After one of the biggest drubbings an England side have ever handed out Eoin Morgan’s men can wrap up the ongoing T20 series with South Africa on Friday night when the two sides reconvene at the County Ground in Taunton for the 2nd T20 of the series in what promises to be a fantastic occasion for the locals with the ground hosting international cricket for the first time in 18 years.
South Africa will be all out to win this match and force a decider in Cardiff on Sunday but they’ll have to improve dramatically on their performance on Wednesday night which was awful from start to finish.
England
In sport there isn’t such a thing as a perfect performance. If you look hard enough you can always find something to improve on but England’s effort at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday was as close to perfection as you are going to see in this format of the game and if they can back that up the series is theirs to take.
England bowled very well up front and then the spinners came on and strangled the life out of the South Africans and at no stage when England were batting were they ever going to lose the match. The confidence they will have taken from that would have been huge. It was just what they needed after the Champions Trophy exit.
South Africa
We have to officially say it. South Africa are in a slump and they have got issues. While this format still has an element of looking to the future and having a giggle to it in these series which don’t matter in the grand scheme of things no side likes to lose in the manner they lost in Southampton on Wednesday.
We should expect South Africa to come out all guns blazing and really fighting here but do they have it in them? They have been little better than terrible ever since they landed in England apart from one bowling effort against England at Lord’s where conditions favoured them. Huge improvements are needed just to be competitive here.
Team News
Eoin Morgan said England will give everyone in their squad a game in this series which means there may be changes here. Mark Wood has left the squad now so Liam Plunkett could come in for him while Craig Overton could debut on his home ground.
South Africa have to change something and I would be amazed if the changes don’t involve Chris Morris coming into the side. His all-round ability was missed in the first match so he is almost a cert to come in and probably for one of the spinners. You don’t play two spinners here.
County Ground
This is the first ever T20 international to be held on this ground but county cricket followers won’t need me to paint a picture of what to expect. This is a tiny ground with a road of a pitch in the middle of it. In the Royal London One Day Cup quarter final here recently 430 was only just defended. Expect a barrel load of runs.
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Betting
Sometimes in these matches I can be a little guilty of getting funky with my bets and chancing my arm in a few places but that isn’t going to be the case here. I would never get involved in the match betting on this ground anyway as it is near impossible to defend as Nottinghamshire were close to finding out last week.
I’ve no need to get involved in that though because the sixes line is ridiculously low here. It is 12.5 for this match but we’ve just had 11 sixes in a match that never got going on a much bigger Ageas Bowl ground on Wednesday. This is a ridiculously small ground and with the place being sold out and it hosting international cricket for the first time in yonks we are almost assured of a belter of a wicket.
To only need two more sixes here than we got at the Ageas Bowl is absolutely insane. Both sides have so much more to offer. England had Eoin Morgan, Sam Billings and Jos Buttler to come while for South Africa JJ Smuts was out first ball and David Miller never really got going. I’m literally all over this bet.
Tips
Back Over 12.5 sixes for a 10/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
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