Betting Tips England v Australia

Preview England v Australia

How nice of the hosts England to have ensured that the remaining games of the group stages of the World Cup retain some interest. Sri Lanka’s victory over the favourites seems to have ignited a bit of belief in the chasing pack that the semi-final places are not a foregone conclusion.

Of course, if England can right the wrongs of their poor performance on Friday by beating their archrivals Australia then the hopes of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh may be extinguished before they really begin to burn brightly. On the other hand, if England lose then not only will they feel those teams breathing heavily down their neck but they will also have allowed Australia to strike the first blow during an Ashes summer. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this match is the biggest of England’s season so far

The Venue – Lords

It seems slightly odd that a tournament being held in the UK has taken so long to reach the spiritual home of cricket but we did finally see action here on Sunday when Pakistan defeated South Africa.

We witnessed what looked like a pretty good batting track in that game with the Pakistan top order able to get their side off to a good start as result of the pace and even bounce on offer. Indeed, throughout both innings, it looked like a wicket where bowlers who missed their line & length by any margin would be dispatched to the boundary across a lightning fast outfield. The only disappointment for the top orders on either side is that none of them were really able to cash in on the conditions and make a big score with only Hashim Amla failing to get a start.

England and Australia have scored 8 centuries between them at the World Cup 2019

However, perhaps that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise given that the batsmen on both sides have failed to score 3 figures so far in this World Cup. By contrast, England and Australia between them have compiled almost half of the 17 centuries scored at this World Cup and you would imagine that they won't turn down the opportunity to add to those today.

What we also saw in the match on Sunday was wickets for the slow bowlers and in particular the wrist spinners with Tahir and Shadab Khan claiming 5 between them. Given the problems that Australia faced against Moeen and Rashid last year then that turn could well be a defining factor again, although it should be noted that the pitch being used for today's match is not the same one that Pakistan and South Africa played on.

Moeen and Rashid dominated Australia in last year's ODI series with 12 wickets a piece

It’s impossible to talk about Lords without mentioning the infamous slope. While many quick bowlers have managed to utilize it to their advantage there are many more who have struggled to find the right line or length or rhythm at the crease as a result of it.

Pat Cummins seems to enjoy bowling at Lord's as his record to date in ODIs here suggests

Form Guide

One thing that England can take confidence from as they head into this crunch match is their recent success against this Australian side. While some will point out the 5-0 whitewash they achieved last year was set against the back-drop of sandpaper gate and the turmoil that created around the dressing as a whole not to mention the expulsion Australia’s 2 best batsmen, it is worthwhile pointing out that England defeated a full-strength Australian side in Australia just a matter of months prior to that incident.

England have won 9 out of their last 10 matches against Australia

There is also evidence to suggest that England up their game against top-calibre opposition with the majority of their most recent defeats coming against sides outside the current semi-final places. Anyone who has followed England over the past few years and/or read my blog will know that one of the major weaknesses of this side in all formats seems to be a lack of focus and killer instinct. There is no doubting the talent that lies within the squad but do they really have that desire to win that is the mark of true champions? That being said, I can’t imagine that this match won’t provide adequate motivation for both sets of players and there is further evidence to suggest that England like to come back from a defeat with a big performance – they will need another one in order to get something from this match today!

Over the past 2 years, England have a better win percentage against the 3 above them in the World Cup standings than they do against the teams below them and sides who have not even qualified for the competition

With Jason Roy ruled out of this match it will be interesting to see how the England batsmen go about dealing with the new ball threat posed by Australia. Most sides to date have been happy to sit in against Starc and Cummins, bidding their time in order to attack the 2nd string bowlers in the middle overs but for me that doesn’t fit into the attacking mindset that England have been so successful with over the last few years. If England can put pressure on Australia in the first 10 overs as well as through the middle period of their innings then it will be interesting to see if this Aussie side has the options to respond and pull the game back.

Cummins and Starc's economy in their opening spells at the World Cup

Sri Lanka are the only team to really have gone out and had a go at Cummins and Starc, taking them for more than 8 and 6 an over respectively. Had they have had the middle order that England has then it's entirely possible they would have won that match and similiar statements could be made about Pakistan and the West Indies. England must attack this Aussie bowling line-up!

Predictions

It's difficult as a fan to detach yourself from your emotions when gambling and part me thinks that I shouldn't bet at all on this game. However, given the stats above I believe there is value in England winning this game with their odds having been pushed longer as a result of their defeat to Sri Lanka. I've also taken a bet on a century to be scored in the match given the quality of the pitch and batsmen on either side.

Most of my success in betting on this World Cup has come from live betting so as well as the match predictions, I will also provide the following things to watch out for

  • Mitchell Starc generally bowls a 3 over opening spell. Depending on whether he bowls the 1st or 2nd over, look out for the under/over runs scored market on the 7th or 8th over. If England have been happy to sit back against him and Cummins then they will definitely attack the new bowler so bet over

Current World Cup Betting Record

As mentioned above, my positive ROI is being sustained by live betting at the moment and I've had success calling the winner of the last 3 games at decent odds

India @1.5 v Afghanistan - much better than their starting price of @1.03

Pakistan @1.4 v South Africa - once their openers got going I felt a score of 300 was on and SA weren't going to get that

Bangladesh @1.28 v Afghanistan - again once they'd got off to a solid start I felt they'd make 250 and that would be beyond their opponents

Bets 62

Wins 39

ROI +15.35%