Tag: ICC

Cricket: NZ, Sri Lanka converge on a green Hagley Oval

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

A couple of interesting firsts will occur when the Black Caps and Sri Lanka meet in the first of two tests starting Boxing Day.  One, Hagley Oval in Christchurch hosts its first ever test match after recently been given the ICC green light.  The test will allow the city and administrators for their role in the World Cup when they host three pool games including the opener between these two teams.

Secondly, the match is the first time in a long time that Sri Lanka won’t have stalwart Mahela Jayawardene in their middle order.  After making his test debut in 1997, Jayawardene has been a middle order hero for the best part of 149 games.  The adjustment to a middle order without him will make for fascinating viewing in game one, especially if as expected the Hagley Oval pitch is full of pace and bounce and Sri Lanka lose early wickets.

New Zealand will be looking forward to showing the New Zealand public the side’s new found confidence.  In last 12 months they have enjoyed test success against India, West Indies, and Pakistan, and gave the sporting public plenty of reasons to support them last summer (who could forget McCullum’s triple hundred).

The Last Time These Two Met

In November of 2012, New Zealand were in the midst of mutiny madness.  The story goes something like this: The Coach wanted Brendon McCullum to captain the side – but Ross Taylor was the captain – so they summoned Taylor to a mid-tour getting in a hotel room to explain they wanted a change – Taylor then went out and scored 142 and 74 in the second test to help NZ win by 167 runs and square the two match series.  Brendon McCullum has since rightfully taken over as captain and has transformed the NZ side.  They now play with aggression and confidence and Taylor too has been “reintegrated” nicely back into the set up.

The Teams

New Zealand (likely): 1 Tom Latham, , 2 Hamish Rutherford, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Brendon McCullum, 6 James Neesham, 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Mark Craig, 9 Doug Bracewell/Neil Wagner, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent Boult

The only possible changes to this side would see Dean Brownlie slot into number 5 with Brendon McCullum opening.  Otherwise the Bracewell / Wagner battle is the only contentious point.

Sri Lanka (likely): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Kaushal Silva, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Dinesh Chandimal, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Tharindu Kaushal/Dilruwan Perera, 9 Dhammika Prasad, 10 Shaminda Eranga, 11 Suranga Lakmal

Prasad will probably be given the third seamers role with Tharindu Kaushal/Dilruwan Perera battling it out to be the teams specialist spin option.

The Key Players

Hamish Rutherford – McCullum’s move down the order has made room for the Otago-based left hander to return to the top of the Black Caps batting lineup.  It’s a place where he enjoyed brief success – on debut when he made 171 against England – but has struggled ever since (his average has plummeted below 30).  With Tom Latham well established at the other end Rutherford needs a good series to join him as a permanent fixture.

Suranga Lakmal – There are reports coming from the Sri Lankan’s warm up game (and indeed from the final two one layers against England) that Lakmal is looking much sharper than he did against South Africa in June.  It appears he’s added a yard or two of pace and could be a handful on the assisting wickets.  Sri Lanka will likely need to blood a third seamer on this tour meaning Lakmal will be expected to play a senior role with ball in hand.

The Odds*

New Zealand – $1.83

Draw – $3.00

Sri Lanka – $5.00

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Bet365 Australia.

The Prediction

New Zealand have understandably asked for a surface that will play to their seam bowling strength.  The Hagley Oval pitch is already looking green and Sri Lanka lose the toss and bat first this one could over quickly.  Fine weather is forecast throughout this one so I can’t see it ending in a draw.  Therefore, New Zealand to prevail by 8 wickets.

We also like the look of BetEasy’s option on Sri Lanka’s top bowler int the first innings being the above featured Lakmal, paying $4.33

Cricket: Mean Johnson inspires Aussie win

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Mitchell Johnson returned to his aggressive bearded best on day four of the second Border-Gavaskar test in Brisbane with an emphatic display of angry seam bowling that temporarily reduced India to 117/6 and ultimately delivered a four wicket win.

The match didn’t follow the obvious theme established in game one.  In fact India were at several times in significant positions of strength before either gifting Australia back the momentum or having it wrestled back by Mitchell Johnson.

The imploding version happened initially during their first effort at bat.  After surviving a sweltering hot first day to finish on 311/4 the Indians struggled on day two, giving away their next six wickets for the addition of just 97 further runs.  The wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhonia and Ravichandran Ashwin undid Murali Vijay’s sensational effort of 144.  Only tiredness managed to dislodge Vijay when he lost concentration and tried to hit Lyon out of the ground.  The same couldn’t be said for the rest of the order as they lost their advantage to Josh Hazlewood and looseness.

