Category: Cricket

Chance for NZ, SA to Break Series Deadlock

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New Zealand finally managed to break South Africa’s long standing unbeaten one day international cricket streak with a tight 6-run win in Christchurch on Wednesday. The win, built around a solid first innings total and some excellent death bowling, gives the series much-needed context, rather than the prospect of a rampant runaway away side.

The close nature of the two completed games suggests another close one may be on the cards at Westpac Stadium. The teams have played twice at the venue before with one win apiece. AB de Villiers will have fond memories of the ground, he scored 106* here in 2012 to win South Africa the game.

The Series So Far

Game one was a rip-roaring affair that went down to the final over. The result was a win to South Africa by four wickets.

Game two was awfully similar. Down to the last over again, this time New Zealand managed to get their death bowling in order to sneak a win by 6 runs. The win was built around solid contributions from Ross Taylor (102*), Jimmy Neesham (71*) and Kane Williamson (69), but at the halfway stage, New Zealand’s 289 looked to be about 20 runs short on an excellent surface.

South Africa’s chase again looked on course at 192-4, before middle over wobbles saw the wheels briefly fall off at 214-8. The optimism was restored with a fighting ninth-wicket partnership of 61 between Pretorius and Phehlukwayo only for Tim South and Trent Boult to produce 10 un-hittable block hole deliveries.

The Teams

South Africa (from)

AB de Villiers (capt), Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi

There was no surprise to see Behardien lose his place in the side after his struggles and David Miller contributed to a much more balanced side. The Proteas desperately missed Kagiso Rabada and will be hanging out for his return to full fitness.

New Zealand (from)

Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor

Tom Latham is under huge pressure after struggling to make an impact in the series thus far. Wearing the gloves seems to be an imposition he hasn’t been able to deal with. NZ will probably remain unchanged, but the Sodhi vs Ferguson debate will probably be had again on the morning of the match.

The Key Players

South Africa

Quinton de Kock hasn’t looked in the best form since he’s arrived in New Zealand, but he hasn’t let that stop his scoring. After a duck in the T20 game, de Kock responded nicely with 69 in the opening one-dayer despite struggling with his timing early (although most others did too). And then 57 on Wednesday in Christchurch. It’a measure of his ability that he turned the difficult starts into a score, although surprising he didn’t turn either fifties into a hundred. His conversion rate is incredible, 12 hundreds and 11 fifties, and the fifty and out was a surprise ending on both occasions.

New Zealand

Colin de Grandhomme probably should’ve played more cricket for the Black Caps than he has. A devastating all-rounder at domestic level, de Grandhomme has struggled to find his feet at international level. However, recent performances might be indicating that the footing is getting a little more stable. de Grandhomme has made important contributions with both bat and ball in the opening two games of the tour, 34* off 19 balls in the ODI; 15 off 7 in the T20 and 2-22 with the ball in the T20. It’s these ‘bits and pieces’ contributions that make him a valuable all-rounder and a high strike rate cameo could be the difference between NZ winning and losing.

The Match Odds*

South Africa – $1.55

New Zealand – $2.45

*All odds from Unibet.

The Prediction

New Zealand has a lot of players contributing to their success. Bowlers are sharing wickets, batsmen are in the runs (excluding Latham) and we think that’s enough to give them a win here by 5 wickets or 30 runs.

The Best Bets

Casting aside some individual player betting markets for a second, we’ve found a near certainty. Okay, so nothing’s a certainty, but South Africa to have the higher opening partnership (Amla and de Kock) at $1.72 looks easy money. Tom Latham can’t buy a run.

Individually, Chris Morris is priced at $4.25 to be South Africa’s top bowler. He’s swung the ball both ways in the opening two outings and is a nice option again.

Australia Face Stern Indian Test in Series Opener

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Ever since Rahul David and VVS Laxman defied Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath for an entire day in 2001, test matches between India and Australia have taken on renewed meaning. That series is often used in the same breath as the Ashes 2005 in discussions about the greatest ever series.

The Australian, Indian rivalry is drama, romance and controversy rolled into one. Games in the uncomfortable heat of the subcontinent on dry turning pitches somehow flip the Australian batsman’s skills to the extent that Shaun Marsh becomes one of their better players. And, in Australia, booze soaked fans in Bay 13 get involved in heated sledging battles with Virat Kohli on behalf of their team’s bowlers.

