We’ve had two days of the opening Test between South Africa and England in Durban and the match is nicely poised as it approaches the halfway stage.
Having made 303 in their first innings after being inserted on the opening morning, England have restricted South Africa to 137/4 but crucially they have the wickets of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers with the former looking bang out of form and dare I say it under a bit of pressure.
South Africa begin the third day still trailing by 166 runs and in two wickets time their tail begins so you would have to say England are in the box seat at the minute and South Africa need some big partnerships to get them out of a hole.
Another reason why England are in the pole position is the pitch. It was turning quite big on the opening day and we saw a bit of uneven bounce appearing on the second day so batting last on this is not going to be easy that’s for sure. Throw in South Africa’s poor chasing record in major matches and there is every reason to be confident if you’re an Englishman.
I am therefore surprised that you can still get 7/4 on an England win and while I’m already on a win for the tourists I can’t help but have another little dabble on the match betting because England should be favourites to win from here.
England are odds on to claim a first innings lead from this position and with the batting depth they have you would think they have enough to build that lead into a total that will be beyond the hosts on what will be a crumbling and difficult pitch to bat on by then.
Back England to win 1st Test for a 2/10 stake at 2.75 with Bet365
