England and Pakistan will hope to conclude their preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup when they meet for the second time of the scheduled four matches with the series finale coming from The Oval in London.
England took the only game to be played so far so Pakistan can only share the series from here but that won’t be of a concern to them. This match is about finalising the preparations for the T20 World Cup for both sides.
England
We are starting to get to the point that you wonder if England will be undercooked going to the T20 World Cup, especially if the showers around London deny them getting out onto the park for this game. While a lot of their players have been playing at the IPL and they are an experienced bunch, it can’t be ideal that they could only have had one outing together in this format in the current calendar year. With that in mind, England will be praying that the weather gods cooperate.
You would imagine England will use this game to get some time on the field to those who didn’t get it in the opening match so this could be a much changed side, especially in the bowling department where rotation will surely happen as much for game time as avoiding injuries to those who are a little fragile on what is likely to be a soft surface. That will offer up the chance for the bowlers coming in to launch a claim for a place in the opening match of the T20 World Cup next week.
Pakistan
Pakistan are a little further down the road in terms of their preparation for the tournament because they were able to get onto the field for three matches in Ireland earlier in the month, but in terms of facing top class opposition they could also be a little underdone. That certainly isn’t ideal in a format like this, especially when you consider that their players haven’t been allowed to go to the IPL so they could be a little shorter of a reasonable gallop.
I would imagine that Pakistan are in the same boat as England in terms of looking to give their bowlers who didn’t play at Edgbaston a game in this one. They don’t actually get their World Cup campaign underway for another week so there is no need to rest players in terms of fitness but it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense for some players to go to the World Cup without a bowl in the better part of a month when the opportunity is there for them.
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Team News
England have already confirmed that Jos Buttler will miss this match due to the birth of his child so it might be that Ben Duckett comes in for a game in the middle. Mark Wood and Reece Topley were seen marking their run up out in Cardiff so they are expected to play while Sam Curran will hope for an outing on his home ground.
If Pakistan want to give their fringe players a go then the likes of Usman Khan, Irfan Khan, Agha Salman, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed and Naseem Shah will all be in line for a game here. Shadab Khan might get another run out to build some confidence.
Betting
This was always going to be a hard match to bet on because you would imagine we are going to see much changed XIs in play here but there is no real indication of how either side will line up so player markets and things become difficult until we know the line ups and the result of the toss. I guess a lot of changes could play more into the hands of Pakistan whose squad has been more active but I don’t really want to take them on.
One bet that I am happy to take is for England to clear 54.5 runs in their opening six overs. They scored 53 in their first six overs at Edgbaston but that was their first outing in English conditions in a while and they will come on for the run. Will Jacks is likely to go up to open for England and he is in great form right now and will be competing on his home ground. Pakistan might give their new ball bowlers a rest which will help the run scoring and we know the ball races to the boundary on this ground. We’re only looking at a run over nine an over to cover this line and in tricky bowling conditions I expect England to go hard at the top and get in front on the scoreboard early. I’ll play the over here.
Tips
Back England First Six Overs – Over 54.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with William Hill
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