Category: Cricket

Malinga Returns to Cricket in Secondary Series

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Much has been made of the scheduling impacting the two sides ahead of the three match Twenty20 series between Sri Lanka and Australia that gets underway at the MCG on Friday. Critics, including Australia’s vice-captain, David Warner, have been vocal in their condemnation of the series that starts just seven days after Sri Lanka spent three months touring South Africa and finishes one day before Australia are due to take on India in an away test series.

Optimists, however, see it as an opportunity to blood new talent and Australia has done that in spades. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, has used it to welcome back old talent in the form of Lasith Malinga. The mercurial left armer returns after 12 months away from the game through injury.

Question marks over his body and form and that of some of the Australian newbies should still provide enough value in game one.

The Last Time These Two Met

Australia has taken the honours in the previous two meetings between the sides that were contested in Sri Lanka in September 2016. That said, it’s a vastly different Australian side now than it was then. The bulk of Australia’s side are either rested, injured or have been sent to India to familiarise themselves with conditions ahead of the four-test series starting at the end of February.

Perhaps the Australians haven’t noted the 6-4 winning record the Sri Lankans enjoy in the overall head to head.

The Teams

Australia (from):

Aaron Finch (capt), Michael Klinger, Travis Head, Ben Dunk, Moises Henriques, Ashton Turner, Tim Paine (wk), James Faulkner, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye, Jhye Richardson, Billy Stanlake.

Michael Klinger is in line for an international debut at the age of 36, while Tim Paine could get his first game for Australia after six years since his last. Fast bowler Jhye Richardson and all-rounder Ashton Turner are uncapped and could debut.

Sri Lanka (likely):

Upal Tharanga (c), Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunarathna, Dilshan Munaweera, Kusal Mendis, Milinda Siriwardena, Sachith Pathirana, Chamara Kapugedara, Seekuge Prassanna, Nuan Kulaskera, Isuru Udana, Dasun Chanaka, Lakshan Sandakan, Lasith Malinga, Vikum Sanjaya.

Captain Angelo Matthews is missing with a hamstring injury, and replacement skipper, Dinesh Chandimal has been dropped. That leaves Upul Tharanga to lead the young side, who despite being underdogs here, could have some confidence under their belts after winning the T20 series against South Africa last month.

The Key Players

Australia

Pat Cummins is quickly becoming a serious wicket-taking threat in the short format cricket after returning from injury. But more than that he’s actually learning to be pretty useful with the bat. Cummins was used as high as six for his Sydney Thunder BBL team and ably supported Marcus Stones during his unreliable Auckland effort recently. He’ll be a threat with his short-pitched bowling, as he will be with the blade.

Sri Lanka

The star of the recent series win against the highly fancied South Africans was Niroshan Dickwella. The opening batsman made scores of 43, 22 and 68 in a low scoring series to overshadow AB de Villiers’ return to cricket. He also topped the run scoring charts at an average of 39 in the ODI series that followed, proving he’ll be a threat in this series.

The Match Odds

Australia – $1.28 at Palmerbet.

Sri Lanka – $4.10 at Sportsbet.

The Prediction

While the Sri Lankans head the overall meetings between the two sides and have won all three of their previous T20 games in South Africa, it’s hard to see them getting the better of the admittedly weaker home side after such a draining tour of South Africa. Australia to win by 30 runs or 4 wickets.

The Best Bets

Ben Dunk, coming off an incredible Big Bash season (which surprisingly saw him miss out on the squad first time around) is great money to top score at $5 from Sportsbet. They’re also offering $4 for Cummins taking the most wickets for the home side – both are great options.

South Africa out for Eden Park Revenge in One-off T20

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The last time the South Africans played at Eden Park they were left heartbroken. A final over loss to New Zealand in the semi-final of the World Cup meant once again they wouldn’t have the opportunity to atone for World Cup pain of the past.

The enduring image of that match is of Grant Elliot picking Dale Steyn up off the floor after hitting him for six over deep midwicket to win the match. And while similar drama is unlikely in a one-off Twenty20 international on Friday, there will be a desire amongst a weakened South African side to forge new images of Eden Park, that will be remembered longer than those from 2015.

