Stick with England’s Finn and Trott in second ODI betting
Published:Pakistan relied on spin as much as ever in their defeat in the first one-day meeting with England and so the best bet on offer in the cricket odds for the second showdown is that Steven Finn takes more wickets than Umar Gul at 6/4.
Alastair Cook may have dominated the headlines with England’s first century of the tour in the 130-run success, but Finn’s contribution with the ball was equally as pivotal.
Finn ripped out Pakistan’s top four with a devastating spell of new-ball bowling, which far eclipsed what Gul achieved earlier the day.
Along with fellow Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz, the duo were put to the sword, going for 100 off their combined 15 overs and failing to claim a single wicket in the process.
Therefore, the bowling match bet that Finn takes more wickets than Gul again looks worth siding with.
Like in the Test series, it was spin that posed England the most problems, as with the exception of Ravi Bopara’s timely 50, the remaining seven wickets were taken by spinners.
England’s tormentor-in-chief in the Test arena, Saeed Ajmal, was at it again, taking 5-43 and the leg spin of Shahid Afridi did for Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott.
Ajmal is available at 8/13 to take over 1.5 wickets in the second one-day meeting.
As for the batsmen, both line-ups look decidedly fragile, and while Trott is suffering with the best of them, his pedigree will inevitably show itself eventually.
The Warwickshire man averages just seven in his last four innings and was bowled first ball in the first one-day encounter.
But beware of an angered Trott. The last time he was removed for a duck in an ODI – against Australia on January 30th 2011 – he went on to score 137 in his next innings, just three days later.
England’s Mr Dependable is 5/6 to score over 30 and 2/1 to notch a fifty.
In terms of match betting, Pakistan are still favourites despite their initial hiding at 8/11, with England arguably representing the better bet at 11/10.
