England vs Pakistan – 4th Test Betting Preview

England vs Pakistan – 4th Test

England’s amazing turnaround at Edgbaston secured them at least a share of the ongoing Test series against Pakistan. On Thursday they will go into the final Test looking to secure at least a draw. This would seal a famous series win in what has been a really hard fought battle.

Pakistan head to The Oval knowing they need to win to share the series which would still be a good result although they would certainly have been eyeing up more after they had won the first Test. They’ve not batted first since then and it will be interesting to see how this pans out if they do get first use of the wicket.

England

You would have to say we saw both sides of England’s batting at Edgbaston. They showed their fragility in the first innings but then we saw their class and their depth in the second innings and having wiped out Pakistan’s lead without losing a wicket in the second dig they never really ever looked back.

For all that though it was with the ball on the third morning and on the final day where England won that match and that is usually the case with this side. The bonus was that Steven Finn took a prize wicket on the final day, something which England will hope restores his confidence throughout the rest of the year.

Pakistan

The tourists will be smarting from letting a really good position slip at Edgbaston. Really they should have taken a much bigger lead than the 103 run advantage they managed in the first innings and then on the final day they wilted quite badly when the wickets began to fall which won’t have pleased them either.

Pakistan bowled brilliantly on the opening day to keep England below 300 but their toil looked to have taken its toll in the second innings and they just couldn’t get two wickets together which would have got them back in the match. Yasir Shah hasn’t been a factor since Lord’s and Pakistan need to find a way to get him involved again.

Team News

The idea of playing Adil Rashid has been hyped up in the media but I would be amazed if that happens. With James Vince passed fit from his finger injury I expect England to be unchanged barring a last minute injury.

Pakistan are set to make changes. Mohammad Hafeez might have had one bad dismissal too many and with the will to bring in another bowler getting ever stronger he could be vulnerable. Azhar Ali could go up to open the batting if Hafeez is left out.

The Oval

There have been 98 past Test matches on this famous London ground and England’s overall record here is good with 40 wins to 21 losses with 37 draws although more recently it hasn’t been as strong. Pakistan have won four and lost three of nine matches here with just the two draws.

This wicket is usually a peach to bat on over the first three days but with a heatwave expected in London and surrounding areas we can expect the wicket to crack and open up late on which will bring the spinners and the bowlers much more into play.

Betting

I’m taking two bets in this match. The first is to oppose England. I don’t think they will give Pakistan any chance of winning this match if they can help it. There will be no early declarations or anything like that. If England get into a position to do so they will grind Pakistan into the dirt.

It has to be said that it isn’t a guarantee England will get in that position as this wicket should really suit Pakistan and if they can get first use of it they really will be dangerous. Since that famous Ashes success of 2009 on this ground the only side England have beaten here since was India.

This series has been hard fought and England won’t want to throw it away now. The draw is actually a runner here if England offer Pakistan no way back in so I’ll take the draw-Pakistan double chance given the series situation.

The other bet I like is a performance of Moeen Ali where a line of 98.5 looks far too low. Moeen covered that total with 199pts in Edgbaston and in the game before that he only batted once, where England declared three balls into his innings, yet he still managed 102pts.

On this wicket his bowling is going to have an impact that is for sure but he could easily cover this total with the bat as well. I’ve no idea how this line has been drawn up but I fully expect it to be covered and covered by some margin.

Tips

WON – Back Draw-Pakistan Double Chance for a 4/10 stake at 2.38 with Skybet

Back it here:

WON – Back M.Ali’s Performance – Over 98.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Paddy Power

Back it here:

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