Richard Mann previews England's must-win clash with Australia in Melbourne on Friday, where T20 World Cup dreams hang by a thread for both teams.
Cricket tips: ICC T20 World Cup Australia v England
2pts Dawid Malan top England batsman at 9/2 (General)
Of all the takes to come out of England's shock defeat to Ireland on Wednesday, the ones suggesting Dawid Malan shouldn't be in the starting XI are hardest to fathom.
Though obviously out of sorts against Ireland, Malan's struggles were less notable than most of his teammates and it's worth remembering that in his last four innings, he has posted scores of 82, 23, 18 and 35. His overall T20I average is still nudging forty and his strike-rate 135.58.
It is true that Malan was searching for some for rhythm in England's first two matches, but Jos Buttler has only made 18 runs in two innings, Ben Stokes eight. Alex Hales has only reached double figures once in his last five innings.
Malan isn't the problem here and with question marks around many of his England batting colleagues, I'm happy to take 9/2 about the Yorkshire star in the top England batsman market.
Malan still top of the pile for England
It wasn't so long ago that Malan was being hailed for his wonderful form at the end of the Pakistan tour and in the World Cup warm-up matches upon arriving in Australia, and he is England's leading runscorer in the competition so far, despite not being at his best.
I've always felt that Australia's pace-heavy attack suits Malan well – Malan's numbers against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand are very strong – though my one reservation would centre around just how much seam movement we have seen at the MCG in a World Cup that has been badly affected by the weather already.
That isn't ideal for Malan's game which is about timing and trusting the pace and bounce in order to play his horizontal shots with confidence, but the same can be said about Buttler and Hales and they have failed to adept as yet.
I'm happy stick with Malan, on price as much as anything else.
That seam movement I have made reference to is something that hasn't been confined to Melbourne. At the time of writing, New Zealand's score of 200-3 against Australia in Sydney is the highest recorded in the Super 12s, with India's dramatic run chase of 160-6 against Pakistan next best.
I can't see that theme continuing if the weather picks up Down Under, but for now batting hasn't been that easy and I'll be holding fire with any both teams to score 170+, 180+ or 190+ runs bets until we see a change. Brisbane and Adelaide enter the competition in the next few days, so perhaps that will signal a significant shift on this.
The match market for this one has Australia as marginal favourites, but I'm not sure that's fair given it was Buttler's men who dominated the recent three-match series played between these two sides.
Australia struggling ahead of must-win clash
Furthermore, England's defeat to Ireland shouldn't mask how poor Australia were against New Zealand and for large periods against Sri Lanka, and as I pointed out in my outright preview, there are holes in all of the leading contenders at this World Cup.
It shouldn't be panic stations for England just yet, and if they play their best cricket on Friday then recent form suggests they will be too strong for Australia.
With that in mind, taking a closer look at England's seamers – who will have been disappointed with their efforts on this ground against Ireland – in the Man of the Match market would usually be an angle to explore.
The issue here is that Chris Woakes has bowled poorly in England's first two matches, despite having conditions to suit, and Mark Wood isn't really the type of pitch-up, swing and seam bowler that the wickets at the MCG have appeared to be crying out for.
Given he has been opening the bowling and performing that role pretty well, Stokes is another option, but his batting has been so disappointing and one wonders whether things are ever going to click for him at this World Cup.
I'll sit that one out, then, with Malan the only bet I can muster enough confidence in. Fingers crossed he can prove the pick of a misfiring England but very capable batting line-up.
Preview posted at 1210 BST (26/10/2022)
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