The Last Time These Two Met

The teams last played a Twenty20 series in 2015. Hosted in South Africa the series was split one each, with the home side taking the lead by easily chasing 152 in Durban before New Zealand squared things up at Centurion by defending 177.

In total, South Africa have won 10 of the 14 Twenty20 internationals between the sides. That makes them attractively priced for this one-off game despite (or because of) their series loss to Sri Lanka at home recently in the same format.

The Teams

South Africa (from):

AB de Villiers (capt), Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi

South Africa will be disappointed to be without rising quick Lungi Ngidi for the one-off game and the ODI series. His loss will be felt by a side missing most of it’s known seamers (the likes of Steyn, Morkel, Abbott and Philander). Dane Paterson will travel with the side as cover for Ngidi and Dwaine Pretorius whose wife is due to give birth.

New Zealand (from):

Kane Williamson (capt), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Glenn Phillips, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ben Wheeler

New Zealand often uses the T20 format to blow youngsters as shown by the continued inclusion of Tom Bruce and Ben Wheeler in the squad, and the drafting of Aucklander Glenn Phillips into the side to replace the injured Martin Guptill.

The Key Players

South Africa

David Miller doesn’t have the strongest record in the short format (unless you consider IPL form too); admittedly because he doesn’t get much of a chance to flex his muscle until very late in the innings. However, the powerful left-hander is a huge threat. Coming off an ODI hundred against Sri Lanka in his last innings (and a brief injury that forced him to miss the last three games of that series), Miller could go huge at Eden Park.

New Zealand

Before his late withdrawal, Martin Guptill was going to be heavily featured in this spot. Guptill averages 53 in T20 internationals against South Africa and has more runs than any other player from either nation in matches between the two. His average at Eden Park in the format is also over 50.

Alas, he’s not playing, so let’s highlight his replacement, Glenn Phillips. The twenty-year-old led the run scoring in New Zealand’s T20 competition with 369 and registered the highest score with 116*. The diminutive keeper batsman is an aggressive ball striker and might be comfortable at his Auckland home.

The Match Odds

South Africa– $1.78 at Palmerbet.

New Zealand – $2.10 at Bet365.

The Prediction

The evenly matched sides with their unique mix of experience and youth are difficult to separate. However, with an overall winning record against the Black Caps in the format of 71% it’s awfully hard to predict anything other than a South African win. That’s despite New Zealand’s incredible form in all formats at home this summer (albeit against Pakistan and Bangladesh).

The Best Bets

Guptill’s record against South Africa and at Friday’s venue are compelling. He’s at $3.75 to top score, which looks like one of the better options available.

For the South Africans, the normal list of superstars, de Villiers, Amla and de Kock are all priced lower than former T20 and current test captain Faf du Plessis, meaning there is some value in Faf at $5. Why? Batting at number 3 gives him plenty of overs at the crease and he’s coming off 185 in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka.

Australia to Close Out Pakistan 4-1 Ahead of Chappell-Hadlee Trip

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The Adelaide Oval will host the final one day international of the tour between Australia and Pakistan on Thursday. The series has already been won by Australia, so Pakistan is simply playing for pride, which is a difficult proposition in any form of sport at the end of a long trip.

Adelaide last hosted these two teams during 2015’s World Cup. The sides met in the quarter-final – made famous for Wahhabi Riaz’s spell of fast bowling to Shane Watson – where Australia won by six wickets.

We preview the likelihood of a similar result in game five below.

The Series So Far

Australia leads the series comfortably by three games to one. The most recent win in Sydney came on the back of a massive David Warner hundred and a blitzing Glenn Maxwell cameo. In response to Australia’s 353 (which was helped massively by Pakistan’s clumsy fielding, in a similar way to the way they fielded in the test series), Pakistan only managed 267. They got a breathtaking cameo from Sharjeel Khan but needed it to continue for a lot longer.

With the series already decided, the best Pakistan can achieve is a dead rubber win to lose the series 3-2. It’s hard to know if that’s deserved given they are often their own worst enemies (despite some great cricket at times).

The Teams

Australia (probable)

1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Travis Head, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Peter Handscomb, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkener, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Mitchell Starc

Australia is likely to tinker with their line-up given they’ve already sown the series up, but it’s hard to know which personnel will be affected. Pat Cummins who has played every game, and in the past been pretty injury prone, might make way for Adam Zampa.

