Australia v England preview and best bets

sportinglife.com

01 November 2023

Australia v England preview and best bets

Cricket betting tips: Australia v England

0.5pt David Willey top England batsman at 40/1 (General)

0.5pt Chris Woakes top England batsman at 50/1 (Betfred)

0.25pt Mark Wood top England batsman at 200/1 (General)

An accident on the golf course means Glenn Maxwell is a notable absentee for Australia on Saturday, but that shouldn’t be enough to save England when they face the music again in Ahmedabad, 8.30am, UK time.

England have offered a desperate defence of their World Cup title, victory over Bangladesh their only moment of cheer so far, and it’s hard to escape the feeling that Jos Buttler’s side are in free fall.

An ageing side and central contract distractions behind the scenes have clearly been big factors behind England’s poor showing, but they still had the opportunity to right some of those wrongs against India on Sunday, only to offer limp resistance with the bat when chasing a modest 230.

While the bowling has always been a concern, minus 2019 hero Jofra Archer, it’s the much-vaunted batting that has perhaps been the biggest disappointment.

Only Dawid Malan (38.33) and Harry Brook (32.00) are averaging above thirty in the tournament, with Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler all struggling for runs and scoring slowly. The middle order axis of Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone has offered nothing.

You’d expect one of those big names to come good, particularly with the extra incentive of playing old rivals Australia, but they couldn’t raise their game against India on what is always a big occasion.

My faith has finally dwindled and if England have indeed ‘checked out’ already, perhaps another low total with the bat could be on the cards. If that proves to be the case, taking a stab at some big prices in the top England batsman market looks the way forward.

Though pencilled to bat at number 11, MARK WOOD has top scored for England already at this World Cup when blasting an unbeaten 43 against South Africa.

Wood has worked hard on his batting, and it's worth remembering that his eight-ball 24 in the first innings of last summer’s Ashes win at Headingley was viewed by many as a match-changing moment, and he was 16 not out in the second innings as England won by three wickets.

With Australia’s attack always to be feared, 20 or 30 from the lower order could easily win this, so I’ll try Wood to very small stakes at 200/1, along with CHRIS WOAKES (50/1) and DAVID WILLEY (40/1) in the same market.

Woakes hasn’t really fired with the bat yet, like many of his teammates, but he came good with the ball against India and that ought to have done him plenty of good.

This is a man with a Test hundred against India to his name, and six more half-centuries in that format, and he has done these pages a few favours over the years when springing a surprise with the bat – namely when top scoring in the Adelaide Test of the 2021/2022 Ashes series.

At the prices, I’m happy to chance Woakes, finishing with off with Willey who has arguably been England’s player of the tournament so far.

That’s a shocking indictment of not only where England are with their ODI cricket right now, but also the fact that Willey is the only member of the World Cup squad not to have been awarded a central contact for next year.

Willey has claimed five wickets in England’s last two matches, playing like a man very much with something to prove, and having reacted by since announcing his retirement from international cricket at the conclusion of the World Cup, I suspect this feisty competitor will want to finish on a high.

Willey has always been a fine white-ball batsman, starting off as a T20 opener for Northamptonshire, and he's done nothing wrong with bat in hand the last twice, finishing unbeaten on 14 and 16 not out respectively.

He's sure to give another account and should England’s top order roll over again, recent evidence suggesting that might well be the case, he could pick up the pieces.