Australia conclude their short tour of New Zealand on Sunday as the two sides meet in the fifth and final T20 match of the series, one which forms a deciding match inside the Sky Stadium in Wellington, scene of the last two games.
New Zealand took a 2-0 lead in the series but have seen their advantage wiped out so there is everything on the line in this match, which might actually suit the pair of them when it comes to their preparation for the World T20 later in the year.
New Zealand
In the first two matches of the series New Zealand were dominant with the bat and then got the job done with the ball but they have gone completely 180 since then because ever since they arrived in Wellington they have struggled with the ball and offered little to nothing with the bat. The problem for them is that this decider is in Wellington so something is going to have to give for them if they are to come out and get the series win on the board.
New Zealand have had no answer with the bat to the spin of Australia and unless that changes here then this could be another long afternoon for them. One thing they can take as confidence is that the pitch isn’t likely to deteriorate too much more as the men’s and women’s matches have been switched. New Zealand need to work out conditions very quickly so that they can lower their expectations. It goes without saying that winning the toss will help them.
Australia
After taking their time to play themselves into the series, Australia have come to life in a big way in the last two matches and given that this game takes place at the same venue as the last two you have to make them pretty warm favourites to win the series from here on in. They still have to win the match to claim the series but it would be something of a surprise if they don’t go very close given the way they are playing now.
It has been the perfect combination of big runs on the board allowing their spinners to come to the party for Australia in the last two matches but the one concern could be what happens if they lose the toss and are forced to chase. The second game tells us they might still be ok but it would be interesting to see. One thing is for sure is they have a side who have nearly all contributed at various points in the series which is what any team wants.
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Team News
New Zealand coach Gary Stead gave a quite damning report about the batting of his side after the previous game but it remains to be seen whether he will bring Mark Chapman back into the fray for this decider or ask those he has been using to perform better.
It would be more than a minor surprise should Australia make any changes to a side which has been completely dominant in the last two games. The only reason they would is if someone hasn’t recovered well given the short turnaround.
Betting
If everything was even here then I would probably take Australia to win the match but this series has been very toss dependent and I don’t see that changing here I have to say so it is hard to bet on the match winner without knowing the result of the toss. I do expect Australia to win the match but I wouldn’t want to be on them if it turns out that they end up chasing on a wicket which will be being used for the tenth innings by that time.
That leads me towards the side markets where even though this is a day game I’m not expecting a particularly high scoring match. As I just said this will be the ninth and tenth innings on this pitch so it isn’t going to play much better than it did the other night when the spinners were completely dominant. I expect that to be the case here and the quicker bowlers will be required to use their slower balls to make it harder to score. You can get a 330.5 run line at Betway and that looks too high to me.
Tips
WON – Back Under 330.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.70 with Betway
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