After two emphatic wins Australia have already secured the Chappell-Hadlee series but they and New Zealand meet for a last time in the 3rd ODI in Melbourne on Friday in what acts as a repeat of the World Cup final of last year.
Australia will be looking for a series whitewash with another win here while New Zealand, who have an ODI series coming up against Bangladesh, will look for a win to boost their confidence going into those games.
Australia
Two huge batting performances have provided the catalyst for Australia to win the series and what will please them the most is the fact that almost everyone has contributed to those efforts. When you think how badly they batted in the Test series that will be a real positive for them.
I said before the series started that the strength of the Australian side has been their bowling attack and that has rung true. So far they have restricted the Kiwis to a top score of 262 which gives them every chance of winning matches in the modern game.
New Zealand
It is fair to say the Kiwis haven’t bowled as they would have liked in the series so far. They have had Australia in a bit of trouble early on in both innings but they have let them get away the longer the innings goes on and that will be a concern as their seam bowlers are their strength.
We probably shouldn’t judge them with the bat because they have been chasing daunting totals from the beginning and normal logic doesn’t tend to apply with those but the scores their top four have made suggest that if they can bat first they will put some pressure on Australia which would be interesting.
Team News
With the series won it would make sense for Australia to rest Mitchell Starc and give someone else a go in the seam department. It might be that they play the same four seamers and just bring in Adam Zampa for Starc. Glenn Maxwell is waiting in the wings for a game.
New Zealand need to find a way to stem the flow of runs from Australia’s bat and that could be through bringing Lockie Ferguson back into the side. Jimmy Neesham was hit on the arm in the last game. Henry Nicholls could replace him if the all-rounder isn’t passed fit.
Melbourne Cricket Ground
There have been 145 previous ODIs here including some of the biggest matches of all time such as last year’s World Cup final. Australia have played here on 120 occasions with a record of 73 wins to 43 defeats along with a tie and three no results. New Zealand are 8-16 from 25 games on this ground.
The wicket here is usually a good cricket wicket where the batsmen can score runs but the bowlers are always in the game and given the extra-large boundaries the spinners can try their variations without getting walloped out of the park all the time.
Betting
I’m not one for betting on dead rubbers as I keep repeating but on the assumption that Mitchell Starc is rested there is one bet which materialises itself and that is New Zealand to hit the highest first 10 over score.
So far in the series they have fallen short of Australia’s 10 over total by three runs and one run. In the first match Starc opened with a maiden which could have accounted for that loss and in the last game they were three short with three overs to go and could only add two more which won’t happen very often so on another day New Zealand could have led both matches after 10 overs. That makes them decent value to lead after 10 overs in this one.
Tips
WON – Back New Zealand Highest 1st 10 Overs for a 4/10 stake at 2.30 with Boylesports
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