THE EDGE: The Edge previews the Cricket World Cup clash between ENGLAND v SRI LANKA with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
England v Sri Lanka
MATCH OVERVIEW:
England are back in action at the Cricket World Cup on Thursday on BETDAQ Betting Exchange as they face Sri Lanka. They come into this game under a cloud of criticism and finger pointing as they have already lost three games. