Cricket World Cup Betting Tips: England vs Netherlands
Buttler’s side must place in the top eight to secure their spot in the tournament, and given recent performances there are doubts whether that’s possible.
Netherlands have picked up more wins than England entering the game.
They stunned South Africa with a brilliant performance to defeat the Proteas by 38 runs, and also notched a comfortable victory over Bangladesh. So, Scott Edwards’ side are more than capable of beating this England side.
Buttler’s team are still the overwhelming favourites in the Cricket World Cup odds.
But, it will be far from straightforward given England’s form and there could be another surprise in the offing.
Malan to set England straight
Ahead of the tournament England made the call to replace World Cup winner Jason Roy with Malan at the top of the order.
Although it has been a disastrous campaign for Buttler and his team, Malan at least has performed well enough with a century and one fifty to his name.
The left-hander has not been in perfect form, but has outplayed his more established teammates, notably Jonny Bairstow. He has scored 286 runs at the tournament, 98 more than the next England batter.
Malan does have a weakness against spin when pace comes off the ball outside of the powerplay, but he should have plenty of license to take on Netherlands’ pace bowlers.
The 36-year-old scored 125 against Netherlands in England’s record-breaking score of 498 in 2022.
He may not hit those high notes again, but he may have ample time at the crease to prove that he is worth his place in the side for the short-term future.
We’re backing Malan to lead the run column for England in Pune at odds of 3/1 with William Hill.
Beware of Van Meekeren
We should expect an improved bowling performance from Netherlands compared to their efforts against England in 2022.
England were operating at the peak of their powers and their batting line-up was merciless, bludgeoning almost 500 runs from 50 overs in the opening ODI before recording comfortable chases in the other two games.
Paul van Meekeren has been a solid operator for Netherlands in the tournament, taking 10 wickets in seven games at an average of 30.00.
The 30-year-old has also been tight with ball in hand, boasting an economy rate of 5.20, better than any England bowler other than Adil Rashid.
He was outstanding in the win over Bangladesh, moving the ball off the seam in advantageous conditions to claim figures of four for 23.
Van Meekeren has plenty of experience against England players, having played county cricket for Somerset, Gloucestershire and Durham.
He took two wickets in the third ODI against England in 2022 in Amstelveen, removing Phil Salt and Malan.
With our second bet, we’re taking Van Meekeren to match that by taking two wickets or more at 11/4 with Betway.
England to score a century
It has been a miserable tournament for England, but they do have the chance to reset in the final two matches and restore some pride.
Buttler and his team built a reputation of being the best batting unit in the world for seven years, and they were widely expected to use the line-up to make another charge for the crown in the pre-tournament odds with UK bookmakers.
It failed to materialise and only Malan has reached three figures in seven games in India, which is staggering considering the talent available.
In Amstelveen in 2022, three England players made centuries in the record-breaking total of 498. Roy added a fourth century in the series in the third ODI.
England have a good history of scoring runs against this Netherlands bowling line-up.
And, although they’ve had their issues in India, England will still hope one player at least will be able to fire and score a century in Pune with odds available of 7/4 with bet365.
Simon Sinclair is an experienced sports journalist, who has written for national publications for football, cricket, NFL and many more. He contributes tips on a wide range of sports for The Independent.
