, Colly looks a top ew bet.

[Pie-chucker]

Good write-up, Kev. Until the Morkels reappear (3rd ODI?) England do seem to have the edge. Only problem is top of the order. Bell-Prior-Shah looks very makeshift to me. The batting down to 9 will probably bail the blighters out, England win and unchanged again. Give Denly a go. Bell's under pressure here.

Spin has put up multi-fours at 380-430, which seems a bit low. Last ODI, despite Bell and Shah unable to hit it off the square (ZERO 4s in 91 balls between them - ridiculous!) made up at 21 x 23 = 483 fours.

At Trent Bridge last summer v Windies England only managed an all out reply of 196 in 44 overs. Yet multi-fours in the game was 493.

Dangerous (volatile) bet but...

0.5 pts BUY multi-fours @ 430

For this to rain quids you need 250+ posted and the chasers to get close. Which seems about right between these two.

[Charlie Wong]

didn't Collingwood make the cut?

Like Englands aggressive style under KP, have won 3/4 of their last ODI at Trent Bridge aswell, will have too many guns again for SA, who's lower order looks weak and their to be shot at.

[Spooner]

Sport	Cricket
Event	England v South Africa
Selection	South Africa
Strength	10/10
Date	26/08/2008
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 1.88 (Back)
Reasoning	England performed well on Friday night against South Africa, I was actually quite surprised. Didn't touch the match from a betting point of view. Lets not get carried away though, I believe South Africa are still ahead of us in terms of one day cricket and they won't wanting to be going 2-0 down here today. It was all about Flintoff & Pietersen first game, How many times are one or both of them going to save us? They scored 168 runs in 152 balls between them. Also took 2 wickets each. Pietersen bowled a good little spell. Our opening batsmen I was expecting to come out and take it to the South Africans but they didn't. A good opening stand of 77 on paper however not the quickest of run rates and then both didn't even manage to get 50. Bell failing to even hit a four, Seriously not good enough and as I said it was left all up to Flintoff & Pietersen....What about when they fail? They're only human. Alot of the South Africans got in but as soon as they did they were soon out, I can't see that happening today and im sure it would of been talked out that one or two of them needs to go on and make 80+ runs. South Africa were very poor admittedly but still only lost by 20 runs. If they can return to some of there better form I think England could be in trouble. As I said, South Africa I believe are alot better then us in this format of the game and I think the bookies have this priced up right. They will be happy to give England away at just over evens. I hope England can carry on from the first game and get a win but from a betting point of view its a South Africa win for me.

[Spooner]

SA 68-8



Good call Kev, I got it totally wrong...Knew when you tipped them I shouldn't of gone in on South Africa, Your normally spot on.

[staffy]

Nice pick on England kev shame collingwood wont bat for you though.

[Pie-chucker]

Originally Posted by Pie-chucker

Dangerous (volatile) bet but...

0.5 pts BUY multi-fours @ 430

Walked slap bang into that one! SA win toss and post second lowest score in 406 ODIs.

Made up at 120 pts.

[Charlie Wong]

3rd ODI

England Vs South Africa

SA look all over the place at the moment and have been dealt a crucial blow with the captain, Smith injured and unavailable for selection, Normally England start a series really well and then buckle and throw it away, KP's side will be eager to wrap the series up at the Oval and not allow SA to build any confidence, England have outplayed SA in all three departments, they've bowled good area's, batted confidently and been sharper in the field, not spilling easy catches, confidence is high in the camp and i dont think 3 days will be enough time for SA to turn it around in.Being a shrewdie and taking the price on BF tonight, before news of Smith not playing filters through in the morning.

England WIN @ 1.83

[kevshat]

Cheers guys. In the past I'd have got my cash back on Collingwood but that's not the case anymore so -9 for Tuesday and -6.50 for the series ahead of this 3rd match. I'm going with three tomorrow.

10pts South Africa to win 3rd ODI 2.40 Betfair

South Africa come to The Oval off the back of one of their worst performances of all time on Tuesday and they'll be eager to put that right here. England were excellent at Trent Bridge however and will be fully motivated to wrap the series up with a win here. England have lost 5 of their last 6 matches on this ground though with the solitary win coming against Bangladsh.

England are highly likely to be unchanged unless there's a last minute injury. I can't say I'm too impressed with Wright playing ahead of Bopara but so be it. Stuart Broad will hope to continue where he left off at Trent Bridge while Matt Prior will be aiming to continue to prove myself and many others wrong and show he's capable at this level.

South Africa will be without Graeme Smith who is going to miss the rest of the series with tennis elbow. That's a pretty big blow. Jacques Kallis will takeover the side while Hashim Amla replaces Smith and is due to open although I'd like to see AB de Villiers open. Morne Morkel isn't 100% fit but he apparently came through a net session ok and could replace Andre Nel who happened to top score for South Africa on Tuesday with just 13.

Losing Smith is a blow for South Africa but motivation won't be a problem after taking a good hiding on Tuesday. Kallis has been around enough to be able to captain a side well and so there should be no concerns here. I said it earlier in the summer and I stand by my claim, England can not play one day cricket at this ground. We can't defend runs and our eyes light up at a good pitch and we get a nosebleed and rarely score good runs either. We shouldn't forget South Africa are still a quality side even though we've beaten them comfortably twice but with England's deficiencies on this ground I'm happy to back South Africa to pull one back here.

10pts O.Shah's Match Runs - 25&Over 5/6 Bet365

I wanted to back Owais Shah as England's top runscorer here but I've not got the each way terms I'd like or the price to go with it so I'll take Shah in this market instead. Owais Shah has top scored in the last two ODI's England have played here and it's a ground he obviously likes. He played brilliantly against India here last summer and his knock against New Zealand in June ensured England had some sort of total to try and defend. The extra pace and bounce is right up his street as he can use his unorthodox flicks and sweeps and with short boundaries and a lightning fast outfield, 25 runs should come from Shah's bat fairly quickly.

3pts ew A.Morkel Top South Africa Batsman 10/1 Coral (1/5 1,2,3)

Albie Morkel isn't 100% fit which may be why Johan Botha came in ahead of him at Trent Bridge but it could've been that at the time SA needed to bat about 40 overs and Morkel is known more as a hitter than an out and out genuine batsman. That said, I think he'll go well here when he gets in. He likes pitches with pace and bounce and he'll have both of those here. Whack the short boundaries in too and Morkel's eyes could light up. We saw at Wanderers last year in the twenty20 world cup what Morkel can do and this is a ground very similar in make up and size. If all goes to plan Morkel will come in with about 15-20 overs left when the slog is starting to wind up and that's when he's at his best and at 10/1 looks well worth a solid ew bet.