SOUTH AFRICA v ENGLAND: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Sunday’s 1st ODI between South Africa v England with a recommended BETDAQ bet.

PLEASE NOTE: The match was originally due to be played on Friday but was postponed after one of the hosts’ players tested positive for coronavirus.


The Edge has been a professional cricket trader for over 12 years, and we are delighted to have his columns on BETDAQ Tips. He provides his best bets on a points scale between 1 and 5, with 5 being a rare max bet.

Because we see so much action in-running on cricket, he will also provide some in-running strategies that could develop in-play and lead to some excellent value bets. The Edge covers all forms of cricket: Test Matches, ODI’s and T20’s but his favourite competition is the Indian Premier League each season.


MATCH OVERVIEW:

After a clean sweep for England in the T20 series we kick off the ODI series in Cape Town on Sunday. As the ODI game changes and we move to effectively a “longer T20” given the tactics of batting sides these days – the signs aren’t good for South Africa. It’s not that South Africa have been terrible, they clearly have batted reasonably well, but it’s just that they aren’t good enough to cope with this England batting.

South Africa managed to post scores of 179/6 and 191/3 batting first at Cape Town only to see both scores chased down with balls to spare. The win for England in the 3rd T20 was very dominant as they only lost one wicket and chased it down in 17.4 overs. They had a bit of a wobble in the 1st T20 and South Africa traded in the mid 1.1’s but the reality is England still had nearly an over to spare chasing a high score.

For England; the plan shouldn’t change much. They are just switching format and might swap a few players around. Their batting is much better than South Africa and they just have to keep doing more of the same. For South Africa; they must focus on improving their bowling. I know they are limited to what they have and the talent available but they have to come up with something – plans for each batter and how to get them out. Their batting isn’t as good as England but it isn’t bad. It’s their bowling against the England batting which is deciding the game.


WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:

The long-range forecast says we should be ok, but always check the radar in Cape Town. I think we can expect some very high scores in this ODI. The wicket might slow down for the 3rd ODI later in the series but it looked superb for the 3rd T20. Both sides didn’t lose many wickets and we had lots of sixes. So perhaps we can see 350 in the first innings, and I wouldn’t rule out England chasing that down either. I also wouldn’t rule out something crazy like 400 in England bat first as they look so good. Of course with this being an ODI we have a different start time so perhaps that might affect the early overs and the first innings. Check conditions before doing anything with the change in times – don’t just expect it to be the same as the T20’s; although it’s reasonable to assume we should see plenty of runs.


RECOMMENDED BET:

South Africa will be hopeful that a change in format will bring them success, but I just don’t see it. England are trading 1.55 to start the series with a win and I still feel that offers value. They have been ticking in with each game, but with each game they look less and less likely to lose. Their wealth in batting talent and the weakness in the South Africa bowling just means it’s hard to stop them from either getting a very high total or chasing down the target set. We might see some bumps along the road, but England win again for me. They could easily do a tour clean sweep.

The Edge Says:
Two points win England to beat South Africa at 1.55 on BETDAQ Betting Exchange.

View the market here -> https://bit.ly/BDQSoueng


IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:

Even though England have been much the better side so far on this tour, trading has still been excellent on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. South Africa have batted well and set a decent score twice. That obviously brings some nice trading opportunities and I wouldn’t put anyone off supporting South Africa, without going too heavy, while batting. Even though the England team is very strong, their bowling is their weak link. We tend to see high scores when England are playing and batting conditions are good.

I think the same tactics pretty much apply here as the T20 series. You’d like to see South Africa bat first and set a good target with England chasing it with some bumps in the road for trading. If England bat first I feel we could easily see a 1.01 train given the score that they could get. Perhaps the best game for trading might be England bat first and set 300ish with South Arica giving a good go chasing. We could see a very close game then. I would be very keen to support the England batting again though, as it’s hard to see how South Africa stop England at the moment.


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