The second Test between England and South Africa takes place on Friday and after a brutal beating at Lord’s last week the tourists will be eager to level the series when the two sides meet in Nottingham.
England have the chance to secure at least a share of the four match series with a win here and they would have two matches left to build on that so there is plenty to play for in this one.
England
As captaincy debuts go Joe Root could not really have expected much better from his at Lord’s. His side were never really in trouble maybe apart from at lunch on the opening day. They batted brilliantly, led by their captain, and bowled tremendously and never gave South Africa a way back into the match.
England now go to a ground where by and large they play pretty well and they will expect to be a formidable force in this match. There were areas they can improve on from the first match with the top order likely to want big runs but that would be clutching at straws which would be harsh given how well England played.
South Africa
If England have plenty of confidence heading to Nottingham, South Africa must be devoid of it. They were as bad as I’ve seen a South African side for a good while in the first Test. They couldn’t catch a cold. Apart from the final day they couldn’t bowl a decent spell and their batting was all over the place.
Whether South Africa can put right all the wrongs in the space of a week remains to be seen. An intent would be a positive sign and even if they don’t go on to win the match to put up more of a fight and a competitive edge to their game would be a significant improvement on what we saw at Lord’s.
Team News
England have already been bold enough to name an unchanged side for this match which means they are going to play two spinners which used to be unheard of at Trent Bridge.
South Africa are yet to confirm their team but we know they have their skipper Faf du Plessis back after he missed the first Test. We also know they will be without Kagiso Rabada who is suspended while JP Duminy has been confirmed as dropped. Chris Morris could get a game.
Trent Bridge
There have only been 61 previous matches on this ground but England have enjoyed the 60 matches they have played. They have won 22 and drawn the same amount with just 16 draws. South Africa have won just two of their nine matches here with four defeats in that time too.
Usually the bowlers are in the game on this ground whether that is down to the pitch or the swinging atmospheric conditions but if you get in you can score runs.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Betting
I like three bets in this match. I’m not going to get involved in the match outcome. I can’t believe South Africa will be as bad again but at the same time England might improve too. Maybe we’ll get the chance to go big on the match once the game is in progress.
South Africa put up opening partnerships of 10 and 12 at Lord’s and given the success Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad have at Trent Bridge it is hard to see them building on that too much here. The line for the South African first wicket partnership is 28.5 which looks a touch on the high side to me. Only one side in 10 years, some seven Test matches, have covered that against England on this ground and they only made 33. Unders looks good there.
Stuart Broad will be playing on his home ground here and he has an excellent record on it. His batting average here is a shade over 42 which is double his career average. His bowling average here is less than 20 which is incredible so I expect a performance line of 108.5 should be covered with a combination of bat and ball.
There still isn’t enough respect being given to Temba Bavuma in this match despite his top score in the first innings at Lord’s. He is 15/2 to repeat the feat here and I think that is a big price especially with the top order of South Africa likely to struggle against England’s potent bowlers.
Tips
WON – Back South Africa 1st inns Opening Partnership – Under 28.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Skybet
Back it here:
Back S.Broad’s Performance – Over 108.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Paddy Power
Back him here:
Back T.Bavuma Top South Africa 1st inns Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 8.50 with Coral
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2017
