Tag: cricket odds

Black Caps, Proteas Need Ambition to Break Series Deadlock

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

New Zealand and South Africa head to the Basin Reserve in Wellington with the opportunity to take hold of the test series. With a win here in game two, they’ll make it impossible for their opponents to win and have an excellent chance of taking out the series given the torrential wet weather that’s blanketing most of New Zealand and could threaten game three. They must be positive though to advance a result.

The Series So Far

Dunedin’s series opener was ruined by final day rain just as things were getting tense. With a small lead of just 140 and 4 wickets in hand, the South Africans would’ve needed some decent rearguard action to set New Zealand a challenging total. It wasn’t to be, and a draw was betting of a game that neither team dominated or took by the scruff of the neck – the Black Caps had their chances but grassed two many catches and used DRS poorly.

New Zealand looked to have a better batting unit (Dean Elgar aside), whereas, South Africa looked more threatening with the ball, which could point to another close one in Wellington.

The Teams

New Zealand (probable):

1 Tom Latham, 2 Jeet Raval, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Neil Broom, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 James Neesham, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent Boult

I don’t think Jeetan Patel will play again this series, even though he’s guaranteed to get at least two wickets in the match (de Kock x2). Instead, Santner will be preferred and Tim Southee will return to strengthen the pace bowling stocks. Neil Broom will replace the injured Ross Taylor, and Trent Boult is still under an injury cloud.

South Africa (probable):

1 Stephen Cook, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Faf du Plessis (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Temba Bavuma, 7 Quinton de Kock (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Kagiso Rabada

Unlikely to make changes, as spinner Dane Piedt is still awaiting a visa. He’s a chance to play in Hamilton where the pitch is expected to offer help to the slow bowlers.

The Key Players

New Zealand

Without his other senior contributor Ross Taylor, and not being able to rely on the woefully out of form, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson will be required to do exactly what he did in game one. The captain scored a quality century in trying conditions to lead the way. He’s a great chance of repeating given his record in Wellington – at the Basin, he averages 79.9 with 3 hundreds and 3 fifties.

South Africa

Dean Elgar’s monumental effort in Dunedin is reflective of his renewed confidence at test level. After a pair on debut (at the hands of Mitchell Johnson), Elgar has come of age of late and now has more test centuries than half centuries – a fantastic effort from an opener. His double of 140 and 89 was exactly what his side required when they found themselves in trouble early in both innings in Dunedin.

The Match Odds*

New Zealand – $3.40

Draw – $4.25

South Africa – $1.90

*All odds from Bet365.

The Prediction

The weather forecast is again looking okay despite some horror weather in NZ of late. That said, the flat surface may mean another draw is on the cards. In order for it to happen Elgar needs to bat forever again and the Black Caps will need to show some mettle without Ross Taylor.

The Best Bets

Henry Nicholls has had some success against South Africa and looks at crazy money for a specialist batsman to top score. He’s worth the $8 being offered at Bet365.

Philander will enjoy the conditions at the Basin Reserve and performed well last time he played there. Strongly consider him to be top bowl at $3.40.

Australia Face Stern Indian Test in Series Opener

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

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.

Australia to Close Out Pakistan 4-1 Ahead of Chappell-Hadlee Trip

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The Adelaide Oval will host the final one day international of the tour between Australia and Pakistan on Thursday. The series has already been won by Australia, so Pakistan is simply playing for pride, which is a difficult proposition in any form of sport at the end of a long trip.

Adelaide last hosted these two teams during 2015’s World Cup. The sides met in the quarter-final – made famous for Wahhabi Riaz’s spell of fast bowling to Shane Watson – where Australia won by six wickets.

We preview the likelihood of a similar result in game five below.

The Series So Far

Australia leads the series comfortably by three games to one. The most recent win in Sydney came on the back of a massive David Warner hundred and a blitzing Glenn Maxwell cameo. In response to Australia’s 353 (which was helped massively by Pakistan’s clumsy fielding, in a similar way to the way they fielded in the test series), Pakistan only managed 267. They got a breathtaking cameo from Sharjeel Khan but needed it to continue for a lot longer.