Pakistan (probable)

1 Sharjeel Khan, 2 Azhar Ali (capt), 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Hasan Ali.

There’s no reason why Umar Akmal should play after disappointing in the finisher role throughout the series. Asad Shafiq could replace him, although his series has been equally lean. The only other potential changes are in the bowling stocks info it’s deemed appropriate to rest Amir or Junaid.

The Key Players

Australia

Usman Khawaja has had a difficult series opening the batting instead of regular Aaron Finch. After Travis Head was tried in game one, Khawaja has been used in the remaining games to disappointing effect. He hasn’t passed 30 and now he’s been overlooked for the Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand starting on January 30 (he’s going to India early to prepare on turning wickets). Finch has been included in that series, so Khawaja needs to send the selectors a reminder of his worth in the one day game with a big knock in game five.

Pakistan

Sharjeel Khan was electrifying in Sydney. On a fabulous batting wicket, the left-handed smashed 74 off just 47 balls to heap the pressure on the Australian bowlers. The entertaining innings included ten fours and three sixes and it ended only when leg-spinner Adam Zampa was introduced to the attack. In a dead rubber, the powerful left-handed can throw caution to the wind, which is a dangerous thought for the locals.

The Match Odds*

Australia– $1.21

Pakistan – $4.45

*All odds from Sportsbet.

The Prediction

Australia to take the series 4-1 with another comprehensive victory. When touring sides enter the home stretch of a long, unsuccessful tour the final game is often a bridge too far. With one eye on the flight home, it’s hard to see the Pakistan side being motivated or competitive. Australia by 90 runs or 7 wickets.

The Best Bets

Azhar Ali has recovered from his injury woes and could be a good look for top run scorer. The patient opener doesn’t miss out often, and at $3.75 and a much better player than his teammates, he looks worth a punt.

Steve Smith is at $4 for the same bet. In a series where the captain’s been inconsistent, a strong finish looks likely.

Series at Stake for Pesky Pakistanis

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Steven Smith led his side impressively in game three of the ODI series between Australia and Pakistan in Perth. The Australian captain was commanding in the field, when calling the shots and keeping Pakistan to a below-par 267, and was even better with bat in hand as he finessed his way to a not out hundred.

The captaincy and the batting illustrates a maturity that holds Australia in good stead ahead of their trip to India and the Champions Trophy later this year. But first is a series against Pakistan to finish off. The home side will be hoping to close Pakistan out in game 4 in Sydney.

The Series So Far

A surprisingly competitive series has Australia with a narrow 2-1 lead after wins sandwiched between a surprise loss in Melbourne. In game one, Australia was under immense pressure at 78/5 before recovering and having their bowlers lead them to an easy win. That result was reversed at the MCG where the Australian batsman struggled again and Pakistan chased down 217 comfortably. The most recent match of the series again saw Australia recover from batting wobbles to chase down 268. Thanks mostly to Steve Smith’s beautifully timed run chase. Smith scored a well made hundred while getting support from debutant Peter Handscomb.

The Teams

Australia (probable)

1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Travis Head, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Peter Handscomb, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkener, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Mitchell Starc

Starc could return to the side instead of Billy Stanlake after being rested at the WACA. The returning Starc will form a formidable trio of strike bowlers with fellow quickies Hazlewood (who was awesome in game three) and Cummins (if he’s not rested in Sydney where it traditionally turns a bit and could favour Adam Zamora).

Pakistan (probable)

1 Sharjeel Khan, 2 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik 5 Assad Shafiq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Hasan Ali.

Assad Shafiq and Umar Akumal are under pressure to perform but may keep their places in the side due to a lack of quality replacements. That is unless Azhar Ali is fit to return.

The Key Players

Australia

Despite not taking a wicket in game three James Faulkner still leads the Australian wicket-takers in the series with 6. The canny left armer expertly mixes his cutters, off pace slower balls, and stock back of a length to trouble batsman and keep his economy rate down. Faulkner hasn’t been rested and plays an important wicket-taking role when Starc and Hazlewood are being rotated. Keep an eye on Faulkner’s immense skill as he attacks the middle overs again in Sydney.

