We have reached the second Saturday in the Cricket World Cup and that means we have another double header of action in the tournament with the day game coming from the Principality as Cardiff stages the match between England and Bangladesh.
Both teams have had the same start to the tournament. They have both won their opening match and then slipped up in their second so there is a fair bit of pressure on each of them heading into this game with should add to the spectacle.
AllSportsBetting Podcast
Kev and Steve are back with their preview of this match. Both men have picks for the match. Listen to them discuss what they expect to see and how best to make profit on the contest by clicking the play button below.
England
When the tournament began most people expected England to be the team to beat but they have put up two average performances so far. The positive is that on each occasion they have put up 300 and they have done it without showing the brutal power that we know they possess. If anything they have been a little safe and shackled with the bat and it will be interesting to see if they can get that fearsome attacking nature back here.
Given the quality they have in the batting department you would hope that will come but one thing which has to be better for them in this match is their fielding, which was dreadful against Pakistan last time out, and another indication that they are feeling a little bit of nerves or pressure now that we are in the tournament. They generally bowl well in Cardiff and will obviously want to do that again.
Bangladesh
We made it pretty clear that we liked the look of Bangladesh heading into the tournament and in their first two matches they have shown why, even though they haven’t won both of them. They were excellent throughout their match with South Africa and although they were beaten by New Zealand, there were plenty of positives to take out of that contest for them as well. A win here would have them in a lovely position to push for a top four spot.
We’ve seen the two facets of the game from Bangladesh. They were excellent with the bat against South Africa in their first game and then showed really good resolve with the ball in their second one against New Zealand. If they can put the two together then they are going to be right in this game on a ground where they have plenty of good memories.
Team News
It would that England are going to make a chance for this match and play just the one spinner. That is likely to be Moeen Ali with Adil Rashid sitting this one out due to the short boundaries on this Cardiff ground.
Bangladesh were beaten last time out by New Zealand but I don’t think they will be panicked into any changes or anything like that. They do have Sabbir Rahman and Liton Das waiting if their batting stops firing but it is fine at the minute.
Special Offer
Bet on the team top batsman market at Boylesports; get money back as a free bet up to £20 if your player scores 50+ but doesn’t top score! ALL CUSTOMERS! Click the image above to bet. 18+ T&Cs apply
Betting
England will know only too well not to underestimate Bangladesh but it would appear the bookmakers do not see likewise given the size of the handicap they are getting. They are getting 7.5 wickets or 59.5 runs which just looks massive. Bangladesh have beaten England in the last two World Cups, they have a good record here in Cardiff where they launched themselves as a nation with that win over Australia in 2005 and are a confident bunch. England will remember losing here in the Champions Trophy a couple of years ago and they don’t look right on top of their game at all. Although I wouldn’t say it is a certainty, it might be that England have enough to win the match but covering this handicap looks a much stiffer task. I’ll play Bangladesh on that line.
If that line is high, the one for the performance of Mushfiqur Rahim looks very much on the low side at 33.5. He looks in very good nick and there were surely many more runs in him than the 19 he made against New Zealand before his innings was cut short when his mate at the other end sold him down the river. Prior to that, he scored 78 in the first match of the tournament and 90 in the last warm up match against India which was on this round. He has an ODI average of 35.12 which means just an average innings gets him over this line. That average goes up to 44.10 against England which is even better. He has four 50s and a 40 in 11 innings against them so he could well cover this with the bat. We’ve seen keepers in the game with the gloves throughout the tournament so he could easily score in that department too. However he gets them I think the over lands here.
Jos Buttler came to life in England’s previous match with a magical ton and I fancy he could be England’s leading run scorer in this match as well. He has had four innings against Bangladesh in the past and he has made 50 or more in three of them. He has a fantastic record on this ground in ODI cricket as well, averaging 76.75 per innings from his seven knocks, four of which have seen him go past 50. That includes 91* against Australia here last year and a repeat of that performance could have him right in the mix in the England run department.
Tips
Back Bangladesh (+7.5wickets/59.5runs) to beat England for a 5/10 stake at 1.85 with Betway
Back them here:
WON – Back M.Rahim’s Performance – Over 33.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
Back him here:
Back J.Buttler Top England Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 9.00 with Coral
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2019
