NEW ZEALAND V ENGLAND: The Edge previews the 1st T20 between New Zealand and England as England start their tour down under with the Ashes this winter with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
England kick off their winter on Saturday as they begin their tour of New Zealand on Betdaq Betting Exchange! We have three T20’s followed by three ODI’s, but to be honest most of the chat coming into this series is about the Ashes. Obviously England’s whole winter will revolve around that, and you could argue that it might be a little difficult for them to focus on this tour given every question when they face the media is about the Ashes! This series is an interesting one itself; Brendon McCullum returns to his home nation leading the opposition from the side lines!
England haven’t had an International game since the 21st of September when they hammered Ireland in Dublin. To go nearly a month without International cricket is something that doesn’t happen often for this England side – their schedule is exceptionally hectic – the only other major gap is for the IPL window! From a New Zealand point of view, they will see this as an excellent opportunity to get a series win – T20 or ODI – against England. Kane Williamson will miss out of the T20’s, but he will be back for the ODI’s which is a massive boost for the Kiwi’s.
Williamson is one of a few New Zealand players that play on a casual contract; he’s allowed to make himself unavailable for certain games – as he did against Australia and Zimbabwe. England have started a few away series’ a little cold recently – it’ll be interesting to see can they hit the ground running here ahead of a massive winter. They already have enough pressure from the media without losing games ahead of the Ashes!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
We start the T20 series in Christchurch. We have had three International T20’s here since the start of 2024 – all three have been New Zealand v Pakistan. We had a lot of cricket here during the World Cup in 2022, but in the three games since 2024 we had scores of 158/5 (chased), 134/8 (won) and 91 all out (chased) in March this year. I think you have to go into this game with an open mind on scoring conditions, and access conditions when we see them.
RECOMMENDED BET:
Both sides love to play an attacking style of cricket, so we should have an entertaining game here. It was interesting to see the England price during their recent home series against South Africa – they lost the ODI series and drew the T20 series with a washout meaning it finished 1-1, but their price didn’t change much despite South Africa playing some great cricket. England are trading 1.68 here, and it’ll be interesting to see does that move as the series, and indeed tour, goes on. I find England usually start away from home quite slowly, and I like a small bet on New Zealand here at 2.4 or bigger. I just expect a closer game than the odds suggest.
The Edge Says:
One point win New Zealand to beat England at 2.4 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/NewEng1
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
As I said above, I would definitely go into this game with an open mind scoring wise. It’s hard to have much faith in the ground data given Pakistan played the last International T20’s here and they are so hit-or-miss with their cricket. I’d keep an open mind on scoring, and from that point of view it’s hard to have a set in-running strategy for this game before a ball in bowled. I do feel New Zealand offer value at 2.4, and I’ll be looking for good spots to support their batting – England’s bowling is their weak point in limited overs cricket.
