ENGLAND v SRI LANKA: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Tuesday’s 1st ODI between ENGLAND v SRI LANKA with a recommended BETDAQ bet.

MATCH OVERVIEW:

After a thrashing in the T20 series, Sri Lanka look to reset and go again as they take on England in the ODI format. It’s hard to see much changing however, and the market agrees with England trading 1.15 on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. England have traded very close to those prices since we saw the gulf in class between the sides in the 1st T20, and as I said after that game it’s going to feel like a very long tour for Sri Lanka.

I think the Sri Lanka head coach summed up the situation well when he said “England are number one and we’re number nine, and you can tell.” You really can! This should be another series whitewash for England, but we can expect to see some changes to the playing XI so you never know. The reality is Sri Lanka had to bat well to have any chance and they ended up with scores of 129/7, 111/7 and 91 all out. They are getting worse, not better!

For England, things seem pretty straightforward. They just have to keep playing good cricket. Sri Lanka just aren’t on their level at the moment, they are a team going through a bad period as they struggle to find new talent to fill some big shoes left behind. They will come again to the table of top class cricket, but at the moment they are nowhere close to competing with a side like England.

WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:

We move to Chester-le-Street for the 1st ODI and I feel we can expect more or less the same situation here. If Sri Lanka bat first, you want to get on unders and if England bat first, you want to get on overs. England managed 180/6 in the final T20 and as I said before the game, it definitely looked like they had that in the locker when chasing the low scores. From a Sri Lankan point of view, I’m not sure where the runs come from. I don’t see average scores applying here because of the gulf in class between the sides. If the average score of the ground was 270, that doesn’t mean Sri Lanka will get close to it!

RECOMMENDED BET:

England trade 1.15 to win here and I can’t see past them winning. No prizes for tipping those prices though. Once again one of the England openers landed Top England Batsman in the third T20 and this is a very good tactic again here. If Sri Lanka bat first, England will be chasing a low score and the openers have a very big edge and if England bat first you still have a fair value bet. The bet I like is No Century in the match at 2.1 IF Sri Lanka bat first. If England bat first, don’t back it. Sri Lanka just haven’t been good enough with the bat this series and this looks the best play in a very one sided game. If Sri Lanka bat first too, don’t forget the England openers for top Batsman.

The Edge Says:
Two points win No Century Scored (IF Sri Lanka bat first) at 2.1 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange

View the market here -> https://bit.ly/BDQEngSL1st

IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:

Once again the in-running strategy has to be all about England here. I think we’ve seen enough from the T20 series to know what’s coming. It’s hard to see how Sri Lanka make a game of it, but their best chance seems to be if England bat first and lose a lot of early wickets with the new ball. Other than that, how to Sri Lanka get into it? Their batting looks very poor, so I wouldn’t want to be looking for a trade on them while batting and England’s batting line-up is so strong, how many early wickets would they have to lose before Sri Lanka have a decent chance? I would be looking to find a trade on England defending even 220 which is a very low total these days. I just don’t see how Sri Lanka get close, and I would be favouring England for the whole game here.