There’s nothing quite like it. And we can’t wait for the four match test series to begin on Thursday in Pune.

The Last Time These Two Met

Since 2004/05 neither of these two sides has managed to win a series away from home. In fact, a series win aboard has only got harder as the teams and respective groundsman seek to produce wickets that complement the home sides competencies.

Moreover, in the last four series encounters between the two, dating back to 2008, the away side hasn’t managed to win a game. The history is starting to look like clean sheet football scores.

The most recent meeting was down under in the 2014/15 season. India was actually very brave in that series and the 2-0 scoreline was a little unkind to them. However, if we’re going to compare apples with apples, we should look at the last time these two played in Indian conditions.

That was in 2012 and was won 4-0 by India. It was an Australian debacle under Mickey Arthur that’s become famous for the homework scandal that’s had a fair bit of publicity in autobiographies recently. India won the games in that series by 8 wickets; an innings and 135 runs; 6 wickets; and, 6 wickets respectively.

The Teams

India (from):

Virat Kohli (capt), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinav Mukund, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav

India is relatively well-settled and shouldn’t make too many changes to the team that comprehensively beat England.

Australia (from)

Steven Smith (capt), David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Agar, Steve O’Keefe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Nathan Lyon

The Australian selectors have three decisions to make. In the opening position do they opt for the promising Matt Renshaw, or the sub continent experienced (and successful), Shaun Marsh. If Renshaw is chosen, then Marsh will bat in the middle order, possibly at the expense of Usman Khawaja. Khawaja’s absence also frees up room to play an all-rounder at six – should that be Mitchell Marsh or Glenn Maxwell?

The Key Players

India

Like there is anyone else we could feature in this section. Virat Kohli. While Ravi Ashwin is almost as important to this team, Kohli is the talisman who is crucial to setting his side’s tone against the confrontational Australians. He gives his team belief and that’s worth more than any of the runs he scores. He’ll probably get some runs too, though. He averages over 56 against the Aussies at home, and his recent run of form reads 204, 15, 235, 6*, 62, 81, 167, 49* – not bad.

Australia

Just like Kohli is important for the home side, Steven Smith is too for his (this section should be called Captains, not Key Players). Smith’s only played two test matches in India, but he has tons of experience through the IPL and in other sub-continent nations. Smith will need big runs in this series and signs are looking good after his warm up 107 against India A.

The Match Odds*

India – $1.60

Draw – $3.80

Australia – $5.50

*All odds from Sportsbet.

The Prediction

During England’s recent tour of India, they scored over 400 batting first three times out of five and still lost 4-0. The trouble was those big scores only got them a first innings lead on one occasion. India was and are simply too good at compelling huge totals on their favoured surface. And once they do, their spinners will make things close to impossible in the second innings. India will win by 8 wickets or 130 runs.

The Best Bets

Cheteshwar Pujara is in good form (two hundreds and three fifties against England) and could go big again. He’s at $3.75 to go all the way to three figures.

Peter Handscombe scored fifties at will in the Australian home summer, if he can do it again here, he’ll return you $2.88.

Series Sweep Beckons for Plucky Sri Lankans

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Wednesday’s T20 series finale between Australia and Sri Lanka was always in the spotlight. When the futures cricket schedule was shunned in favour of the big three proposition (a model that is now defunct) criticisms over the amount of cricket the big three (India, England, Australia) would play were rife.

To put the criticism in context, Australia plays a test in India on the day after the third T20 game.

The criticism is valid, but because of the performance from Sri Lanka in winning the opening two games, the focus on Adelaide is entirely different. Now, it’s Australia desperate to avoid an embarrassing whitewash on home soil.

The Series So Far

Sri Lanka won the series opener at the MCG, taking four off the final ball of the game to win a low scorer.

In Geelong for game two, Australia mustered 173 (about 10-15 runs short of where they should’ve been) which was again hauled down from the final ball of the innings. The incredible run chase was completed by the uber-impressive Asela Gunaratne who made 84 not out from 46 balls in a one-man show. The cheeky (in batsmanship not in personality) never panicked as his team mates lost their heads and remarkably, took 48 from the final three overs to see his side home by two wickets.

With the win, Sri Lanka secure their third successive T20 series win in Australia.

