England will go after yet another 50 over series whitewash on Tuesday when they take on Pakistan at Edgbaston with a 3-0 clean sweep very much on the line for their made up squad after the Covid outbreak put paid to most of their main set of players.
Pakistan haven’t really turned up in this series yet and with T20 matches to come they will be desperate to find some form and put England on the back foot a little ahead of those games. There are also World Cup Super Series points up for grabs.
England
The two performances England have put together in this series have been excellent. They dominated the first game with the ball in hand and set up their victory in the second when they had the bat in hand. On both occasions their batsmen and bowlers have gone well and they have delivered the same intent and intensity as we would have got even if this was the first choice England side on show. That is probably the biggest compliment you could pay these players.
What I’ve liked about this England side is that they have players who have all played their roles spot on. That isn’t easy when coming into a side at short notice and for some of the players for the first time. The other thing I liked is even when they were in a spot of bother early on in their batting innings at Lord’s, there was no panic from a young side. They just went about their business and set up a score which was enough to win.
Pakistan
In contrast to all that, Pakistan will be disappointed with what they have served up in the series so far. They have had the odd positive display but in the main they have not been good enough and they will know that is the case. Their batsmen haven’t got going yet with the exception of Fakhar Zaman and their bowlers have plugged away but haven’t maintained the pressure on the English batsmen for long enough to get the job done.
Pakistan are going to need a huge improvement in all departments if they are to get a consolation victory in this match. The first thing they need to do is give themselves a chance with the bat. In both matches so far they have been out of contention before they have got into their innings and regardless of the strength on this England side there has been no way back from there. They need their change bowlers to come up with the goods as well.
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Team News
England didn’t make any changes when they led Sri Lanka 2-0 just over a week ago so that might be the precedent set for no changes here. Jake Ball was said to be put through a stringent warm up though so perhaps a seamer has picked up an injury.
Pakistan have to change their bowling options. After the new ball bowlers they have had no pressure on the English batsmen at all so Mohammad Hasnain could well come in for Haris Rauf. They don’t really have many options with the bat other than to hope that Babar Azam comes good.
Betting
England have been so dominant in this series so far that I expect them to complete a clean sweep. They always get fantastic support at Edgbaston which will spur them on to keep delivering the goods. The new players have had a couple of games to work out the levels and there is more to come from the experienced ones like Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes who both failed in the previous match. There is more to come from Pakistan too but most to come generally comes out of a side who are playing with confidence rather than one which isn’t. At 8/11 there’s still enough in an England win to bet here.
I’ll also have a small bet on Hasan Ali to top score for Pakistan. He absolutely clubbed 31 in no time at Lord’s and looked as good as anyone in the Pakistan ranks with the bat. Their top order hasn’t got going at all and there have been signs in the Edgbaston pitch in the T20 Blast that batting against the new ball isn’t easy with two scores below 85 in the last two matches here. This ground won’t be big enough for Hasan Ali if he finds the middle of the bat so I’ll have a small punt on him to top score for his side.
Tips
Back England to win Pakistan for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Coral
Back them here:
Back H.Ali Top Pakistan Batsman for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Betfair
Back him here:
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