Captain Cook to chart ODI success for England

James Anderson has admitted that the loss to South Africa in the test series was a ‘huge wake-up call’ to England, can they bounce back from their disappointment with victory in the one-day series?

England lost the number one ranking in the test series after defeat to South Africa and now must fight off the threat of losing their number one ranking in the ODI ratings. England fans and people looking to back them have reasons to be confident. The hosts have enjoyed recent success in the 50-over format winning 16 of 25 under Alastair Cook (with 12 wins from 16 home games). Five of the six one day series under Cook, including a 4-0 hammering of Australia this summer, have been won by England. This was the same Australian that saw off South Africa 2-1 (in South Africa) in 2011 and this serves as a good pointer to the form. Failure in test matches has not always shown to be relevant in the subsequent ODI series as England beat Pakistan 4-0 in a recent one day series despite a poor test showing. The two are very different forms of the same game and England at evens (general) offer some appeal. True they will be without Kevin Pietersen (textgate) and Stuart Broad (rested) but they still have a strong balanced side. South Africa for their part are 10/11 (general) for a series victory.

Those wanting some slightly bigger prices might be interested in the correct series market where England to win the series 3-2 is the 9/4 (Skybet/william hill) favourite. South Africa to win by the same scoreline (3-2) is 4/1 (bet365). South Africa to win 4-1 is 9/2 (general) while England to win 4-1 is 5/1 (bet365). Those anticipating a whitewash can get 16/1 a 5-0 South African victory (Stan James & Bodog) and also 16-1 a 5-0 England victory (bet365/Stan James/william hill).

Alastair Cook and Ian Bell are the joint 7/2 favourites (general) to be top English batsman. Cook has thrived since becoming captain and averages over 50, he is the sixth highest ranked ODI batsman in the world, while team-mate Jonathan Trott is ranked seventh. Trott is 9/2 (Stan James) to be top England bastman for the series while Eoin Morgan is 5/1 (BetVictor/Stan James/Bodgog). It is Jonny Bairstow at 10/1 (ladbrokes) who offers the most value in this market.

Hashima Amla has had an incredible summer with the bat averaging over 100 runs and Amla is the number one ranked batsman in the ODI rankings. Amla is a deserved 3/1 (Skybet/ladbrokes/Bodog) favourite . He is followed by AB De Viliers (third highest in the rankings) who is 15/4 (bet365). Those looking for someone at a little bigger price might be interested in Faf Du Plessis who has hit some big scores for the South African A team and might be capable of the step up in class. Du Plessis is 6/1 (general) to finish as top South African batsman.

The first game of the series is from Sophia Gardens at Cardiff. The track is very batsman friendly so look for some higher scores, though with showers forecast then the Duckworth Lewis method might come into play. Bookmakers make South Africa the 10/11 (general) favourite while England are evens (general). England have won their only two previous completed ODI games here. The batting stats for the last two visits are little inconclusive as the runs have been spread around the batsman, but on the bowling side it is noticeable that Graeme Swann took three wickets here on his last visit and is a generous 4/1 (paddy Power) to be top bowler for the home side in the opener.

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23/08/2012     © Frixo 2024