The Teams

Australia (from):

Aaron Finch (capt), Michael Klinger, Travis Head, Ben Dunk, Moises Henriques, Ashton Turner, Tim Paine (wk), James Faulkner, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye, Jhye Richardson, Billy Stanlake.

Ben Dunk and Jhye Richardson got their chance in Geelong instead of Adam Zampa and Billy Stanlake so there’s a good chance rotation plays a part in the selection thinking here too. Dunk helped Australia chase the momentum of the innings and probably did enough to retain his place.

Sri Lanka (from):

Upal Tharanga (c), Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunarathna, Dilshan Munaweera, Kusal Mendis, Milinda Siriwardena, Sachith Pathirana, Chamara Kapugedara, Seekuge Prassanna, Nuan Kulaskera, Isuru Udana, Dasun Chanaka, Lakshan Sandakan, Lasith Malinga, Vikum Sanjaya.Captain

With a series win in the bag, it might be tempting for the selectors to make some changes, but I don’t think they’ll win. The prospect of a series whitewash should outweigh any desire to rest players in the final game of a tour.

The Key Players

Australia

Moses Henriques may have bowled the over that allowed Sri Lanka to claw back into the game – the 18th of the innings; it went for 22. However, he also ensured Australia had a decent total to defend with an exceptionally well made half century. Henriques, with the added responsibility of batting four, was impressive in his 56 not out from 37 balls, finally showing promise in national colours after some horror outings in the past. Look for him to again be the mainstay of the batting effort, but perhaps not bowling crunch over at the death.

Sri Lanka

It’s hard not to preview anyone other than the amazing little right-hander that has set the series alight. Gunarathna has made (and averaged) 136 runs in the two games at a strike rate of 163. Aaron Finch described him as being incredibly difficult to bowl to, and that’s exactly how it has transpired in both games of the series. Gunarathna will now chase Virat Kohli’s record of 199 runs in a three-match T20 series – he needs 64 to beat Kohli’s current best aggregate.

The Match Odds*

Australia – $1.52

Sri Lanka – $2.53

*Odds from Bet365.

The Prediction

Each match in the series has seen Sri Lanka’s odds shorten ahead of the game. From $4.10 to win the first game, $2.87 to win Sunday’s second game, to the current $2.53 it has been a sensational series win against all predictions. We were wrong too, picking Australia in both the opening two games. We’re not making that mistake again. Sri Lanka to sweep it with a 3 wicket or 6 run win.

The Best Bets

We’re all in on Gunarathna to top score. He’s paying $6 to top score for the third straight game.

Henriques who has looked the most accomplished of the Australian side is paying the same. At $6 that’s attractive for a number four batsman who should spend lots of time in the middle. Ben Dunk is your other nicely priced option at $5.

Black Caps Desperate to Break Protea’s 12 Game Winning Streak

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South Africa have started their tour of New Zealand in the same way they’ve played their last 12 ODI games – by winning. After beating Australia 5-0 and then Sri Lanka 5-0 (both at home), the South Africans have showcased their self-belief, a trait AB de Villiers has said is at the highest level he has seen in his 13 years around the squad, by beating the Black Caps in both the one-off T20 game the ODI opener.

The series now heads to Christchurch on Wednesday, we preview the action below:

The Series So Far

The ODI series opener in Hamilton was a rain-shortened affair that ended with the same result as the Twenty20 game just two days earlier. However, the manner of the South African victory was a lot different.

In a game that went right down to the wire, South Africa snuck a win by three wickets after successfully chasing 208 in 34 overs. AB de Villiers guided the chase home, scoring a composed 37 not out from 32 balls, but was terrifically supported by Andile Phehlukwayo (29 off 23).

In truth, South Africa bossed the game for a lot of it. They had NZ in trouble early at 108-5 before Tim Southee and Colin de Grandhomme added an unbeaten 51 (from about four overs) to drag the Black Caps to 207. South Africa looked in total control at 88-0, but lost clusters of wickets to the slow bowlers and fast bowlers imitating slow bowlers, to the point where they required 22 off the final two overs.

The Teams

South Africa (from)

AB de Villiers (capt), Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi.

South Africa have a few choices to make. Farhaan Behardien is woefully out of form and could be replaced by David Miller. Tabraiz Shamsi might also miss out with Wayne Parnell and Dane Paterson the options to replace him.

New Zealand (from)

Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Dean Brownlie, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor.