Despite the collapse, the tourists were still in control as Australia failed to impress in their first innings.  They themselves fell to 247/6, still 161 behind.  Cue Johnson the batsman to rescue the situation and thrash the questionable short pitch bowling tactic.  Johnson had already been reminded that he had taken few wickets in the series (and none in the first innings) which appeared to spurn him on.  His response was to remind the Indian batsmen how few runs some of them had scored as he tore into the Indian attack for 88.  His role was the aggressor in a partnership with century maker and first time captain Steven Smith, who continued his fine form for 133.  Even Mitchell Starc (52), Nathan Lyon (23), and Hazlewood (32) got in on the action to rub salt into the fast bowlers’ wounds – Australia led by 97.

India survived the night – comfortably reaching 71/1.  However, Shikhar Dhawan couldn’t bat in the morning after taking an unpopular knock in the practice nets, leaving Virat Kohli just five minutes to try and settle into his work.  He couldn’t and India lost the plot to a menacing Johnson.  His morning spell was worth 3-14 and in truth was the winning of the game.

A target of just 128 was never going to truly test Australia, and even though they did lose six wickets getting there, that was in a final session that drifted in a lazy manner until the end, rather than any great Indian bowling.  Chris Rogers guided the chase skilfully outlining his benefit to Australia in a range of conditions.  He backed up his first innings 55 with a second 55 to ease any nerves in the Australian camp.  Steven Smith narrowly took out the man of the match award from Johnson and Hazlewood for his third score in the series at a crucial time.

Once more the game could easily be classified as times of fight vs. times of one-sidedness.  We fear now that most of the fight may have left the Indians as they resign themselves to another overseas whitewash.  That and their inability to take twenty wickets means they’ll struggle in the rest of the series.  Unibet agrees with their just updated series odds below:

Series Odds*

Australia 4-0 – $2.20

Australia 3-1 – $5.50

Australia 3-0 – $3.5

Australia 2-1 – $12.00

Australia 2-0 – $13

Drawn 2-2 – $21

*Series odds from Unibet.

Australia 505 (Smith 133, Johnson 88) and 6 for 130 (Rogers 55) beat India 408 (Vijay 144, Rahane 81) and 224 (Dhawan 81, Johnson 4-61) by four wickets

Cricket: Williamson’s runs and Henry’s wickets deliver NZ win

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

New Zealand finally settled the long running debate over who was having the better tour between them and Pakistan.  After a tied test series, a tied T20 series, and the first four one layers also being split between the teams, the Black Caps’ 68 run win gave them bragging rights for the flight home.

The final one layer at Abu Dhabi was one of the more one-sided out of any of the games the two played.  In friendly batting conditions New Zealand’s middle order mainstay of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor combined to do the bulk of the scoring.  Williamson completed his eight half-century from his previous ten innings (one of the others was 46) and Taylor made a measured 88 not out to see New Zealand through to 275/4 from their 50 overs.  The wickets in hand suggested New Zealand could have pushed on to a bigger total but without the likes of Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson to clear the rope, 275 had to suffice.

Dean Brownlie continue his puzzling run of form.  His last few bats have yielded 47, 42, and 34 to indicate a level of comfort at the top of the order that could help solve NZ’s World Cup dilemma, but it has frustrated some that he couldn’t completely anchor the innings and score large totals himself.

As Pakistan set about their chase to win the series they immediately found themselves in early trouble when Matt Henry and Anton Devcich reduced them to 38/3.  Unfortunately, the Pakistanis could not find the consistency and momentum to get anywhere near the target – Henry in particular compounding their woes with 5-30.  Henry has already shown a tendency to take bags of wickets – this is his third fourth wicket in just six games – and like Brownlie is now a strong favourite to feature in the reduced World Cup squad.

Haris Sohail top scored for Pakistan, but as has been the case for much of the series, the top order left too much for him and Afridi to do.  Save for game three, the top order for Pakistan just haven’t been able to find form at he same time, with early wickets always curtailing the chances of big scores.  Ahmed Shehzad was the exception in this one, however he wasn’t able to recreate his game three knock and scored only a half century of his own in the disappointing chase.

