England vs. Sri Lanka 1st ODI (starts 3am ET Tuesday 18th)
England to win @ 6/4 (+150) x 1.5 points
Trescothick "top English batsman in series" @ 4/1 x 1 point
Strauss "top English batsman in series" @ 16/1 x 0.5 points
This is England's best chance to win a One Day International in Sri Lanka. After these one day games England could find themselves continually under pressure in the Test Series where the pitches will be in Sri Lanka's favour. Whilst not getting carried away with the 3-0 success in Bangladesh, it's hard to fault England under Michael Vaughan's captaincy in the 50-over format since he took charge. They came from behind to beat Pakistan in the NatWest Challenge at the start of the summer and then triumphed in the NatWest Series against South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Andy Flintoff has started to come of age as a world class all-rounder in the one-day sphere and this has given England a massive boost and are beginning to become a tough team to beat, as shown by their record of just two defeats in the last 12.
The top of the order has become some what of a worry where Vikram Solanki has been a weak link with just 11 runs from three innings against Bangladesh and he looks sure to lose his place to Andrew Strauss who grabbed his chance with a composed 83 in the one warm-up game against a Sri Lanka Cricket President's XI on Saturday.
Sri Lanka, led by Marvan Atapattu, haven't played international cricket for nearly five months, having had a break since their tour of the West Indies in the early part of the summer. While the rest will serve them well later this winter, it could make them a little rusty and vulnerable right now. They also have a couple of injuries with Dilhara Fernando and Prabath Nissanka, two of their main fast bowlers being absent. It was not so long ago that this country were World Champions and probably in the top two in World terms of the one day format, but inconsistency in their performances over the past few years has blighted them for a while now and it's been clearly in evidence since the last World Cup earlier this year.
They showed just what they are capable of by winning the one-day series in the Caribbean, the depth of their batting helping them successfully chase a target of 312 in the second match to take an unassailable 2-0 lead. However after a couple of good performances there follows several poor ones and this is supported by the fact that they've lost five of their last ten games since the World Cup and it's clear that some of their star names aren't quite as effective as they once were.
England did lose 3-0 in the last one-day series in Sri Lanka (at identical venues to those used this time) but that was when England were in the middle of an awful run of one-day form (lost 11 in a row) and Sri Lanka were one of the top two one day teams. Times have moved on since then though. England have won five of the last seven matches between the sides and seemed to clearly have Sri Lanka's measure when they last met in the VB Series last winter in Australia. The one match England did lose to Sri Lanka was the only one in which their only true world class bowler Muttiah Muralitharan took part in. Murali will again be the key man for Sri Lanka with the ball but England have handled him much better lately.
England are priced at 11/8 (+137) to win the series, however with the first game being played at Dambulla early on Tuesday punters should note that Dambulla has suited pacemen more than most Sri Lankan pitches recently and this will suit and benefit England.
England have every chance to get off to a flyer, therefore at 6/4 (easily available to backers on Betfair) to win one game compared with 11/8 to win two games and on a pitch that will give England their best chance, it would be in-appropiate to play the series in place of one single game. Value is one of the keys to successful betting and this game offers a good opportunity. On present form England should be favourites but as these games are played in conditions that clearly suit the home side I would price the game if I was a bookmaker at England 11/10 and Sri Lanka 8/11 allowing for the over round by the bookmakers.
As far as the other markets on offer are concerned there are two players that merit support.
Firstly Strauss looks overpriced at 16/1 to be the top English batsman in the series. If the news is correct from the ECB's website, he will surely now get three matches to state his case at the top of the order or number three and he couldn't have made a better start by top scoring in the warm-up game.
The other player needs no introduction, Trescothick has become England's key man in the one day game for the last couple of years now. He's been by far their most prolific scorer and his record against Sri Lanka is also superb with his last seven scores being 39, 85, 11, 27, 27, 82 and 26. Priced at 4/1 to be top England batsman in the series is a nice price and one worth playing.
