England v New Zealand second Test preview and free betting tips: James Anderson and Ollie Pope primed to shine
England and New Zealand face off in a winner-takes-all second Test at Edgbaston on Thursday - Richard Mann has three bets in his preview.
Cricket betting tips: England v New Zealand second Test, June 10-14
2pts James Anderson top England first innings bowler at 11/4 (Sky Bet)
1pt Ollie Pope top England first innings batsman at 6/1 (Betfred, bet365)
1pt Ollie Pope to make a first innings fifty at 2/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
The first Test of the international summer delivered plenty of talking points, with the cricket generally hard-fought and an absorbing watch – until day five at least – while the final result left England’s think tank and fans alike with a few selection quandaries at the beginning of a crucial few months of cricket.
Sadly, the biggest of those talking points to come out of Lord’s was the discovery of racist and sexist tweets posted by debutant Ollie Robinson as a teenager. Robinson immediately offered a written apology, while doing the same in a press conference at the end of the day one, but the ECB has moved quickly to suspend the Sussex seamer from all international cricket pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation.
What is clear is that Robinson is a different man, and cricketer, from the one who was released by Yorkshire early in his career following a string of disciplinary issues, but given the current climate, the ECB are right to take a zero tolerance approach with something as serious as this until the investigation is concluded. One can only hope there is a path back for Robinson through education and rehabilitation.
In the meantime, England head to Birmingham for the second Test having been outplayed for four days in London – day three lost completely to rain – minus their standout bowler from Lord’s and with form concerns over Stuart Broad.
Robinson’s match figures of 42-11-101-7 confirmed him to be a skilful operator with impressive control, and he must be commended for the impressive character he displayed to perform so well throughout the first Test having surely known his international career would soon be brought to a halt.
England will miss him this week, while Mark Wood’s wholehearted efforts in London will need to be replicated by Ollie Stone, should, as expected, the latter take over as England’s enforcer on his home ground.
Anderson sure to come on for Lord's workout
The rest and rotation policy we have been promised for England’s fast bowlers might not be extended to JAMES ANDERSON and the aforementioned Broad, though, not this week at least, with Robinson’s absence and the fact the series is on line sure to tempt England captain Joe Root into sticking with his two trump cards.
Broad’s second innings dismissal of Tom Latham was actually his first Test wicket since claiming the scalp of Angelo Mattews at Galle way back in January. In truth, he probably bowled better than his figures would indicate, but a good run of County Championship matches for Nottinghamshire preceding this series suggested he should have been ready to go and Root will be expecting more from his vice-captain at Edgbaston.
So too Anderson, who hasn’t been able to get the amount of cricket into his legs that he would have liked so far this summer but looked better the longer the match went on at Lord’s, and I’d expect him to kick back against any suggestion he will be rested for this one. Given Anderson has taken his 44 Test wickets at Edgbaston at an average of 22.02, it is easy to see why.
With Robinson out of the picture for Birmingham, and Broad suffering a little dip in productivity, ANDERSON stands out in the England top first innings bowler market and 11/4 is a touch bigger than expected. I’d be very surprised were he not to sharpen up considerably for that Lord’s workout and even if backing up so quickly might prove hard work for the 38-year-old, it will be in the second innings when he really feels the pinch.
A recall to the squad for Yorkshire's Dom Bess confirms that Edgbaston has taken plenty of spin this season, with Danny Briggs impressing, but we are betting on the first innings only here and I'd still expect seam to dominate in the first couple of days. As such, Anderson has to make the staking plan at the prices.
Elsewhere, my pre-series fears about both Kane Williamson and Neil Wagner were on the mark as the former failed twice with the bat and the latter was outshone by Tim Southee, with swing, not brawn, proving the key to inflicting casualties on a home batting line-up still without Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.
Williamson’s form away from New Zealand is finally beginning to draw attention, but I can’t believe a technician as good as this one will stay quiet for too long and with Devon Conway making a brilliant double hundred on debut at Lord’s, I'm struggling to find a bet in the top Kiwi batsman market.
My series investment on BJ Watling looks cooked already thanks to Conway's epic, but don’t discount the veteran if the tourists find themselves in a sticky situation and anything around the 3/1 mark for him to make a first innings fifty would be worth considering.
Much of the debate about England’s own batting line-up centres around the inevitable return of Stokes and Buttler, and who will have to make way once that duo slot back into the starting XI. Tom Bracey’s quiet debut means he will need a huge performance in Birmingham to keep himself in the frame for India, and indeed the Ashes, while Dan Lawrence played a dreadful shot last week, one he might well live to regret for some time to come.
England frustrate but Pope stands out
I had also raised some concerns about Ollie Pope before last week’s Test, but he looked in typically excellent touch – making 22 and 20 not out – and was one of the only England players who appeared remotely interested in taking the game to New Zealand on the final day.
Whether it was too much to expect England’s weakened batting unit to chase down 273 in 75 against a bowing attack as strong as New Zealand’s is a debate that is sure to divide opinion, but having seen off the new ball unscathed, it was the reluctance, or inability, to apply even a modicum of pressure onto the opposition that will frustrate England fans most.
As one such fan, I think Root might have missed a trick in not at least acknowledging the generous declaration made by his opposite number and having been starved of passionate crowds for so long, the opportunity to at least flirt with an exciting final-day run chase is one you might have felt England would have been keen to take up. India won the hearts and minds of fans all around the world when doing just that at the SCG against Australia in the winter and with no World Test Championship points up for grabs, perhaps Root and his team were overly conservative.
On the other side of the coin, this is a huge year for England and starting it with a day-five collapse at Lord’s is something they understandably wanted to avoid. The debate is sure to rage on, but victory in Birmingham would leave Root justified in his decision.
The captain himself looked in good shape with scores of 42 and 40 at Lord's, but the price disparity between himself and POPE this week is too big and I’ll split my stakes on the Surrey star in the top England first innings batsman market at 6/1 and for him to make a fifty at 2/1.
Posted at 0900 BST on 08/06/21
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