With the series already decided, the best Pakistan can achieve is a dead rubber win to lose the series 3-2. It’s hard to know if that’s deserved given they are often their own worst enemies (despite some great cricket at times).

The Teams

Australia (probable)

1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Travis Head, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Peter Handscomb, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkener, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Mitchell Starc

Australia is likely to tinker with their line-up given they’ve already sown the series up, but it’s hard to know which personnel will be affected. Pat Cummins who has played every game, and in the past been pretty injury prone, might make way for Adam Zampa.

Pakistan (probable)

1 Sharjeel Khan, 2 Azhar Ali (capt), 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Hasan Ali.

There’s no reason why Umar Akmal should play after disappointing in the finisher role throughout the series. Asad Shafiq could replace him, although his series has been equally lean. The only other potential changes are in the bowling stocks info it’s deemed appropriate to rest Amir or Junaid.

The Key Players

Australia

Usman Khawaja has had a difficult series opening the batting instead of regular Aaron Finch. After Travis Head was tried in game one, Khawaja has been used in the remaining games to disappointing effect. He hasn’t passed 30 and now he’s been overlooked for the Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand starting on January 30 (he’s going to India early to prepare on turning wickets). Finch has been included in that series, so Khawaja needs to send the selectors a reminder of his worth in the one day game with a big knock in game five.

Pakistan

Sharjeel Khan was electrifying in Sydney. On a fabulous batting wicket, the left-handed smashed 74 off just 47 balls to heap the pressure on the Australian bowlers. The entertaining innings included ten fours and three sixes and it ended only when leg-spinner Adam Zampa was introduced to the attack. In a dead rubber, the powerful left-handed can throw caution to the wind, which is a dangerous thought for the locals.

The Match Odds*

Australia– $1.21

Pakistan – $4.45

*All odds from Sportsbet.

The Prediction

Australia to take the series 4-1 with another comprehensive victory. When touring sides enter the home stretch of a long, unsuccessful tour the final game is often a bridge too far. With one eye on the flight home, it’s hard to see the Pakistan side being motivated or competitive. Australia by 90 runs or 7 wickets.

The Best Bets

Azhar Ali has recovered from his injury woes and could be a good look for top run scorer. The patient opener doesn’t miss out often, and at $3.75 and a much better player than his teammates, he looks worth a punt.

Steve Smith is at $4 for the same bet. In a series where the captain’s been inconsistent, a strong finish looks likely.

Series at Stake for Pesky Pakistanis

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Steven Smith led his side impressively in game three of the ODI series between Australia and Pakistan in Perth. The Australian captain was commanding in the field, when calling the shots and keeping Pakistan to a below-par 267, and was even better with bat in hand as he finessed his way to a not out hundred.

The captaincy and the batting illustrates a maturity that holds Australia in good stead ahead of their trip to India and the Champions Trophy later this year. But first is a series against Pakistan to finish off. The home side will be hoping to close Pakistan out in game 4 in Sydney.

The Series So Far

A surprisingly competitive series has Australia with a narrow 2-1 lead after wins sandwiched between a surprise loss in Melbourne. In game one, Australia was under immense pressure at 78/5 before recovering and having their bowlers lead them to an easy win. That result was reversed at the MCG where the Australian batsman struggled again and Pakistan chased down 217 comfortably. The most recent match of the series again saw Australia recover from batting wobbles to chase down 268. Thanks mostly to Steve Smith’s beautifully timed run chase. Smith scored a well made hundred while getting support from debutant Peter Handscomb.

The Teams

Australia (probable)

1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Travis Head, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Peter Handscomb, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkener, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Mitchell Starc

Starc could return to the side instead of Billy Stanlake after being rested at the WACA. The returning Starc will form a formidable trio of strike bowlers with fellow quickies Hazlewood (who was awesome in game three) and Cummins (if he’s not rested in Sydney where it traditionally turns a bit and could favour Adam Zamora).

Pakistan (probable)

1 Sharjeel Khan, 2 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik 5 Assad Shafiq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Hasan Ali.