Pakistan

Junaid Kahn and Mohammad Amir have both been incredibly dangerous with the ball in the series so far. So much so that they are more of a threat in tandem than they are as individuals. If they’re not rested in game four (Amir is a chance after spending some time off the field in the last match) their combination could be what Pakistan need to even up the series. To do so they must take early wickets and these two are the ones responsible for doing so.

The Match Odds*

Australia– $1.25

Pakistan – $3.75

*All odds from Unibet.

The Prediction

The loss at Melbourne was officially a blip and not the result of two evenly matched teams. Australia has always been dominant in one day cricket at home and this series is no different (game two aside). Normal transmission should continue in Sydney, with another comfortable win for the home side.

The Best Bets

All summer Peter Handscomb has enjoyed unbelievable fortune (he’s also played some great cricket mind you). And when it’s running your way, sometimes as punters it’s best to go with it. Handscomb was out off a no-ball early in his debut innings and went on to score. He’s at $6 to top score again on Sunday.

Shoaib Malik to score fifty is priced nicely at $3.50. Given Malik’s impact on the series so far after missing game one, this could be one Pakistan player worth showing some trust in.

Black Caps Look Set to Send Bangladesh Home Winless

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Bangladesh’s final match of their New Zealand tour at Hagley Oval is their last chance to take a win off the home side. It looks pretty unlikely though after they blew their chance in the first test after posting 595 in the first innings. A tour that has so far promised much but delivered little is likely to finish 8-0 to the Black Caps on account of the Bangladesh confidence being pretty low after squandering a nice chance in several games. Add to that a desire to get back home and it appears the Christchurch test will go the same way as the every other game between the two sides this summer. We’d love to be proven wrong, though; we’d also love to see an end to the short pitched bowling attack New Zealand so often employs.

The Series So Far

Game one was an instant classic. The draw looked likely for the first three days on account of Bangladesh’s record first innings score, however, a late day four panic, injuries to key players and some exceptional Mitchell Santner spell of bowling confined Bangladesh to another test defeat. The game had everything test cricket needs: runs, wickets, multiple storylines (short pitched bowling and concussion rules as applied to Neil Wagner and Shakib Al Hasan; Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson race to Martin Crowe’s century record). The Black Caps ultimately won by six wickets, chasing down 217 with 17 overs to spare

New Zealand accordingly leads the two test series one nil as it heads to Christchurch.

The Teams

New Zealand (likely):

1 Jeet Raval, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls , 6 Colin de Grandhomme, 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Lockie Ferguson / Neil Wagner, 11 Trent Boult

The only change being contemplated in the Black Caps set-up is swapping out Neil Wagner or Tim Southee for Lockie Ferguson. The change adds impetus to a bowling unit that struggled to take wickets in the first innings in game one. Ferguson’s raw pace could scare a Bangladeshi unit struggling against the short ball and help the Black Caps take twenty wickets much quicker than they achieved at the Basin Reserve.

Bangladesh (likely):

1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Sabbir Rahman, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk), 8 Mehedi Hasan, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Taskin Ahmed

With Mushfiqur Rahman out of the test with a finger injury/concussion concerns, Nurul Hasan will make his test debut, just as he did in the ODI series earlier in the tour. While Mishfiqur is a massive loss, the addition of Mistafizur after the crafty left armer was given a rest for the first game in Wellington provides Bangladesh a massive boost.

The Key Players

New Zealand

The Black Caps don’t play a whole lot more test cricket this year. Sure, they host South Africa later in the summer, but then their attention turns towards limited overs cricket in England for the Champions Trophy. One player who therefore needs to take every chance he can get to solidify his place in the side is Henry Nicholls. Nicholls made 53 in the first innings in game one but never really looked assured. His innings summed up his career thus far: some potential, plenty of nerves and some glaring technical deficiencies. Time in the middle will help correct or mould all three of these traits and Nicholls must score runs to secure his long-term future.

Bangladesh

Without Mishfiqur, Shakib Al Hasan shapes up as the most important player in the tourist’s side. The world-class all round compiled a polished fifty in the first game but needs to turn that into a big hundred here in game two if his side is to have a chance. Shakib does need to be careful not to get too loose attacking the short ball. He appeared to get too hyped up flailing at the short stuff and needs to be more composed; picking the appropriate ball to go after.

