One Day International Betting: England v Australia

ODI preview / Andrew Hughes / 29 June 2010 / 2

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Collingwood is a good bet for top bat

"England are on a roll and, despite the fact that Kevin Pietersen is yet to fire, have looked the better side by a distance."

With the series sewn up, England won't be taking their foot off the gas as they sniff a whitewash against the old enemy. Andrew Hughes previews Wednesday's fourth one day international at the Oval.

Venue and Conditions

These days the Oval surface has tended towards the sluggish with less of the old pace and bounce, though still offering plenty of assistance for spinners. The average first innings score has been going up in recent times and stands at 287 in the last five fifty over games so we can expect a higher scoring game than we've seen in the series so far. At this time of year, batting under floodlights is not really an issue, though there is an outside possibility of thunder storms.

Team News

England are under no pressure to make changes though if they are inclined to tinker, it may be to give Ajmal Shahzad a run out, possibly at the expense of Tim Bresnan, who despite hitting vital runs on Sunday, has been costly with the ball.

With the series lost, Australia may well try to freshen things up. James Hopes has had an ordinary run of form and could be replaced by youngster Josh Hazlewood, whilst they will be tempted to give Shaun Marsh a go, possibly at the expense of the disappointing Michael Hussey.

Match Odds

The return of Ryan Harris and particularly Shaun Tait freshened up the Australian bowling and they looked much more of a threat on Sunday, with Doug Bollinger also hitting form. It could be argued that they are improving slowly and all they need is for Ricky Ponting to make a big score and all will be well again.

The problem is that England are on a roll and, despite the fact that Kevin Pietersen is yet to fire, have looked the better side by a distance. And looking at the Oval, you would have to say that, with Graeme Swann, Michael Yardy and Paul Collingwood, England have the bowlers to exploit another sluggish surface. England's odds have been coming down steadily with each win, but at [2.04] they still represent value.

Top Batsman

Andrew Strauss is silencing his critics with some excellent batting performances at the top of the innings and it is hard to argue if you want to side with him in the top England batsman market, but at longer odds, Paul Collingwood is a reliable selection and worth backing at [6.2].

Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey continue to struggle and there is a possibility that Hussey could give way to Shaun Marsh. The solid selection is Michael Clarke whose patient style should be suited to the Oval surface and he should be backed at [6.4] or higher.

Featured Market

Over the last ten one-day internationals, the average top score has been 94 and it could be worth backing 'No' in the Century Scored market if you can get [1.9] or better.

Andrew Hughes says: Back Michael Clarke to top score for Australia @ [6.4]

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Dave | 01 July 2010

Thank you very much for the tip Andrew! It was a nice winner for me and i'll be following you from now on!
Andrew Hughes | 07 July 2010

Hi Dave, you are welcome. Hope to provide more successful tips this summer.