Tag: ODI cricket odds

Black Caps Head to Hamilton Needing to Improve

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

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.

Bangladesh Hoping For New Year’s Eve Boost

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

As most of New Zealand prepares for a New Year’s Eve party, Nelson is set to host a damp squib dead rubber in the third one day international between New Zealand and Bangladesh. New Zealand has dominated the series thus far, recording easy wins in Christchurch and Nelson, and look set to do the same in the Nelson finale.

A series sweep the aim for New Zealand, and pride and momentum for Bangladesh as there is still plenty of cricket to be played on this tour.

The Series So Far

Game one was dominated by the bats of Colin Munro and Tom Latham as the Black Caps registered a win by 77 runs.

Game two in Nelson was a different story. Bangladesh had chances throughout and managed to restrict the home side to just 251. In response, the Bangladesh chase was under control at 105/1 before a massive collapse (including three wickets to part-timer Kane Williamson) saw the tourists lose their way completely. They eventually lost by 67 runs.

The Teams

New Zealand (likely):

1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Neil Broom, 5 James Neesham, 6 Colin Munro, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Jeetan Patel, 11 Trent Boult

The slow nature of the Saxton Oval wicket and the presence of three left-handers in the Bangladesh top five is likely to see the recently added Jeetan Patel play his first ODI since 2009. Patel’s been in okay form plying his trade in New Zealand’s domestic T20 tournament, the McDonalds Super Smash.

Bangladesh (likely):

1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Nurul Hasan, 8 Tanbir Hayder, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Taskin Ahmed

Mustafizur will probably come back in after being rested for game two. Subashis Roy is the player likely to make way. Additionally, Mehedi Hasan should make his first appearance of the series for the same reason New Zealand have included Patel. The 19-year old enjoyed an exceptional test series against England in October and needs to be given an opportunity in limited-overs cricket.

The Key Players

New Zealand

It’s a big game for Neil Broom. Granted the middle order batsman is coming off a hundred, which in some circumstance might buy him more time in the number four position, but with Ross Taylor just around the corner (Taylor scored 82 for Central Districts in a domestic T20 game against Auckland yesterday to show he’s nearing a return). Broom needs runs again to guarantee a place at number five for the Australian series and for the Champions Trophy. A batsman who can control the middle overs is exactly what NZ need. If Broom can do the same in Nelson as he did in game two he will well and truly have the inside running.

Bangladesh

The last time Mahmudullah was in the Southern Hemisphere he was unstoppable. He scored back-to-back World Cup hundreds, amassed 365 runs and averaged 73. In this series, however, he’s scored just one run across the two matches. Bangladesh needs more out of the experienced right-hander if they are to salvage some pride from the one day international series and take some confidence through to the T20 series.

The Match Odds*

New Zealand – $1.19

Bangladesh – $4.80

*All odds courtesy of Palmerbet.

The Prediction

Despite some wobbles in both of the opening two games of the series, New Zealand’s overall quality has eventually got them through. The same will happen here again with New Zealand winning a low scoring encounter. New Zealand by 6 wickets or 57 runs.

The Best Bets

If you think Mahmudullah is due to score runs the $5.50 on him to top score is incredibly attractive.

And Jeetan Patel might come into the markets nicely priced. He hasn’t been added as yet, but look out for the odds of him being the unlikely top bowler for New Zealand.