The Match Odds*

New Zealand – $1.25

Bangladesh – $15

Draw – $5.50

*All odds courtesy of Bet365.

The Prediction

Bangladesh’s spirit may be broken after the devastating loss in game one. After dominating the opening two days the tourists were left red-faced in their second innings as they succumbed to nerves and injuries. It’s hard to see them bounce back from the defeat, so we’re predicting a big win for the Black Caps.

The Best Bets

Shakib Al Hasan looks good money to top score at $5. His first test double century (just the third double century scored by a Bangladeshi batsman) was all class and given the rest of his competition (within his team) are either injured, wounded or desperately out of form.

With two strings to his bow and both of them at their best at present, Mitchell Santner is a nice tip for Man of the Match honours. Santner scored runs in Wellington (despite not looking that comfortable against the short ball) and took wickets (second innings only), and could be a threat on a Hagley Oval pitch that should be pretty similar to the one served up at the Basin. He’s paying $15 to be Man of the Match.

Confident Pakistan Sniff Series Upset Against Frail Australia

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The WACA in Perth has at times suited the Pakistan cricket team. Offering pace and bounce, the West Australian surface was right up the alley of Khan, Akram and Younis. Now, however, the pace and bounce are likely to trouble the Pakistan batsman and work against the slow bowlers that were so successful for them in the first two games of the series. The end result, favourable conditions for the home side as they seek to overturn the surprise defeat in game two and wrestle back the initiative in the five-game series.

The Series So Far

Australia’s familiar fragilities were again exposed in their shock game two loss. Too reliant on Smith and Warner, and an inability to rotate the strike against Pakistan’s trio of slow bowlers, the Australians made just 220 which was easily chased down by Pakistans top 6. The successful chase was the first win by Pakistan against Australia in any format since 2005 and added renewed interest to a ODI series that had the potential to lose appeal if the hosts ran out to a 2-0 series win.

The game two loss offsets a win in Brisbane by 92 runs, despite Australia not scoring as many as they would’ve liked there too. So a series tied at 1-1, with plenty to play for in Perth.

The Teams

Australia (probable)

1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Travis Head, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Matthew Wade (wk), 7 Marcus Stonis, 8 James Faulkner, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Billy Stanlake, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Marcus Stonis has joined the squad from the Melbourne Stars to replace the injured Mitchell Marsh but might miss out if Peter Handscomb is picked and Smith relies on Maxwell and Head to get through their share of overs. Billy Stanlake may also get a second crack because of Mitchell Starc being rested ahead of a busy upcoming schedule. Adam Zappa is the other addition to the squad and could get a run.

Pakistan (probable)

1 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Asad Shafiq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Junaid Khan.

Unless Pakistan gives Amir a rest, we can’t see them making too many changes to the side that broke a 12-year drought in Australia by winning game two.

The Key Players

Australia

Glenn Maxwell has made useful contributions in the first two games of the series and remains the most dangerous player in the middle order. He’s dangerous because he scores all around the ground, 360 degrees, including behind the wicketkeeper. The unique trait and the fact that he plays so freely against spin has resulted in him being included in the touring squad to India.

Pakistan

Mohammad Hafeez was good with both bat and ball in game two. The stand-in captain, who is getting to the end of his career, will take great pride from the game two win and will be desperate to continue the upsets and maybe even sneak a series win against Australia, in Australia, before he retires. Expect Hafeez to have a big impact in both his disciplines in Perth.

The Match Odds*

Australia– $1.28

Pakistan – $3.75

*All odds from Bet365.

The Prediction

It’s hard to see the Australian’s struggling to post 300 for the third straight game, although we expressed our view that it was unlikely they would get less than 260 in the series after game one and were well wrong. Expect a strong bounce back this time and a big Australian win.

The Best Bets

For one of the best players in the world in all three formats David Warner has had a mediocre start to the series. The swing of Mohammed Amir has had him in all sorts of trouble, but it wasn’t long ago he smashed a century before lunch in the Sydney test. Warner’s well and truly due a score, and at $3.75 he’s nicely priced.

It’s clear after two games that the bowlers who bowl the death overs will pick up some cheap wickets. And after the Australians would have decided to give Imad Wasim more respect, Junaid Khan now looks like a good option to be the top bowler for the tourists. He’s at $4.50.