Cricket continues soon for both sides.  New Zealand host Sri Lanka in 2 tests, 5 ODI’s, and 1 T20 before hosting the rest of the World when the World Cup begins in mid-Feb.  Pakistan on the other hand host Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in two short sharp encounters.

New Zealand 275 for 4 (Williamson 97, Taylor 88*) beat Pakistan 207 (Sohail 65, Shehzad 54, Henry 5-30) by 68 runs

Cricket: New Zealand and Pakistan to finally be separated

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

A series decider in a tour that has been shared all the way through was somewhat predictable. Nevertheless that won’t make the decider any less intense where the sides have the opportunity to declare themselves the overall victor of the six-month duel.

Neither side has won two games on the trot in the series, so based on that logic the Pakistan side will be brimming with confidence. They deserve to be too, because in all the games they have lost, they have fought hard (even in the seven run loss the last time they played where the side were heavily distracted). Conversely, the Black Caps’ loses have been emphatic. They seem to have an ingrained consistency that prevents them from being a really good side.

This is likely to manifest again tonight, especially with the inexperienced line-up.

The Last Time These Two Met

Kane Williamson scored an impressive hundred to set up a strong NZ total that ultimately proved too much for the Pakistan line-up. A century to Younis Khan – the oldest player to do so in the history of ODI cricket – and some late fireworks from Shahid Afridi were not quite enough for Pakistan who were attempting to become the first side to successfully chase 300 at the ground.

The Teams

Pakistan (likely): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Asad Shafiq/ Nasir Jamshed, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Shahid Afridi (capt), 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Anwar Ali, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Nasir Jamshed may move down the order or he may miss out altogether after he failed in game four; resulting in Mohammad Hafeez returning to the top of the order.

New Zealand (likely): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Dean Brownlie, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Adam Milne 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Daniel Vettori has already flown home, which opens up an opportunity for Nathan McCullum.

The Key Players

Martin Guptill – The lanky New Zealand opener is often the subject of intense debate in his native New Zealand. There are those that feel a fit Jesse Ryder is a better option for the tournament co-hosts, especially given Guptill’s tendency for sluggish starts. He played himself into a little form with 58 in game four and we’ll be hoping for more crease time to enhance his World Cup prospects.

Mohammad Irfan – Irfan has been impressive in a series that has seen fast bowlers get smashed to all parts. His record of 7 wickets at 26 is among the best in the series, but it’s his economy rate of 5.13 that is making us take note. On grounds that are notoriously difficult to defend Irfan has done a tremendous job.

The Odds*

Pakistan – $1.62

New Zealand – $2.3

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Luxbet. Luxbet have a number of cricket specials on at the moment, in particular, the Big Bash League specials. Visit their site for more details.

The Prediction

The two sides are incredibly evenly matched. Both have batsmen in form, both have handy spin options, and both have seamers that have tested the opposition in the relatively benign conditions. That makes it tough to pick a winner here, but we just feel Pakistan have been more consistent and will get home.

Interestingly, we saw awesome odds for a tied amount of sixes hit by the teams. It’s paying a whopping $7.25 and is well worth a fiver.

Cricket: Smith leads Australian team full of changes

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Gabba is the new WACA as far as Australian cricket pitches go.  It’s full of pace, bounce, and for the Indian batsmen, fear.  Fresh from a modest paced and decidedly easy batting surface in Adelaide the Indians now face a much sterner test on the more bowler friendly Brisbane strip.  The surface is expected to be much more like the surfaces the Indian batsmen have historically struggled on; the recipe is the WACA from 2012 where India were bundled out for 161 and 171.

That puts India on the back foot immediately, but there could be silver linings in the return of their inspiration leader and the vast number of changes to the opposing side.  Both sides have new captains at the helm for game two; one with all the experience under the sun, and the other with zero – thrust into the spotlight as the third youngest captain in Australia’s test history.  If Steven Smith’s batting is any indication as to captaincy ability, he’ll be fine, but the World will be watching in earnest as to whether he can command the respect of senior players like Shane Watson, Brad Haddin and Warner who all would have had their own captaincy ambitions.

MS Dhoni certainly commands respect and he’ll also bring a more conservative game plan to his teams approach; he’ll likely be a little more defensive / pragmatic than Virat Kohli.  The Gabba surface won’t only favour the home side; Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron and Mohammed Shami could find assistance in the bouncy deck if they pitch the ball up and don’t get carried away bowling short stuff.  They will, however, need to bowl a much tighter line to David Warner if they don’t want the game to get away from them in the first session again.

