Australia are in must-win territory on Friday when they take on South Africa in the second ODI of their three match series. After the Proteas won the opening match in Perth on Sunday they have the chance of winning the series in Adelaide on Friday.
Australia will be determined not to let that happen especially as they have a stack of tough cricket to come in the coming months. A South Africa win could lay down a bit of a mental edge heading into the World Cup next summer.
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Australia
The form of the Australians in this format of the game must be becoming something of a concern right now. Not only are they are on indifferent run of form but they are not looking great either with the bat or the ball. There is an excuse in that they are without their two best players but they have been without them long enough now to be performing better than they are.
The one allowance you would make for them is that they have had to find a second opening batsman and they haven’t really done that. The other problem they have had is finding a middle order that performs consistently. Time is beginning to run out for them to find the right combinations ahead of the World Cup next summer.
South Africa
I think the South Africans would be kidding themselves if they say they were perfect in Perth. They were not and their huge weakness and issue that they have to solve to be genuine contenders at the World Cup still exists. That is in their middle order which just looks inexperienced and weak at this very top level. They don’t have long to rectify it either.
The one advantage South Africa do have is a stack of bowling resources so that injuries in that department are not going to hamper them too much or stop them from performing well. It was that attack which set up the win in Perth and it may well be that which determines whether they win this series here and now or have to go to a decider on Sunday.
Team News
Australia are hoping to have Shaun Marsh back which will be a big boost if they get him. He would come in either for Travis Head who didn’t offer too much at Perth or for D’Arcy Short who hasn’t really took the ODI scene by storm.
South Africa clearly have issues with the bat but they are unlikely to be addressed on this tour so we could expect them to be unchanged for this match unless there is a last minute injury, or a change in game plan.
Adelaide Oval
There have been 83 previous ODIs held at this fantastic multi-sport venue. Australia have featured in 50 of them and have a pretty good record here with 35 wins and just 15 losses. South Africa don’t mind it here either as they have won four of the five ODIs they have taken part in on this ground.
Scores on this ground can be quite mixed but generally it is a good deck for batting although the longer the year goes on it can assist the spinners. We might not be at that stage just yet though so the scoring should be good if South African can contribute with the bat.
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Betting
I’m surprised that South Africa are the outsiders in this match although I’m not sure I trust their batting enough to back them and it might be that Shaun Marsh returning peps up the Australian batting somewhat so I’ll leave the match outcome along and head to the side markets for a punt.
The market in question is the player performances and it is the line for Nathan Coulter-Nile that I like the look of. The line is 34.5 which looks very low for someone who is perfectly capable with the bat and who is going to bowl his 10 overs all things being equal and he will be getting stuck into a batting line up lacking confidence. He ended up with 54pts in Perth despite only bowling three overs. I’m expecting him to cover 34.5 here.
Tips
VOID – Back N.Coulter-Nile’s Performance – Over 34.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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