Cricket betting tips: England v New Zealand 1st T20I preview and best bets

Cricket betting tips: England v New Zealand

3pts New Zealand to beat England at 19/10 (Sporting Index)

1pt Harry Brook top England batsman at 15/2 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)

1pt Glenn Phillips top New Zealand batsman at 6/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)

World champions England return to T20I duty when kicking off a four-match series with NEW ZEALAND in Durham on Wednesday, but they would be mistaken if expecting an easy opener.

New Zealand have been defying the odds for years now, and with England coming into the series missing a number of first-choice bowlers – think Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes – the tourists are worth backing at 19/10 to spring a minor surprise.

As ever, England’s batting looks formidable. Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan help form a high-class top three, while there is quality in the middle order in the shape of Harry Brook.

The bowling does look particularly light, however, with Sam Curran and Adil Rashid potentially being joined by rookie Gus Atkinson and Chris Jordan, the latter having not been picked in the original squad.

Kiwi bowling attack has the edge

New Zealand are much stronger in this department, with options aplenty. Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson are the headline acts, but the outstanding Matt Henry helped Somerset to T20 Blast title glory just a few weeks ago, while Adam Milne has once again impressed in The Hundred in recent weeks.

Old habits die hard and when assessing teams, I’m always minded to side with the strongest bowling attack, even in the shortest format which demands batting depth and power.

With Devon Conway, Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell to come back into the New Zealand side that beat Gloucestershire in their recent warm-up match, the Kiwis do pack a punch with the bat, for all England would appear to have the edge in that department.

The superior batting muscle England possess in this format probably becomes even more of a factor on flat pitches and high-scoring grounds such as Leeds and the Oval, but Durham promises to level the field for the away side.

England have proven largely unstoppable in high-scoring matches where their batting depth invariably wins out, but Chester-Le-Street didn’t really facilitate that brand of cricket in this summer’s T20 Blast. Durham was by no means a bad place to bat, but the majority of the scores on this ground were in the region of 160, with 180 not breached once.

That type of game suits the Kiwis, whose batting can be overstretched when trying to consistently score at 10 runs per over. They are a much better team when able to bat a step slower than that yet still score enough runs to keep their canny, experienced bowling attack and ultra-reliable fielding in the game.

I can see New Zealand winning on Wednesday in a match not remembered for big runs, and certainly can’t ignore their excellent seam attack in English conditions when 19/10 is available for any match.

Brook and Phillips to make hay

In the side markets, a couple of bets stand out, starting with HARRY BROOK who is much too big at 15/2 for top England batsman.

Brook has made the headlines in recent days following his shocking omission from England’s 50-over World Cup squad for India later in the year, but he brushed aside that disappointment by blasting a brilliant century for the Northern Superchargers in their final match of The Hundred.

It’s hard to fathom how England can do without arguably the brightest young batting talent in world cricket, one who fetched big money at the latest IPL auction and has since shone in the longer format in this summer’s Ashes series.

Nevertheless, the Yorkshireman was part of England’s successful T20 World Cup campaign in Australia late last year and with something still to prove, I expect him to enjoy a productive series from number four or five in the batting order.

And either of those spots could be a really nice fit in this series, given how much swing the notoriously stubborn white Kookaburra ball offered in the Hundred.

It was generally tough work for opening batsmen in that competition as the ball did plenty, and for much longer than usual – betting the middle order could be a prudent strategy in this series should that trend continue.

With that in mind, I’ll be adding GLENN PHILLIPS to the staking plan, with 6/1 about him in the top New Zealand batsman market very fair.

With Kane Williamson still injured, Phillips is just about the senior figure in this New Zealand middle order, and he was the Kiwis' leading runscorer in that T20 World Cup in Australia, even with Williamson fit and firing there.

Phillips batted at number four in that tournament and having continued to make giant strides since, again featuring at the IPL and performing well for the Welsh Fire in The Hundred, he smacks of a cricketer still very much on the upgrade.

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