Assad Shafiq and Umar Akumal are under pressure to perform but may keep their places in the side due to a lack of quality replacements. That is unless Azhar Ali is fit to return.

The Key Players

Australia

Despite not taking a wicket in game three James Faulkner still leads the Australian wicket-takers in the series with 6. The canny left armer expertly mixes his cutters, off pace slower balls, and stock back of a length to trouble batsman and keep his economy rate down. Faulkner hasn’t been rested and plays an important wicket-taking role when Starc and Hazlewood are being rotated. Keep an eye on Faulkner’s immense skill as he attacks the middle overs again in Sydney.

Pakistan

Junaid Kahn and Mohammad Amir have both been incredibly dangerous with the ball in the series so far. So much so that they are more of a threat in tandem than they are as individuals. If they’re not rested in game four (Amir is a chance after spending some time off the field in the last match) their combination could be what Pakistan need to even up the series. To do so they must take early wickets and these two are the ones responsible for doing so.

The Match Odds*

Australia– $1.25

Pakistan – $3.75

*All odds from Unibet.

The Prediction

The loss at Melbourne was officially a blip and not the result of two evenly matched teams. Australia has always been dominant in one day cricket at home and this series is no different (game two aside). Normal transmission should continue in Sydney, with another comfortable win for the home side.

The Best Bets

All summer Peter Handscomb has enjoyed unbelievable fortune (he’s also played some great cricket mind you). And when it’s running your way, sometimes as punters it’s best to go with it. Handscomb was out off a no-ball early in his debut innings and went on to score. He’s at $6 to top score again on Sunday.

Shoaib Malik to score fifty is priced nicely at $3.50. Given Malik’s impact on the series so far after missing game one, this could be one Pakistan player worth showing some trust in.

Confident Pakistan Sniff Series Upset Against Frail Australia

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The WACA in Perth has at times suited the Pakistan cricket team. Offering pace and bounce, the West Australian surface was right up the alley of Khan, Akram and Younis. Now, however, the pace and bounce are likely to trouble the Pakistan batsman and work against the slow bowlers that were so successful for them in the first two games of the series. The end result, favourable conditions for the home side as they seek to overturn the surprise defeat in game two and wrestle back the initiative in the five-game series.

The Series So Far

Australia’s familiar fragilities were again exposed in their shock game two loss. Too reliant on Smith and Warner, and an inability to rotate the strike against Pakistan’s trio of slow bowlers, the Australians made just 220 which was easily chased down by Pakistans top 6. The successful chase was the first win by Pakistan against Australia in any format since 2005 and added renewed interest to a ODI series that had the potential to lose appeal if the hosts ran out to a 2-0 series win.

The game two loss offsets a win in Brisbane by 92 runs, despite Australia not scoring as many as they would’ve liked there too. So a series tied at 1-1, with plenty to play for in Perth.

The Teams

Australia (probable)

1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Travis Head, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Matthew Wade (wk), 7 Marcus Stonis, 8 James Faulkner, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Billy Stanlake, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Marcus Stonis has joined the squad from the Melbourne Stars to replace the injured Mitchell Marsh but might miss out if Peter Handscomb is picked and Smith relies on Maxwell and Head to get through their share of overs. Billy Stanlake may also get a second crack because of Mitchell Starc being rested ahead of a busy upcoming schedule. Adam Zappa is the other addition to the squad and could get a run.

Pakistan (probable)

1 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Asad Shafiq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Junaid Khan.

Unless Pakistan gives Amir a rest, we can’t see them making too many changes to the side that broke a 12-year drought in Australia by winning game two.

The Key Players

Australia

Glenn Maxwell has made useful contributions in the first two games of the series and remains the most dangerous player in the middle order. He’s dangerous because he scores all around the ground, 360 degrees, including behind the wicketkeeper. The unique trait and the fact that he plays so freely against spin has resulted in him being included in the touring squad to India.