The Last Time These Two Met

Game one will go down in history as an absolute classic, not only for the emotional ties to Phillip Hughes’ but also for the scintillating individual performances.  Two players scored hundreds in both innings (David Warner and Virat Kohli) and Steven Smith scored an unbeaten hundred followed by an uneaten fifty.  Then there was Nathan Lyon.  In fairness Australia were the better side through most of the game and will take more momentum and confidence into this one.

The Teams

Australia: 1 Chris Rogers, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Shaun Marsh, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan Lyon.

Injuries to Michael Clarke and Ryan Harris sees Shaun Marsh and Josh Hazlewood given a chance to prove their wares.  Marsh is well tested at this level and should suit the lower order more than his previous struggles at 3.  Exciting quickie Josh Hazlewood earns his baggy green on the back of some impressive one day form.  Mitchell Starc replaces the ineffective Peter Siddle in the other change.

India: 1 M Vijay, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 MS Dhoni (capt,wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Varun Aaron, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav.

MS Dhoni is expected to return to captain the side.  He’ll add some middle order stability that was lacking with Wriddhiman Saha in the side.  Ravichandran Ashwin is also added at the expense of Karn Sharma.

The Key Players

Steven Smith – Everything Smith does in this test will be questioned.  The toss, the bowling rotations, the field placements and his batting.  He can probably withstand the heightened attention on his batting and the quality of the Australian team should paper over any cracks in his captaincy.  Much like the coaching of John Buchanan when he inherited such a strong side nothing could go wrong.

Rohit Sharma – For someone that has two ODI double hundreds (including a top score of 264) Sharma hasn’t exactly excelled in the test environment.  Admittedly he has been in and out of the squad and also frustratingly waiting patiently for a chance while Dravid, Laxman, and Tendulkar finished their careers.  However, his record needs to improve.  He needs to kick on from the starts.  He needs a big score.

The Odds*

Australia – $1.55

Draw – $4.25

India – $5.00

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Luxbet.

The Prediction

Australia will be far to strong on the bouncy surface.  The bounce tests the Indian batsmen techniques too much and all of them are susceptible to defending with their hands and half a bat outside off stump.  Expect the Australia seamers to have a field day and win this one by an innings.

Cricket: Sri Lanka humble England in epic farewell

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Sri Lanka yet again proved too powerful for a disappointing England side in the final one day international in Colombo overnight.  Tillakaratne Dilshan was the cricketing star of the match scoring 101 and taking 3-37, but Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were the sentimental stars, playing their final match on home soil.  Neither set the World on fire in this particular game but both are so fondly revered in these parts that it hardly mattered, all that mattered was the farewell and the Sri Lankan win.

For the record, Sri Lanka destroyed England in game seven by 87 runs.  Batting first, the hosts amassed 302-6 from their allotment thanks to the aforementioned Dislhan knock and rollicking fifties from Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera.  The old guard and captain Angelo Matthews added useful contributions and in unison with Dilshan always had the home side heading towards a large total.  Sangakkara did not reach the lofty heights of earlier in the series but when he got to 6 he broke Ricky Ponting’s record of most runs in a calendar year across all formats (FYI, Ponting had 2833 in 2005).

Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan – as he has done through most of the series – were the pick of the England bowlers.  Unfortunately, Ali couldn’t bring the bowling form to his bating.  His premeditated swipe at a straight, innocuous Dilshan ball set the tone for a collapse that would soon become 78-5.  Only Joe Root – again, as he has done all series – showed some fight.  Only the lack of partners got in the way of him putting up another ODI century.  His performances along with those of Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes (notwithstanding the tap he got in this game), and Chris Jordan are the major triumphs of England’s series.

Still of major concern is the form of Alastair Cook.  BBC analyst Simon Hughes commented after the game that the Sri Lankan players appeared to “feel sorry” for the England captain when he was dismissed after a scratchy 32, and even Cook himself has softened his position on whether he’ll captain at the World Cup.  He has hinted that he can have “no complaints” if he is stood down as he has not scored the runs or had the wins he would have liked.

To cap off the farewell and to send the crowd into a fits of joy, Jayawardene and Sangakkara combined to have James Tredwell stumped in the final act of the game.  It wasn’t his first ODI wicket but will probably go down as the most memorable.

Sri Lanka 302 for 6 (Dilshan 101, Chandimal 55*, T Perera 54) beat England 215 (Root 80, Prasanna 3-35, Dilshan 3-37) by 87 runs