Replacements might be good enough to land series for England

Like giving a child a big bowl of ice-cream and expecting him/her to follow up by wanting to eat a salad is the best comparison I can give to the ODI series following on after the Ashes Test series is done and dusted. These games have a something of an after the Lord Mayor’s show about them which has not been helped by a number of key players missing the series.

Both these sides warmed up with victories with the Tourists thumping Scotland while the hosts saw off a spirited Ireland side. For Australia it was a seventh win from their last nine in this format though those two defeats did come in this country in the summer in the ICC Champions Trophy. For England it was their fifth win in their last seven with those two defeats all coming in the same tournament.

The recent head-to-head record favours England as they have won the last five completed meetings between the sides in this format and have not lost an ODI on home soil to Australia in any of their last five and just two of their last 11. Thrown in the fact that England have won six of their last nine home ODI series (including a 4-0 thrashing of Australia last summer) and you have to question why the Australians are 4/5 (GENERAL) favourites. England have made a number of changes to their squad and the visitors are ranked higher than them in the official ODI rankings (second to third) this though does not explain why England are 5/4 (sportingbet). Despite the absence of a number key players the hosts still have a wealth of talent. Captain Eoin Morgan will lead the line fresh from his 124 against Ireland while Kevin Pietersen is the 13th ranked ODI batsman in the world, Jonathan Trott is 14th while Joe Root also features in the top fifty. Shane Watson meanwhile is the only Australian to rank in the top fifty. In terms of bowlers Steven Finn looked good in the Twenty20 against Durham and is the fourth ranked ODI bowler in the world.

The opening game at Headingley also favours England as the last two ODI internationals at the ground between the sides have ended in comfortable victories for the home side. England have lost just four of the last 13 completed ODI games at this venue so if England go 1-0 in the series you can look to lay off the bet. I would also be interested 11/10 (GENERAL) on England to win the first test though rain may play havoc with the game.

The top England batsman market is headed by Trott at 7/2 (boylesports) while Pietersen is a 15/4 (888 SPORT/unibet) chance which is fair as stated before both players feature in the top 15 of the ODI rankings. I think at the prices though Ravi Bopara has to be worth taking at 12/1 (bet365/ladbrokes) to come out on top. Bopara is no mug and has a ODI average of 43.15 over the last two years and has scored 28 or over in five of his last six innings including a 101 not out against Ireland.

The top Australian batsman market is headed by Shane Watson at 7/2 (boylesports/sportingbet) ahead of Michael Clarke (ladbrokes) and Aaron Finch (STAN JAMES) at 4/1.

In terms of top England bowler it is hard to oppose the in form James Treadwell who is an 11/4 (GENERAL) chance. For Australia Fawad Ahmed impressed in the final Twenty20 with his ability to turn the ball and given the way some of the English batsman have dealt with legspin this summer he looks worth siding with at 5/1 (ladbrokes).

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: England to win ODI series, 5/4 (sportingbet)
SILVER: Fawad Ahmed to be top Australian bowler, 5/1 (ladbrokes)
BRONZE: Ravi Bopara top England batsman, 12/1 (bet365/ladbrokes)

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06/09/2013     © Frixo 2026