The only change NZ may consider is using Lockie Ferguson rather than Ish Sodhi on the quicker surface, unless they’re brave enough to drop the underperforming Tim Southee too.

The Key Players

South Africa

Kagiso Rabada is one of the premium up and coming quicks on the international circuit. Although, it might be unkind to call him up and coming considering he’s already announced himself with big performances against England (13-144), Australia (5-92) and Sri Lanka (10-92) over the past two seasons. Rabada can bowl quickly for long spells with devastating accuracy, a combination that is deadly in the test game, but equally useful in the ODI game – as his debut figures (the best of any debutant) of 6-16, including a hat-trick, against Bangladesh attest to. We’re predicting Rabada to have a big impact here in game two.

New Zealand

Tom Latham could be about to become New Zealand’s number one wicketkeeper in the one day game given that the selectors are stuck between not liking the form or incumbent, Luke Ronchi, and not trusting the ability of newcomer, Tom Blundell. Ronchi’s 35 and horribly out of form. It’s understandable if they part ways with him. But will Hesson go for Latham, an established batsman in the test and one-day game or Blundell, a very accomplished player in his own right. It seems they’re leaning towards Latham for the balance he offers the side, but he must contribute more with the bat than the zero he made in Hamilton.

The Match Odds*

South Africa – $1.32

New Zealand – $2.60

*All odds from Sportsbet.

The Prediction

South Africa are now unbeaten in their last 12 ODIs. It’s an unbelievable record that will be very tricky for the Black Caps to break. Despite the drama of Hamilton, we’re picking South Africa to shade game 2 as well. South Africa by five wickets or 40 runs.

The Best Bets

Kane Williamson looked a class above his compatriots on the tacky Hamilton surface that de Villiers described as one of the toughest he’s played on. He’ll be a good chance at top scoring at $3.75, but also consider Dean Brownlie, Martin Guptill’s replacement who plays brilliantly off the back foot and will benefit from the added bounce at Hagley.

Australia Facing Prospect of Series Upset in Geelong Twenty20

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While the stars of the Australian cricket landscape were plundering runs against the India A side ahead of their test series, the second stringers (and unkind but convenient title in this case) lost a tight Twenty20 match against Sri Lanka in Melbourne. The contrast highlights the intricacies of cricket scheduling but also proves that the Sri Lankans are a real chance to take a rare series win on Australian soil.

The Series So Far

A final call boundary from the bat of Chamara Kapugedera saw Sri Lanka get over the line at the MCG. Chasing a middling 169 to win, contributions from Dickwella, Gunaratne and Munaweera were enough for Sri Lanka to sneak home against the makeshift Australian outfit.

Australia’s 168 was built around Aaron Finch’s 43, Michael Klinger 38 and Travis Head’s 31, but ultimately lacked a decisive innings that took the game by the scruff of the neck. The smaller Geelong venue for Sunday’s game might be conducive to bigger scores and more sixes (there were just five in the game on Friday).

The Teams

Australia (from):

Aaron Finch (capt), Michael Klinger, Travis Head, Ben Dunk, Moises Henriques, Ashton Turner, Tim Paine (wk), James Faulkner, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye, Jhye Richardson, Billy Stanlake.

Ben Dunk and Jhye Richardson didn’t play in Melbourne so could be in line for a game, however, if Australia prefers that the same squad atone for their own efforts, there might not be changes.

Sri Lanka (from):

Upal Tharanga (c), Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunarathna, Dilshan Munaweera, Kusal Mendis, Milinda Siriwardena, Sachith Pathirana, Chamara Kapugedara, Seekuge Prassanna, Nuan Kulaskera, Isuru Udana, Dasun Chanaka, Lakshan Sandakan, Lasith Malinga, Vikum Sanjaya.Captain

Sri Lanka came through the series opener unscathed; they are unlikely to make changes aside from potentially resting Malinga and managing his comeback workloads.

The Key Players

Australia

Discarded then recalled captain Aaron Finch is the most experienced member of the Australian side and is therefore expected to lead the side diligently and score the bulk of their runs. With 29 matches under his belt he’s played significantly more cricket than his peers and needs to turn the 40-odd he made in Melbourne into a sixty or seventy; a score that will get Australia closer to 180 / 190. That said the signs were promising in game one.

