Cricket betting tips: England v Pakistan ODI series preview as Ben Stokes and Fakhar Zaman backed to make early running
Richard Mann has four selections for the first ODI in Cardiff on Thursday as England begin a three-match series against Pakistan.
Cricket tips: England v Pakistan ODI series, July 8-13
1pt Fakhar Zaman Top Pakistan Batsman in first ODI at 7/2 (General)
1pt Fakhar Zaman Top Match Batsman in first ODI at 9/1 (Sky Bet)
1pt Ben Stokes Top England Batsman in first ODI at 6/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair)
1pt Ben Stokes Top Match Batsman in first ODI at 16/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair)
After three largely uncompetitive ODIs against Sri Lanka, hot on the heels of three similarly one-sided T20Is against the same opposition, England will face Pakistan in another three-match ODI series scheduled to begin in Cardiff on Thursday. Unfortunately, a Covid-19 outbreak in the England camp on Tuesday morning has meant the entire original squad has been forced into isolation with Ben Stokes recalled earlier than planned to lead a new, inexperienced home side.
While Pakistan were routed 4-0 by England on these shores when both sides were preparing for the 50-over World Cup back in 2019, things are expected to be much different this time around with the tourists boasting a stronger pace attack two years on and the hosts having endured just about the worst preparation imaginable. If the series does go ahead – and that has to be in some doubt – Pakistan are expected to go off favourites and really ought to win.
Still, these three matches do offer the promise of seeing some high-class performers from both sides in action and Stokes and Dawid Malan are expected to carry a heavy weight of responsibility when it comes to England's batting.
Batting quality on show
Malan is currently the number one ranked T20 batsman in the world and there really is no reason why he can't do just as well in this format, or indeed Test cricket, should he earn back in his place in the red-ball team for the upcoming series against India.
Where exactly he fits into this batting order remains to be seen, but Stokes is highly likely to want to lead from the front and expect him to bat in the top four, possibly even at number three, which would pit him against Pakistan's premier batsman, Babar Azam. In terms of quality, there are few better than Azam and a career ODI average of 56.83 and strong returns when these two sides met here in 2019 suggests he will come to the fore once again in the coming days.
As well as finishing as Pakistan’s top scorer in that aforementioned 2019 series, Babar was the leading batsman at the recently concluded Pakistan Super League, though taking short prices about him on this tour could be a dangerous strategy given he was outscored by FAKHAR ZAMAN when Pakistan played three ODIs in South Africa earlier in the year. As was the case then, Fakhar could be the value play at 7/2 in the scheduled curtain raiser on Thursday.
While Babar is Mr Consistent, Fakhar has the ability to go very big once set with his 193 in Johannesburg in April trumped by a 210 not out against Zimbabwe in 2018 and, arguably, only on par with his brilliant 138 against England at Southampton in 2019.
Fakhar made light work of likes of Chris Woakes, David Willey and Adil Rashid on that occasion and up against a wholly inexperienced attack this time around – by international standards anyway – I’m keen to take the dashing left-hander for Top Pakistan Batsman honours.
Furthermore, that ability to make big hundreds is enough to persuade me to back Fakhar in the Top Match Batsman market at 9/1 (Sky Bet) with the hope he can get through the new ball and make hay in the middle overs, something Sri Lankans Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga managed to some degree after early casualties last week.
Stokes the man in Root's absence
When this preview was originally published, I had made a compelling case to side with Joe Root following his unbeaten 79 in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, quickly followed by a typically classy 68 not out in the second match at The Oval.
It was hard to fault Root against Sri Lanka, but he could be replaced at number three in this series by STOKES, a high-class batsman in his own right who averages over 40 in this form of the game already and batted at first drop when Root was rested for the ODI leg of the India tour in the winter.
Malan could of course take that spot, but he batted at number four in that same series while opening isn't out of the question for him, and this looks a good opportunity for Stokes to make his case for a permanent position higher up the order in all formats.
Stokes' average actually climbs to 53.85 against Pakistan, and on the back of some strong recent workouts for Durham following a finger injury picked up at the Indian Premier League, the 6/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power) on offer for him to be England's Top Batsman in Cardiff looks particularly generous.
With the same firms offering 16/1 that Stokes also finishes the match as the Top Match Batsman, it makes sense to add that bet to the staking plan – giving me two stabs, along with Fakhar, on a market which has the potential to be dominated by only a handful of players.
Elsewhere, England’s bowling attack is all change and while I dearly hope Danny Briggs gets the opportunity to show his worth on the international stage again, I can’t sum up much confidence for a bet in the Top Bowler market for the hosts, similarly with Pakistan who have enough options at the death that an early watching brief is advised.
England squad to face Pakistan: Ben Stokes (c), Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Phil Salt, John Simpson, James Vince
2017 Champions Trophy hero Ali has been back to his best in recent months so I'm excited to see him returning to England, but Afridi is another terrific operator and I have no interest in trying to split these two for now.
As it is, I’ll stick with Fakhar and Stokes in the hope they can maintain their strong recent returns in the 50-over format and get the series off to a profitable start.
Preview originally posted at 1530 BST on 05/07/21; amended at 1245 BST on 06/07/21 following England's squad change due to Covid-19 outbreak
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