English Cricket Tour Slumps But Will They Arise In Bloemfontein?

With a series win over South Africa under their belts the England Cricket tour goes well, but the tourists performance in the final test left much to be desired, so was this just a case of easing up after the job is done, or should we be worried for their chances in the up-coming One Day International Series and the 20Twenties still to play? Let’s see what the bookies think.

One Day International Series

• 1st match in Bloemfontein
• England 11/10
• South Africa 8/11

The test at Centurion was hardly the highlight England Cricket tour so far, the England side so lackluster at the crease in the second innings that it was almost embarrassing. Hales went LBW seven balls in with barely a single on the scoresheet, Cook was caught and bowled by Morkel for a paltry 5 and Compton was out before the tourists had reached 20.

Taylor tried in vain to haul it back getting as far as 24 before he was caught by de Kock, and Root found himself walking back to the pavilion before any more had been added to the score, England just 58-5. After that it was all over bar the bowling with Stokes, Bairstow and Moeen all going cheaply and the tail end barely able to reach double figures between them. 101 all out, giving South Africa a win over the England Cricket tour of some 280 runs.

Those most disappointed will be they that took advantage of UK gambling laws to back them, the side itself apparently content with a 2-1 series win, and whether the England Cricket tour decided to keep its powder dry for the matches yet to come is beside the point when their performance was so shamefully poor. Sure, on that last day needing 382 to win it was a mountain to climb, but the least they could have done was turn up with some metaphorical rope.

English Cricket Tour Collapses In Second Innings

The first of the One Day International Series gets underway in Bloemfontein on the 3rd of February and should the English order not be able to settle itself down quicker, that may well turn into a rout. Naturally the one day game is a different beast, in many ways, but there’s no getting away from the fact that the English openers just weren’t focused enough to get comfortable, and in One Day Cricket you don’t get that long to start with.

Bet365 is giving giving South Africa the edge, and based on the showing of England in that last innings who can blame them, with the hosts 4/9 to take the ODI Series whilst the tourists garner just 7/4, but there’s far more to wager on that just who wins the most matches. The book on the top Batsman for the series gives a rather nice 6/1 on de Kock, for instance, which after his century in the last test is delightfully attractive and not easily ignored.

But even within each match Bet365 keeps you in touch with the English Cricket tour of South Africa, with books on the highest opening partnership, with an almost irresistible 25/1 on that being even stevens, and given England’s top order collapse, who can say that won’t happen? 8/1 on de Villiers to be man of the Match in the first match of the One Day International Series is also a decent bet, but if you like to bet on sports in the UK, it’ll be the First Wicket Method book that will fascinate you.

One Day Internationals Provide Great Betting Opportunities

So just what will cause the first of the wickets to fall in the first ODI? Well caught is 4/9, Bowled 4/1 (although that seems a tad generous to me) LBW is nicely placed at 5/1 and Run Out isn’t worth touching at 9/1 (and nor is stumped, frankly). The English Cricket tour thus far leads me to suspect that LBW is a nice bet worth taking, although the more cautious will want to plump for caught. However if you’re up for throwing caution to the wind, check out Bet365‘s Top Team Bowler book.

Tahir and Rabada share the honors on 3/1 for South Africa, although Morkel’s form mean his 10/3 is a bit mean, and Broad, Topley, Rashid and Willey share the possibility of 10/3 themselves, and the chances are that won’t be too far off the mark, but with four to choose from you’re better off splitting the difference and backing both South Africans to take apart the English Cricket tour in no short order if the boys from Blighty are as inept as they appeared.

Of course whilst we fans are awaiting play to get underway, the realities of modern sport are never too far away to spoil the view, and South Africa find themselves doing their dirty laundry as the world looks on, former spin bowler Gulam Bodi banned for 20 years having admitted match fixing, but if the England Cricket tour is gambling news coverage of that Cricket South Africa decision would distract attention from their nervy and poor performance in Centurion, they’d be wholly wrong.