Here are our top England v Pakistan 1st ODI betting tips this week. England return to action in midweek when taking on Pakistan in the first of what promises to be an educational One Day International series. The Kia Oval in London provides the backdrop and the home team, as well as their thousands of fans in attendance, will be looking to put on a winning performance as they work through the finishing touches to their World Cup preparation.
The first of a five-game ODI series, this run of matches will allow the coaching staff and players to build on a few things they have been working on at the training ground, but the result is also important. International cricket is a game of confidence so England will want to have as much as that on their side before heading into their first World Cup match against South Africa on 30 May at this same venue.
Bookies Make their Feelings Clear
Bookmakers have had their say on the outcome and respect the recent form of the locals. The English cricket team has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons of late – you can tell there’s a major tournament on the horizon when that’s the case – but traders have them as red-hot favourites to beat Pakistan on Wednesday and get off to the best possible start. This match will be shown live on Sky Sports from 1.00pm GMT and there are lots of ways you can ramp up your interest with a bet on the winners and losers.
Have your say on the match winner market – taking the short price about England or the big odds available about an upset. If you are after more, or perhaps you prefer to avoid picking sides, you’ll be glad to learn there’s plenty designed to catch your attention in the specials. Bet on top English batsman, top England bowler, the away player to score most runs for his team and the visiting bowler to claim most wickets. Betting is available on the run-up to the coin toss – you can even punt on heads or tails – with many markets continued throughout the afternoon thanks to in-play betting.
England Kept Busy
We may still be in the early exchanges of May, but England have already been extremely busy, and this match will be their third outing of the month. The hosts are determined to give themselves the best chance possible of winning their own World Cup and organisers see keeping active as the best way to do that. Playing games, winning, trying out new things and adding confidence to the dressing room will be key in the coming weeks. They must hit the ground running on 30 May.
We won’t see the best of England at this stage, of course. There’s a fine art to hitting form at the right time and they’ll look to do that by edging their way through the gears. The full squad will be used during this ODI series and certain players will be given the chance to prove themselves worthy of a place in the team when things get serious in summer.
England got their campaign moving with a win over Ireland in Dublin on Friday. The result was expected by just about everyone, but the victors were made to work hard for the result with Ireland coming out of the day with credit, despite the final result. The scoreboard read England 199-6 (42.0) against 198 all out (43.1). That gave a winning margin of four wickets, giving followers of both clubs a question to answer – did Ireland raise their game, were England poor, or a bit of both? The latter looks more likely, although Ireland’s heavy defeat to West Indies suggests they did save their best for that grudge match, targeting another upset.
Pakistan Next to Fall
Following that win over Ireland, we saw England go on to beat Pakistan on Sunday in an International Twenty20 match. Another win but another that was closer than we all thought it would be. England won by a mere seven wickets thanks to a score of 175-3 (19.2) against 173.6 (20.0), Pakistan asking a few questions and finishing as a worthwhile opponent.
Pakistan had the bat first that day and set a target that looked achievable. The hosts fancied themselves as being good enough to run it down and they did just that, without causing too much fuss along the way. Jofra Archer has been impressing those in the know of late and he did so again with another performance that tells us he has a big year ahead of him and the player will be determined to prove his worth on the big stage.
Eoin Morgan was another who stood out on a pleasing day for England fans in Cardiff and the pair are expected to pick-up where they left off here. He chipped in with a solid score of 57 not out and that helped drive his teammates across the line to victory, the feat achieved off just 29 balls. It’s always marked down as a good team effort, of course, but Archer and Morgan went home proud of their efforts that day. Another win for England on Wednesday in the 1st ODI is 4/9 at Ladbrokes and that’s market best price. Be careful who you trust if you fancy a bet on that one as most firms are stuck around the 2/5 mark.
Bigger Price Can’t Be Ignored
Pakistan have been written off for success by the odds-makers who are confident enough to serve up a cracking 2/1 (Bet365). That price tells us the market thinks Pakistan can’t win but they proved again recently they can never be written off and there will be a few value hunters keen to take that price. 2/1 would work best as a single for interest stakes, if you fancy the upset.
There’s more to be had in the method of victory market, ensuring you won’t be short of something to bet on in midweek to keep this match interesting. Morgan to be top England batsman is 9/2 with William Hill or there’s 7/2 – top price Bet365 – on Jofra Archer being top England bowler.