Pakistan

Mohammad Hafeez was good with both bat and ball in game two. The stand-in captain, who is getting to the end of his career, will take great pride from the game two win and will be desperate to continue the upsets and maybe even sneak a series win against Australia, in Australia, before he retires. Expect Hafeez to have a big impact in both his disciplines in Perth.

The Match Odds*

Australia– $1.28

Pakistan – $3.75

*All odds from Bet365.

The Prediction

It’s hard to see the Australian’s struggling to post 300 for the third straight game, although we expressed our view that it was unlikely they would get less than 260 in the series after game one and were well wrong. Expect a strong bounce back this time and a big Australian win.

The Best Bets

For one of the best players in the world in all three formats David Warner has had a mediocre start to the series. The swing of Mohammed Amir has had him in all sorts of trouble, but it wasn’t long ago he smashed a century before lunch in the Sydney test. Warner’s well and truly due a score, and at $3.75 he’s nicely priced.

It’s clear after two games that the bowlers who bowl the death overs will pick up some cheap wickets. And after the Australians would have decided to give Imad Wasim more respect, Junaid Khan now looks like a good option to be the top bowler for the tourists. He’s at $4.50.

Pakistan Need Immediate Reversal to Stop Slide

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Australia is notoriously difficult to beat in one day cricket at home (most cricket as a matter of fact), and thus it proved in game one of their series against Pakistan at the Gabba. Australia ran out winners by 92 runs, and Pakistan may just have missed their best chance to steal a win from a team that India and New Zealand of late have found impossible to do so.

We preview game two of the series in Melbourne with a look at how the teams line up and how you might make some money from some of the more generous odds on offer.

The Series So Far

Australia were easy winners in game one in Brisbane despite falling to 78/5 at one stage. A fine recovery effort by Matthew Wade (100) and Glenn Maxwell (60) steadied the ship and saw Australia through to 268, which they easily defended thanks to James Faulkeners 4-32.

Pakistan will rue letting Australia off the hook, especially after taking the key wickets of David Warner and Steven Smith from consecutive deliveries. They’ll also be looking for a much-improved batting effort – the 176 they managed in game one won’t win them anything.

The Teams

Australia (probable)

1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Chris Lynn, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkener, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Billy Stanlake

Mitchell Starc might be given a rest in a straight swap for Josh Hazlewood. Hazlewood, the game’s number one ranked test bowler earned a rest at the Gabba thanks to a heavy workload during the test series.

Pakistan (probable)

1 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Mohammed Nawaz, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Hasan Ali.

Junaid Khan could enter the mix, either if Amir is rested or at the expense of one of Imad Wasim or Mohammad Nawaz. Shoaib Malik or Asad Shafiq are the other names that could cross the selector’s minds if they feel they need to strengthen their batting.

The Key Players

Australia

Chris Lynn is probably the key player not for his own side but for his own position in the side. The big hitting BBL freak needs to find a way to bring his six hitting T20 exploits to the ODI game, and if he can he can secure his place in the side permanently with an eye on the Champions Trophy in the UK this winter. Expect Lynn to curtail his slog sweeping in game two, but not completely.

Pakistan

Imad Wasim put in a fine ten over spell in game one. His quick little sliders were difficult to get away, meaning he was easily the best bowler on display in the visitor’s side, registering 2-35. His left-armers could again be the key in the crucial middle overs here in game two.

The Match Odds*

Australia– $1.21

Pakistan – $4.50

*All odds from Palmerbet.

The Prediction

Australia should forge on in game two and take a 2-0 lead in the series. They’ve won 17 of their past 21 ODIs against Pakistan, and we can’t see the eight best ODI team challenging them in any of the three areas of the game at the MCG. Australia by six wickets or 70 runs.

The Best Bets

Travis Head has made a number of half centuries and other promising starts in his ODI career to date. He’s just missing that really big score to truly announce his place in the side permanently. If you think game two could be the game (with him opening and having a greater chance now), then the $5 on him being the top batsman should be attractive.

Babar Azam looked the best Pakistani player in game one and not simply because he top scored. His runs were scored effortlessly before a rash stroke saw him exit for 33. He’s also at $5 to top score again for his side and looks like good money.