ODI Betting: Bangladesh v England

ODI preview / Andrew Hughes / 03 March 2010 / Leave a Comment

Eoin Morgan is a good bet for top England batsman

"Bangladesh’s best chance of a first ever victory against England was to catch the tourists cold at the start of the series and that opportunity has now gone"

With the series in the bag, England head south to Chittagong for the final one day international. Can Alastair Cook's team make it a clean sweep? Andrew Hughes gives us the low down on Friday's game.

Team News

It is hard to see Bangladesh making any changes as they ran England pretty close in the second game. Mashrafe Mortaza was missing for that match and has confirmed that he will play no part on Friday, due to a family illness.

England have a few more decisions to make. Ryan Sidebottom is definitely out with injury and Stuart Broad is looking doubtful. He was unable to complete his overs during Tuesday's game and with the Test series to come, there is a good chance he will be rested, which means a chance for either Ajmal Shazad or Liam Plunkett.

Conditions

The pitches in Dhaka were low and slow and we can't expect too much in the way of pace and bounce from the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. However, tracks at that venue tend to be a little more helpful to seamers and with overcast conditions forecast, there may even be a hint of swing on offer. In seven one day internationals at the ground, the average first innings score is just 192, so it is likely to be hard going for batsmen, although dew is less unlikely to be a factor as the game gets underway at 9:00am local time.

Match Odds

Punters wanting to play in the match winners market must weigh up several factors. The results of the first two games suggest that Bangladesh are getting closer to England and one more push could give them a consolation win. They batted with much more spirit on Tuesday and had the tourists in real trouble with the ball. Those who are tempted by this line of argument will have reasonable reward for their efforts as the home side are currently available at [5.0]

The contrary view is that Bangladesh's best chance of a first ever victory against England was to catch the tourists cold at the start of the series and that opportunity has now gone. It was true that, Eoin Morgan aside, England were pretty ordinary with the bat in the second game, but under Andy Flower's no-nonsense regime, it is most unlikely that they will put in such a feeble performance again. It should also be remembered that they were effectively down to ten men, with Stuart Broad only able to bowl six of his ten overs.

Top Batsman

Tamim Iqbal was pretty impressive in the first one day international and, in the absence of the out of sorts Mohammad Ashraful, Tamim is probably Bangladesh's star batsman. He displays the kind of maturity in his approach that too few of his teammates have been able to discover. He is a reliable selection in the top Bangladeshi batsman market at around [4.5]. Alternatively, you could opt for the exciting talent that is wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, scorer of a blistering century against India in the Test series earlier this year. He bats in the middle order but scores quickly and at odds of [6.5] represents a good value bet.

Kevin Pietersen has struggled on the low, slow surfaces he has encountered to date and at typically cramped odds, can be passed over, as can Craig Kieswetter, who appears yet to come to grips with international cricket. The solid candidates for top England batsmen are captain Cook [4.2], Paul Collingwood [5.9] and Tuesday's hero, Eoin Morgan [7.0]. At those odds, either Collingwood or Morgan would be worth backing as both seem to thrive on this kind of pitch and I would side with Morgan who is the quicker scorer of the two.

Featured Market

It is 1-1 between these teams in terms of opening partnerships and I think there is room to exploit the uncertainty of Craig Kieswetter at the top of the England order. He is a talented player and has time to adjust to the international game, but for the moment is struggling and it could pay to side with the Bangladeshi duo of Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes at [2.2] in the Highest Opening Partnership market.