Cricket Betting Tips: Returning Aussie duo can make sure Cricket World Cup remains Down Under
JUST over four years have passed since that harrowing night at the Adelaide Oval where England were dumped out of the 2015 Cricket World Cup by Bangladesh.
That defeat was the latest in a long line of abject performances from the Three Lions in cricket’s premier 50-over competition and, with the next one due to take place in their own back yard, serious work was needed, and fast.
On the eve of the 2015 tournament, Eoin Morgan replaced Alastair Cook as captain and having watched his side capitulate in the Australian sun, the Irish-born left-hander has masterminded turning a bunch of no-hopers into world beaters.
While the likes of New Zealand and Australia were playing a dynamic and entertaining brand of cricket, England were accused of being old-fashioned and one-dimensional.
Accusations, based on their results, that were warranted.
It was clear a total change in mentality, as well as personnel, was required and England acted quickly by bringing in the likes of Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett.
These players have typified what England are about in One-Day cricket these days; brutal batting led by the swashbuckling opening partnership of Roy and Bairstow, while the varied attack, spearheaded by Rashid, the leading wicket taker in ODIs since the last World Cup, have given Morgan a sense of control he could only have dreamt of about four years ago.
Morgan’s side have won over 70 per cent of their matches since 2015 and are the rightful favourites to win their first World Cup.
Spread betting firm Sporting Index offer a spread of 50-54 in their outright 100-50-25-0 Index, with 100 points awarded to the winner.
This means if you fancy England to win it, buy them at 54 and you would win 46 (100-54) times your stake.
As I mentioned, and as the world rankings suggest, England are the most likely winners, particularly given they have conditions in their favour, but they look short enough for a side that hasn’t done it at a major tournament and there is value elsewhere.
Therefore, I’m going to remove my patriotic hat and side with the old enemy AUSTRALIA as my main fancy for a sixth World Cup trophy.
As we all know, much of the Aussies’ preparation has been dominated by the inclusion of ‘sandpaper gate’ duo David Warner and Steve Smith and there are guaranteed to be plenty of boos when both take to the field throughout the tournament.
However, as Warner showed in the IPL and Smith in a recent warm-up game against England, these are two of the world’s best batsman and with the likes of captain Aaron Finch and the ultra-consistent Shaun Marsh in their ranks too, they have a more than capable batting line-up.
For me, the reason they have perhaps gone slightly under the radar this time around is because their bowlers haven’t quite performed as well as we know they can.
Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummings have shown time and time again the damage they can do and they’ve got to be feared, particularly in English conditions.
Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon are effective ODI spinners, and providing Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell can share the workload of the sixth bowler, I think they look to have all bases covered.
Buying Australia at 39 with Sporting Index looks the way to go.
POINTERS
Buy Australia 39 (Sporting Index)