Richard Mann has been in flying form of late, and he has three bets for the second Test which begins at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Cricket tips: England v South Africa second Test
2pts Anrich Nortje to be top South Africa first innings bowler at 3/1 (General)
1pt Jack Leach to be Man of the Match at 16/1 (General)
1pt Keshav Maharaj to be Man of the Match at 14/1 (General)
Following a brilliant four-Test winning streak at the beginning of the summer, England were brought crashing back down to earth when thumped by an innings and 12 runs by South Africa at Lord’s.
England now head to Old Trafford for the second Test of a three-match series needing to bounce back quickly, not just to keep the series alive, but to reinforce the point that the new, ultra-aggressive approach advocated by coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes is indeed the way forward for this team.
Much has been spoken and written about Baz-ball throughout the summer, but for balance, it is worth remembering where England were a year ago and then again in the winter: comfortably second best against New Zealand and India, before suffering a 4-0 drubbing in the Ashes and then losing in the Caribbean.
England are in a much better place now and while I’ve already expressed my doubts on these pages as to whether this current approach will yield long-term success against the very best bowling attacks in the world in a variety of conditions, these players needed a boost and the new leadership has certainly provided that.
What England must do in the longer term is try and find a better balance between attack and defence when conditions are in favour of the bowlers.
Having lost the toss at Lord’s and found themselves batting in tough conditions on a pitch tinged with green and with plenty of cloud cover, England’s top order were again found wanting.
That is nothing new, and the big difference between Lord’s and earlier in the summer was that conditions favoured the bowlers for much longer last week than they did against New Zealand – and South Africa’s excellent four-pronged pace attack didn’t relent.
If conditions suit the bowlers again in Manchester, the more cautious approach taken by South Africa’s batsmen will likely prove a safer bet once more, though a decent forecast at present will certainly please England’s batting group.
I think it’s dangerous to get too carried away with one defeat, just as it was those four victories before them, and my early conclusions are that this England batting line-up, taking the current approach, will remain very dangerous when conditions are good for batting, but highly vulnerable when the ball move sideways for a long time.
Old Trafford is generally a good place to bat, but spin can be a huge factor in Manchester and the toss might be as crucial here as it was at Lord’s. Bat first and put runs on the board could be the simple recipe to success this time.
If that does prove to be the case then it could bring JACK LEACH into focus, and he looks worth a bet in the Man of the Match market at 16/1.
Leach has enjoyed a good year so far in 2022, picking up 30 wickets in nine matches, and it wasn’t so long ago that his 10-wicket haul at Headingley saw him awarded the Man of the Match prize.
Prior to that, Leach was comfortably England’s best bowler in the Caribbean when getting through 189.3 overs across three matches on some awfully flat pitches, finishing with 11 wickets.
There were some promising signs from Leach last week and I expect Stokes to use him plenty here if Old Trafford is anything like we have seen in years gone by.
With that in mind, I’m also going to add KESHAV MAHARAJ to the staking plan.
Maharaj didn’t have much work to do in the first innings at Lord’s, but he bowled really well for his two scalps in the second innings and a fiery 41 demonstrated his capabilities with the bat.
The left-arm finger spinner has enjoyed a really good time of it of late – across all formats – but his previous two Tests prior to Lord’s saw him claim a total of 16 wickets against Bangladesh.
While South Africa’s battery of pace bowlers usually demand the most attention, the role Maharaj plays in this side should not be underestimated, particularly when he gets conditions to suit.
He should come to the fore this week, though I’m sticking with ANRICH NORTJE in the top first innings South Africa bowler market.
Though expensive, Nortje impressed with his raw speed at Lord’s and he dismantled England’s middle order with three wickets in each innings.
He was outdone by Kagiso Rabada in the first innings there, but he was unusually errant against England’s tail when he would ordinarily make short work of Stuart Broad and co with his express pace and generally excellent yorker.
I don’t expect him to be as forgiving on an Old Trafford surface that usually has plenty of pace in it, and he should prove worth sticking with at 3/1.
Posted at 1455 BST on 22/08/22
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