England to win @ 6/4 (+150) x 1.5 points
Trescothick "top English batsman in series" @ 4/1 x 1 point
Strauss "top English batsman in series" @ 16/1 x 0.5 points
This is England's best chance to win a One Day International in Sri Lanka. After these one day games England could find themselves continually under pressure in the Test Series where the pitches will be in Sri Lanka's favour. Whilst not getting carried away with the 3-0 success in Bangladesh, it's hard to fault England under Michael Vaughan's captaincy in the 50-over format since he took charge. They came from behind to beat Pakistan in the NatWest Challenge at the start of the summer and then triumphed in the NatWest Series against South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Andy Flintoff has started to come of age as a world class all-rounder in the one-day sphere and this has given England a massive boost and are beginning to become a tough team to beat, as shown by their record of just two defeats in the last 12.
The top of the order has become some what of a worry where Vikram Solanki has been a weak link with just 11 runs from three innings against Bangladesh and he looks sure to lose his place to Andrew Strauss who grabbed his chance with a composed 83 in the one warm-up game against a Sri Lanka Cricket President's XI on Saturday.
Sri Lanka, led by Marvan Atapattu, haven't played international cricket for nearly five months, having had a break since their tour of the West Indies in the early part of the summer. While the rest will serve them well later this winter, it could make them a little rusty and vulnerable right now. They also have a couple of injuries with Dilhara Fernando and Prabath Nissanka, two of their main fast bowlers being absent. It was not so long ago that this country were World Champions and probably in the top two in World terms of the one day format, but inconsistency in their performances over the past few years has blighted them for a while now and it's been clearly in evidence since the last World Cup earlier this year.
They showed just what they are capable of by winning the one-day series in the Caribbean, the depth of their batting helping them successfully chase a target of 312 in the second match to take an unassailable 2-0 lead. However after a couple of good performances there follows several poor ones and this is supported by the fact that they've lost five of their last ten games since the World Cup and it's clear that some of their star names aren't quite as effective as they once were.
England did lose 3-0 in the last one-day series in Sri Lanka (at identical venues to those used this time) but that was when England were in the middle of an awful run of one-day form (lost 11 in a row) and Sri Lanka were one of the top two one day teams. Times have moved on since then though. England have won five of the last seven matches between the sides and seemed to clearly have Sri Lanka's measure when they last met in the VB Series last winter in Australia. The one match England did lose to Sri Lanka was the only one in which their only true world class bowler Muttiah Muralitharan took part in. Murali will again be the key man for Sri Lanka with the ball but England have handled him much better lately.
England are priced at 11/8 (+137) to win the series, however with the first game being played at Dambulla early on Tuesday punters should note that Dambulla has suited pacemen more than most Sri Lankan pitches recently and this will suit and benefit England.
England have every chance to get off to a flyer, therefore at 6/4 (easily available to backers on Betfair) to win one game compared with 11/8 to win two games and on a pitch that will give England their best chance, it would be in-appropiate to play the series in place of one single game. Value is one of the keys to successful betting and this game offers a good opportunity. On present form England should be favourites but as these games are played in conditions that clearly suit the home side I would price the game if I was a bookmaker at England 11/10 and Sri Lanka 8/11 allowing for the over round by the bookmakers.
As far as the other markets on offer are concerned there are two players that merit support.
Firstly Strauss looks overpriced at 16/1 to be the top English batsman in the series. If the news is correct from the ECB's website, he will surely now get three matches to state his case at the top of the order or number three and he couldn't have made a better start by top scoring in the warm-up game.
The other player needs no introduction, Trescothick has become England's key man in the one day game for the last couple of years now. He's been by far their most prolific scorer and his record against Sri Lanka is also superb with his last seven scores being 39, 85, 11, 27, 27, 82 and 26. Priced at 4/1 to be top England batsman in the series is a nice price and one worth playing.
