By Sir Ian Botham
The wait is finally over for England’s return to Test action and I believe with new captain Joe Root at the helm there’s plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the summer series with South Africa, which starts at Lord’s.
The Yorkshireman has obviously been one of the standout stars of the team in recent times and he’ll now be relishing the extra responsibility that the captaincy brings.
He has the character, experience and talent to thrive in this role plus he’s also got good people around him both on and off the pitch - so don’t expect his runs to dry up.
In fact one Sky Bet special for the first Test that catches my eye is for Root to score a century in the match and England to win at 6/1.
Unsurprisingly it’s Root (Price Boosted to 3/1 from 5/2) and his predecessor Alastair Cook (3/1) vying for favouritism in the top England first innings runscorer market and it’s not hard to see why.
Cook will open up at Lord’s feeling liberated without having to worry about the captaincy and can purely focus on doing what he does best – piling on the runs.
This season he’s been in great form with the bat, scoring three centuries in the County Championship with Essex and averaging 66.7 in his 10 innings, so there’s no doubt he’ll be full of confidence and raring to go.
I’m therefore going to give him the nod in this first innings market and I’m also going to side with him for the most England runs in the series at 9/4. Although expect Root (9/4) to push him close.
As far as the bowling is concerned, I’ve been really impressed with Mark Wood – he’s the man in form and takes plenty of wickets by bowling full, straight and fast.
I reckon he’s worth a bet at 7/2 to take the most wickets for England in the first innings at Lord’s and also at 4/1 to be the home side’s leading wicket-taker in the series.
Overall, I’m very confident that England will justify their favourites’ tag against South Africa in both this first Test at 10/11 and indeed the four-match series at 1/2.
Although the tourists have only lost one away series in a decade and triumphed in their last two visits to England, you’ve got to bare in mind there’s no AB de Villiers or Dale Steyn in their squad this time – and Faf du Plessis will miss the first Test.
I think England will win the series by a margin of two Tests so take Sky Bet’s 100/30 about them triumphing 2-0 or 3-1.
Beefy's best bets: First Test
England to win - 10/11
Alastair Cook to score most England runs in first innings - 3/1
Joe Root to score century in the Test & England to win - 6/1
Mark Wood to take most 1st innings wickets - 7/2
Beefy's best bets: Test Series
England to win the series - 1/2
England to win series either 3-1 or 2-0 - 100/30
Alastair Cook most series runs for England - 9/4
Mark Wood to take most series wickets for England - 4/1
