CRICKET BETTING: Live On Sky Sports 1: Thu 14.30 & 18.30 England kick off the Super 8’s section of the tournament against Pakistan, New Zealand follow. Compare odds and bet at the best prices.
England v Pakistan:
England start their Super 8 campaign on the back of a highly dubious performance against Ireland, against a Pakistan team who are want of a bit of consistency themselves.
England are slight favourites for the tie, 5/6 with Ladbrokes where as Pakistan are generally 1/1 (Boylesports). England’s World Cup has been one of unpredictability; they hit a joint tournament high score of 191 against the hosts, only for it to be washed out into farce. Then England struggled badly against Ireland, who were themselves doubly insulted when the rain moved in to abandon a match Ireland had a chance in, despite the efforts of England’s Irishman, Eoin Morgan.
Confused? Well, Pakistan are hardly a model of consistency either. The openers were imperious against Bangladesh but poor against Australia, they have conceded far too many runs but wickets have come too late – Pakistan took 5 Australian batsmen down in 1 single over, it’s just a shame it was the last over when Australia already had 191 on the board.
England can go out and win this. However, they must score runs and try to exploit Pakistan’s slight generosity in the field. England have not been tested past 6 overs of cricket when bowling which will be a worry but a good score of 170+ can carry them home.
Morgan can be backed to be England’s top batsmen here at 6/1 with Boylesports. It would seem England will lose wickets but Morgan can come in to steady the ship. His aggression can cause Pakistan problems. For Pakistan, the openers are tempting but Afridi can be the man for them, coming in and smashing a quick 50 or so. He is 7/1 with Bet365 to top score for Pakistan.
New Zealand v South Africa:
In the second game of the day, The Kiwis will look to replicate the performance against Sri Lanka on the first day. New Zealand are 13/10 with 888sport to win, South Africa 4/6 with Betfred, who will need a stiffer test than Afghanistan as a measure of progress since losing to India.
New Zealand showed great batting power against Sri Lanka to over turn the total in the last over but The Kiwis have a proud history of ‘digging deep’ that people forget far too easily. Over the years they have repeatedly chased down daunting targets at a frenetic pace as players such as Brendan McCullum, Jacob Oram, Ross Taylor, Jessie Ryder and even Dan Vettori can all switch on and smash 25 at 2 runs a ball. Ross Taylor can be top bastmen here at 4/1 with Blue Square.
South Africa have bowled well during the previous 2 games but the batting has hardly been top notch. Kallis has been far and away the best batter and needs to score boundaries here to keep South Africa in touch, he is 11/4 with Victor Chandler to top score for the South Africans.
If NZ bat first, a sizable total of 160+ can worry South Africa and New Zealand can carry on their winning ways.
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