England vs South Africa Betting

England is an excellent bet to get over the disappointment of losing its Test series against South Africa by beating the Proteas in the best of five One Day Internationals.

According to the International Cricket Council ODI Rankings, England and South Africa share the same, table-topping rating of 121. If one goes down to two decimal places, however, England leads South Africa 120.66 to 120.50.

Bookmakers have priced up the five-match ODI series as if there is little to choose between the teams - punters can get around evens about England and around 10-11 about South Africa - but one cannot help thinking that they have got the wrong favourite and that the home side should be supported.

England is top of the ICC ODI Rankings, albeit by a slender margin, for a reason. Since Alistair Cook took on the job as England`s ODI captain - a decision that did not go down too well with many people at the time - his team has won 16 and lost eight of its 25 completed ODI games, with one tie.

That is a win percentage in the mid 60s and, on home soil, it climbs even higher. England captained by Cook has a ODI home record of 12 wins, three losses and one tie. Surely those are statistics that make a mockery of bookmakers installing England as the underdog versus South Africa.

And there are more. England has won its last 10 completed ODI matches irrespective of venue, including a 4-0 series victory over Australia earlier in the English summer. Ten months ago, the Australians played South Africa away from home and they beat the Proteas 2-1 in a three-game series.

So, on a form line through Australia that is as recent as ODI form lines ever get, England is substantially superior to South Africa and worthy of being the odds-on favourite, particularly for a series that has five scheduled matches.

Bookmakers have overreacted to the recent Test series in which South Africa comprehensively outplayed England at The Oval, Headingley and Lord`s en route to a 2-0 success. There is no way that the Proteas should be odds on to win the ODI series as well, with England overpriced at evens. The home team, one could argue, should be around the 1-2 mark.

The ODI series gets under way outside England, with Sophia Gardens in Cardiff staging the first game. The Welsh venue has staged nine ODI matches, with England featuring in only two completed games. In June 2010, England beat Australia in Cardiff by four wickets and, 15 months later, the home side beat India by six wickets to maintain its unbeaten record.

South Africa has completed only one ODI match at Sophia Gardens and that was nine years ago so it is of limited relevance. For the record, the Proteas beat Zimbabwe by nine wickets and Herschelle Gibbs was the man of the match.

The usual array of match and series exotic betting markets are on offer but England represents such outstanding value at evens to win the five-game argument that it makes sense to put all one`s eggs in one basket and back it on its own.

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23/08/2012     © Frixo 2024