Sri Lanka

Malinga has still got it. The biomechanics exception was back to his death bowling best on Friday night; slinging down four overs for just 29 runs as well as picking up two wickets. The left armer will be pleased with his return from a serious knee injury and he’ll be especially pleased with the way he was used by his captain – short bursts with both old and new ball. He’ll be dangerous again tomorrow night. Hopefully, he’s not rested.

The Match Odds*

Australia – $1.40

Sri Lanka – $2.87

*Odds from Bet365.

The Prediction

An inexperienced Australian side is an interesting beast. On one hand, they’re Australian and they’ll bounce back strongly from the loss at their home of cricket, but the other hand says, they’re still just a raw side; playing a team that has now won three out of their last four games in the format. The bookies have given them more of a chance in game two, but the home side is still the favourites – we’ll go with them too because we want a series decider.

The Best Bets

As a cricketer, Travis Head makes a lot of starts. He very rarely falls for scores of less than ten. As an example, in his last 11 innings’ in ODI cricket he has failed to pass 24 just once. In amongst those scores are four 50s and one hundred. Find a market that predicts Head will fail and bet against it or take the $4.33 at Bet365 on offer for him to top score.

Black Caps Head to Hamilton Needing to Improve

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New Zealand’s unbeaten home summer of cricket came to an end in spectacular fashion last night. The Black Caps were trounced by the visiting South Africans in the series opening Twenty20 game held at an Eden Park ground that was as bleak as the Black Caps performance was.

The 78-run thrashing (albeit expected given South Africa’s superior T20 history) sets up an exciting five match series beginning at Seddon Park in Hamilton. We preview the series opener below:

The Last Time These Two Met

The Black Caps toured South Africa in August 2015 and lost the ODI series 2-1. With the series to play for in Durban in the final ODI, New Zealand faltered badly to be all out for 221 chasing 284. The loss compounded a tough series for the New Zealand side and a tough initiation for new captain Kane Williamson. This came after New Zealand’s clutch World Cup semi-final win at Eden Park

More recently, the teams competed in a series-opening Twenty20 match at Eden Park on Friday night. The tourists completely dominated the Black Caps in all facets of the game to set an ominous tone for the series.

The Teams

South Africa (from)

AB de Villiers (capt), Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi

Most of South Africa’s stars made contributions to the win on Friday night in Auckland. Particularly impressive were Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo who may not have been automatic selections for the ODI games, but who would have done their selection chances no harm.

New Zealand (from)

Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Dean Brownlie, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor.

Ross Taylor and Neil Broom are important additions to the ODI squad. The Black Caps middle order woes have been exposed in a few formats this year (and in the one-off T20 game), and the experienced pair will significantly strengthen the side. Dean Brownie will open the batting; in for the injured Martin Guptill. While Ish Sodhi is another spin option and might come into the equations in Hamilton, a ground he’s performed well at in the past.

The Key Players

South Africa

The celebratory runs each time he took a wicket may have been a tad over the top, but the praise that Imran Tahir received after his five wicket haul in the T20 was not. Tahir completely outfoxed the New Zealand batsman with his variations (the wrong un-especially effective) to take five wickets and underpin his credentials as the best ODI bowler in the world. The Black Caps worrying inability to pick the leg spinner will have Tahir eyeing up another haul of wickets.

New Zealand

If there was one positive note to come out the T20 loss on Friday night it was the performance of left-arm quick, Trent Boult. Boult’s incredible spell yielded two wickets for just eight runs and will have had IPL teams salivating about the prospect of snapping him up at the player auction tonight. Boult may be back to his best given his form from Friday and his resurgence against Australia in the home portion of the Chappell-Hadlee series.

The Match Odds*

South Africa – $1.61

New Zealand – $2.30

*All odds from Bet365.

The Prediction

South Africa was so impressive in the Twenty20 match at Eden Park that it is difficult to predict anything other than another win. It’s simply too hard to fathom a match where de Kock, Amla, de Villiers or du Plessis all fail – and that’s without even mentioning their bowlers. The Brown / Taylor middle order isn’t enough to offset the Protea’s class. South Africa by three wickets or 40 runs.

The Best Bets

We’ve previously noted Ish Sodhi’s great record at Seddon Park (his 2-31 against Australia last year the highlight) where he plays his domestic cricket. Thus at $5 to be the Top Wicket-taker he’s a nice chance.

If you’re keen to go all in on the leg spinners, Imran Tahir is slightly shorter at $4 but a great chance given his form and current ODI ranking.