England Cricket / Ed Hawkins / 01 September 2011 / 1

Ed Hawkins can foresee more misery for the tourists when the five-match one-day series begins at the Riverside on Saturday

England
Confidence is soaring in the England camp following the whitewash in the Test series and the impressive Twenty20 victory in a tight affair at Old Trafford. They don't seem to be capable of doing anything wrong at the moment.

Alastair Cook returns to captain the side. He is joined by James Anderson, who should find the Riverside conditions to his liking. There is no Kevin Pietersen, however. He has been rested and it seems odd that he is the only senior player to have been given a breather.

India
Sachin Tendulkar returns to an India side which is increasingly taking on hapless status. Their batting has been weakened by the loss of Gautam Gambhir and it remains to be seen how highly-rated starlets like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli fare in their first taste of international cricket on the green pitches of England.

There is not much to like about their bowling, either. They are a shock bowler short after Ishant Sharma returned home. This gives them little bite in the middle of an innings to pick up those all-important wickets.

Venue and conditions
The Riverside has hosted 11 one-day internationals and there is a slight toss bias with six winning batting second from 10 results. The average score batting first is 233.

It would be wise not to expect a run glut. Only one side has posted more than 300 batting first and looking through past scores it is easy to see why the bowlers will be licking their lips.
England were swung out for 101 against New Zealand in 2004.

When the sides met there in 2002, rain ruined the occasion but Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid hit 105 not out and 82 respectively. Graeme Swann took five wickets against Australia there in 2009.

The weather forecast is good which is a blessing with the game taking place in the North East. No rain is forecast but there is not much sun either. Cloud cover will give swing bowlers confidence.

Match odds
There will come a time in this series when India are value. This is not it. There should be plenty of the swing and seam movement which has troubled India's batsman since day one on this tour and the they won't fancy the chilly air, either.

India will be a better bet on flatter wickets later in the series. The Oval and Lord's for example. England are [1.67] for victory and that is a price we would not put you off taking. India are [2.44].

But with this being the first match of a five-game series it is important to pin our colours to a mast as far as the series outright is concerned. England, unsurprisingly, are the bet at a stand out [1.74]. Their recent record in home one-day series is almost worthy of the word 'unbeatable'.

MS Dhoni's men are road weary and their performances could become even more abject at the tail end of the contest. They are thinking about home and will console themselves that they can give England a beating in India next month when conditions will suit them.

Top England batsman
Jonathan Trott is the [4.70] jolly with Cook and Eoin Morgan, our perennial pin up, priced at [5.00]. Craig Kieswetter will score runs on the flatter wickets so makes no appeal at [6.60].

Top India batsman
Having had a pleasant rest, Tendulkar could come to the fore. He has ground form, which we always like, and really he has little to beat with inexperienced green shoots around him. Rahul Dravid, India's best batsman by a country milein the Test series is [5.00], whilst Any Other which includes MS Dhoni, is [5.5].

Best bet: England to win ODI series @ [1.74]

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1. jones | 03 September 2011

   hi dear admin.i like ur comments alwayas.plz tell me who win the sereis eng vs ind.
   thanks

   best regards
   jones chris

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