The second match in the ICC Cricket World Cup on Saturday takes us back to the venue which will stage the final in a couple of weeks as two rival teams meet when Australia go up against England in Ahmedabad.
Australia took a while to get going in this competition but head into this match off the back of four relatively comfortable wins and one more is likely to ensure they are around for the semi-finals. England’s title defence has been dismal and their only focus now is ensuring they reach the Champions Trophy.
Australia
Australia began the tournament with pretty comprehensive defeats to India and then to South Africa but then they woke up and since then they have won four straight matches and importantly saw off the likes of New Zealand and Sri Lanka who at the time were potential challengers for the top four. They are not out of the water yet but they have resurrected their run rate to the point where one win should extend their campaign and two ensures they have a crack at a semi-final.
I think in the main they have bowled pretty well throughout the tournament but the opening period of the event their batting just didn’t fire at all. That has changed as they have got on grounds where the pitches have been better and they have looked much better for it. They are back on a ground where the wicket can play a little hit or miss now though and it will be interesting to see how their batters cope with that, especially with a couple of form players missing.
England
The title defence of England has been so bad it is hard to put it into words. Absolutely nothing has gone right and maybe Ben Stokes summed it up best on the eve of the game when he simply suggested that they have been crap. It looked like England would have nothing to play for after another shambolic defeat to India last weekend but then came the Champions Trophy qualifying criteria to public knowledge and fans will hope that will at least kick something out of them.
One huge positive for England coming into this match is the fact that they have had six days to reflect and work out who they are, where they are and what they want to do. I would be surprised if England don’t tinker with their batting order and come out all guns blazing here and if they are going to go down it will be on their terms. The one thing England simply can’t do much worse is batting so they would be better to adopt their gung ho approach.
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Team News
Australia will be forced into two changes for this match with Glenn Maxwell out after suffering a freak injury on the golf course while Mitchell Marsh has flown home for a family issue. Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green are the obvious replacements.
England could make any number of changes after being bashed up by India last weekend but they usually keep switches to the minimum. It would be incredulous if Harry Brook doesn’t play while Brydon Carse is waiting for a first appearance in the tournament.
Betting
This is a tough match to bet on, as the last couple of England matches have been, because while England have been horrendous in this tournament, they still retain the ability to put anyone to the sword if they ever turn up and now that they have been given something to play for in terms of the Champions Trophy qualification you wonder if this will be the game they actually show up again. If it is then so many markets should cover but if they don’t then the lines will go untouched.
I’ll avoid all that guesswork and take a player performance which appeals. That comes in the form of Josh Hazlewood who has a 39.5 line which I believe is a little on the low side. He has played 13 ODIs against England but I’m going to ignore the first two because they were pre-2015 when he was nothing like the bowler he is now and England didn’t play ODI cricket like they do now. In the 11 games in that period of time he has taken two or more wickets on six occasions. He has taken a while to come to the party in this tournament but he took two wickets in the last game and the England openers are really struggling so you’ve got to think Hazlewood will have a chance of getting in there. England aren’t batting well so Hazlewood could get a go at the tail too and either way I like two wickets from him but I’ll take the performance in case two catches come his way, like they did in the last game.
Tips
Back J.Hazlewood’s Performance – Over 39.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Bet365
