England begin a huge international summer on Friday when they take on Ireland in the first of two ODIs. This mini-series not only exposes Ireland to more international cricket but it will act as the start of England’s final preparation for the upcoming Champions Trophy.
With spots in the tournament very much up for grabs this is sure to be a competitive England side that features in this match. Ireland would love to upset their near neighbours once again so we should get a decent match here.
England
This will be the first time the England team will have been on the field together since they won an ODI series in the West Indies back in March but with the Royal London One Day Cup going on at the minute their squad won’t be short of limited overs cricket heading into this fixture which should serve England well.
The beauty of England in one day cricket these days is their depth. Their depth both in squad choices and in their batting line up no matter who takes to the field for them. In the modern game you have to bat deep and England certainly do that but that doesn’t come at a lack of bowling options. They have plenty of them too.
Ireland
The Irish had one of their greatest days against England six years ago when they beat their foes in a famous World Cup match in Bangalore and they would love nothing more than to pick up another win over the Three Lions in this match. If they are going to do that then they are going to have to be at their best.
The worry for Ireland heading into these two matches is their bowling attack. It is the thing that has let them down from really punching their weight more at this level but they have a set of matches against full member nations on the horizon so they should automatically improve in that department.
Team News
England have left Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler at the IPL so Sam Billings will keep wicket in this match. Jonny Bairstow should get the chance to stake his claim for a place in the side long term.
Ireland have Ed Joyce available and he is likely to be a big player. In what looks to be a full strength squad six players played in that win in Bangalore in 2011.
Nevil Road
There have been 14 previous ODIs on this ground dating back to 1983. England have played in nine of them and have only won on three occasions with five defeats and a no result. This will be the first time Ireland have played an official ODI here.
There have only been three first innings scores of 300 or more on this ground and India have all three of them so we shouldn’t necessarily expect the highest scoring match although there has only been one ODI here in seven years so it might not be the best form guide.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Betting
I think most people would see it as a massive surprise if England don’t win this match but the time of the season handicaps and short prices don’t interest me so I’ll head to the side markets for a couple of bets.
Eoin Morgan is primed for a big summer and he might have a little frustration to get rid of having not featured in the Indian Premier League as much as he would have liked recently. He is a real mainstay of this England batting line up and the 5/4 that he hits a six is too big to ignore. He has hit a six in both his previous innings against Ireland and on a ground which isn’t the biggest he can showcase his range hitting by nailing one here too.
Gary Wilson has begun the season well for Derbyshire with a couple of decent efforts in First-class cricket and that should serve him well going into these two matches. Wilson will have faced most of these bowlers in all formats in his time with Surrey so there will be no surprises and given that he should be batting when the new ball has been and gone he might be in the best position to strike the top score for the visitors.
Tips
Back E.Morgan Over 0.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
Back G.Wilson Top Ireland Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 8.00 with Coral
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2017
