South Africa win gives England final booster for Champions Trophy
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The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy gets underway on Thursday when England face Bangladesh.
And there will be plenty of pressure on Eoin Morgan’s men, who are both hosts and favourites.
We make England 5/2 to win the tournament for the first time.
And a 2-1 Series win over world number ones South Africa will have been the latest indicator, if it were needed, that Morgan’s men have the ability to oblige.
England have been in excellent ODI form, winning 27 of their last 41 matches, resulting in eight series wins from the last 11.
But this year’s tournament is shaping up to be remarkably competitive – and difficult.
Behind England in the betting come old rivals Australia at 10/3, with South Africa at 7/2 and India at 9/2 firmly in the mix.
South Africa boast three of the world’s top six ODI batsmen in AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kook and Faf de Plessis.
Australia will bring Steve Smith and David Warner, plus renowned big-hitter Aaron Finch.
And India can call upon the esteemed likes of Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Sing and MS Dhoni.
That’s just the batting! England only have one of the world’s top 15 bowlers in Chris Woakes…
New Zealand must be respected at 9/1, and there’s every chance Pakistan (12/1) and Sri Lanka (20/1) can create magic on the day.
And who knows what a shock Bangladesh (40/1) victory in Thursday’s opener at the Oval would do for their chances.
England have been excellent since the 2015 World Cup, and Morgan must be given due credit, but the hard work will only begin on Thursday.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
