England Bet On Ben Stokes Replacing Joe Root In 1st Test

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With Joe Root away you can bet on Ben Stokes being in the spotlight as his replacement. From the praise heaped upon him you’d think he could do no wrong. Which probably means, as anyone who regularly has a bet on sports in the UK, at sites like bet365, will tell you, he just might. A bet on England at Cricket is, or course, always a risky proposition. With as much propensity to fail as succeed and staring an easy victory in the face, alas a familiar narrative starts to form.

You can bet on Ben Stokes to be nearly surprised as everyone else he’s England captain. It might only be for one match, but this is a man once involved in a brawl. He has suffered appalling family tragedy and generally fought his way back from the brink of ignominy. For him now to lead out his national side is a bit of a miracle. The only question is; Will he squander this golden opportunity? Others have tried it before and not found the big shoes quite as comfortable as they thought.

Ian Botham was ghastly as Captain and, more recently, Andrew Flintoff was just as bad. There are some for whom the role is not suitable. Ben Stokes could well be one. Although if you look at the praise being showered on him, you’d bet on Ben Stokes to lead England to victory. Well, either that or ascend to a different astral plane. Those who regularly take advantage of UK gambling laws at Bet365 and the like could almost be suspicious. They’re laying it on a bit thick.

Captaincy And Windies Bowlers Challenge Stokes

Trevor Bayliss and Chris Silverwood give him the nod. Stuart Broad and Kemar Roach say he’s perfect for the job, and Nasser Hussain compared him with Virat Kohli. So, you can either bet on Ben Stokes to be the best captain ever, or to fall flat on his face. With England there’s plenty of scope for either. Especially as England are very much favored to win by bookies like Bet365. There’s almost a haunting familiarity to this narrative. Those 1/7 series odds England get may not mean much.

England vs Windies

• West Indies – 17/1
• Draw – 10/1
• England – 1/7

Too often have we seen England squander advantage. Sure, they do often win, but it’s frequently (perhaps too frequently) by the skin of their teeth. In his eagerness to impress, you could easily bet on Ben Stokes to just fail to get the measure of the Windies. Especially if their bowling attack casts him aside quickly. The series odds will shift massively at online betting sites in the UK like Bet365 if Stokes fails to perform. With a lot on his mind as Captain, his work at the crease could suffer.

Bet On Ben Stokes To Emulate Joe Root At Bet365

Not that the bookies like Bet365 are too concerned. If you go and bet on the top scoring English batsman, you’ll find he’s still favorite. He gets 3/1 to rack up the most runs across the three matches, but that’s the rub. Should he not be able to stand up to the West Indies a bet on Ben Stokes ever captaining again could be dicey. So Ben has to impress on two fronts, both as the team’s strategist and leading batsman. It’s not all that enviable a position, especially with little home field advantage. 

England Top Batsman

• Jos Buttler – 12/1
• Joe Root – 8/1
• Joe Denly – 8/1
• Zak Crawley – 13/2
• Ollie Pope – 7/2
• Dom Sibley – 10/3
• Rory Burns – 4/1
• Ben Stokes – 3/1

With no crowds Southampton will be an eerie place. Just how much that will work in the Windies favor is debatable. It certainly won’t work in Ben Stokes’. He’s always been fond of the crowd and they of him, so the lack of the barmy army may just effect his judgement. Not that I’d suggest a bet on the West Indies winning this series. They’ve problems of their own, and a bet on Ben Stokes doing okay at online sportsbook sites in the UK like Bet365 is probably an okay wager.

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We take a look why a bet on Ben Stokes could so easily veer from a triumphant deputation to utter wholesale disaster in just one Test match.