ENGLAND v PAKISTAN: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Friday’s 1st T20 between ENGLAND v PAKISTAN with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
After losing the ODI series 3-0 to the England second XI, Pakistan desperately need a win to save face on this tour as we move to the T20 series on Friday. The bad news for Pakistan fans too is that some big players are now back in the squad after their Covid isolation. Morgan returns as captain with Ben Stokes now rested – which is understandable given it wasn’t planned he would return for the ODI series, but had to after those positive tests. Jos Buttler also returns, and Saqib Mahmood and Lewis Gregory have earned a T20 call-up after being fantastic in the ODI series.
Pakistan will also have to battle the lieks of Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan. The Pakistan batting got a lot better in the final ODI – they ended their innings with 331/9 which was a pretty impressive score. England chased it down with two overs to spare however, and you can easily point the finger at the Pakistan bowlers. They must improve – they are better than they have shown so far in England.
For England, even with all their big players missing they still played superb well. It really shows how strong the World Champions are in the one day format, and it will take a huge Pakistan performance to beat them now. A positive for Pakistan is with the players returning from Covid isolation, they might be a little out of touch – we’re all set for another fascinating game.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
We move to Trent Bridge in Nottingham for the 1st T20 and this is usually a high scoring ground. I know we’ve had a huge break at most grounds with Covid, however the last International T20 here was all the way back in 2012! And then before that they hosted the 2009 World Cup here. Fair to say those stats aren’t any use given the way the game has changed! The average score batting first here in the 2019 Blast season was 163, which was the last proper season with 2020 taking place in totally different conditions later in the year. One side of the ground is usually quite short depending where they put the pitch, so I’d expect a high scoring game.
RECOMMENDED BET:
The Pakistan bowling has really disappointed me so far in this series, and England look good value here at 1.57. They have a lot of their big game players returning, and as I said the only worry is are they a little out of touch with the Covid isolation. I expected England to be shorter than 1.5 even with that worry however, so the 1.57 looks very good value. Trent Bridge is usually a good wicket for batting, and that will really suit England – they have the power hitters and it seems obvious the Pakistan bowlers are out of form.
The Edge Says:
Two points win England to beat Pakistan at 1.57 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange
View the market here -> https://bit.ly/BDQEngPkn
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
With the lack of ground data in the International format, there isn’t any major in-running strategies based on stats. For example, it seems obvious to get on the bowling side first in Cardiff in the 1st ODI – but there’s nothing like that here. I would be keen to look for any signs the England batters are rusty after their spell on the side lines, but with Pakistan bowling going for so many runs it might be unwise to take on the England batting. I think you’d get more value supporting the England batters as you want to be against this Pakistan bowling at the moment.
There aren’t many in-running strategies for this game – we have very little ground data and England have a lot of players who didn’t play in the ODI series. Perhaps it’s a game to wait and see how play develops, with the idea of getting on England at the right times.
