We have another triple header of action at the T20 World Cup on Saturday and just like on Friday we begin proceedings in New York where we remain in Group D for the clash between the Netherlands and South Africa.
Both these sides won their opening match so the winners of this contest will have the early control of the group. The Netherlands dumped South Africa out of the last T20 World Cup so an air of revenge could be in the air here.
Netherlands
All you can ask of any associate side in this tournament is to win their opening match and the Netherlands did that when they brushed Nepal aside but they won’t need to be told that they are going to need to improve if they want to come out on top here. Had they lost to Nepal then with three full member nations to come they would have known that qualifying was probably beyond them. Now they might go through with just one more win.
The good thing for the Dutch is that their strength, which is in their bowling department, came to the party on what has been a pretty good pitch in Dallas against Nepal. The worry about the Netherlands in this tournament is their batting. There is no shortage in depth but there is when it comes to power, although whether power is a necessity here in New York given the indifferent nature of the pitch here remains to be seen. Netherlands will need to run hard on this slow outfield.
South Africa
I think if you had dialled up the perfect opening game of a tournament for South Africa it was the one that they delivered. The good lord only knows what Sri Lanka were doing batting first in that match but South Africa didn’t complain. They soon worked out they had the ideal pitch for their attack and got to work on it and never once let up so that the Sri Lankans could get away from them. They certainly won’t be complaining that they remain in New York for this second game.
They will want to bat better the longer they go in the competition but that will happen naturally either when they leave New York or when this wicket finally settles down, which it surely will do at some point. The good news for South Africa is they have plenty of depth in case they get caught out at the top of the innings but having had an innings on this ground they will know not to get their expectations too high and look to build a platform to launch from.
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Team News
Netherlands went in with the extra batter in the opening game and while there appears to be a need for seamers on this ground, they probably won’t want to expose their batting order so they might well go in with an unchanged side.
There is no reason for South Africa to make any changes unless they want to go in with an all-seam attack in which case Gerald Coetzee would be an option. That is unlikely in this format though so expect South Africa to be unchanged.
Betting
I’m still not yet in a position where I am comfortable with betting anything significant at this ground although the wicket did play much better here on Friday than at any other time in the tournament which might mean that they have got to grips with it. It wasn’t going to be an easy game to be on anyway when you consider that South Africa are heavily fancied to win it but they are up against their bogey team and the Proteas and pressure and expectation rarely go together.
I will have one bet on the game though and it comes in the form of the top Netherlands batter market where I am going to look down the order at Logan van Beek. This South Africa seam attack could easily go through the Netherlands top order but even if they don’t you would imagin runs at the top of the innings is going to be hard to come by. Van Beek can bat. He has 10 50s and a century in First-class cricket, four 50s and a century in List A cricket and two fifties in T20 cricket so although he’ll come in at eight he might still be in the game when he arrives. We’ve had three matches here and Angelo Mathews was three runs short of top scoring at seven in the first one, Gareth Delany top scored for Ireland at seven in the second one and Mark Adair top scored at eight in the third one. It gets easier to bat later in the innings here so there is enough in the 33/1 price to merit a bet.
Tips
Back L.Van Beek Top Netherlands Batter for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Boylesports
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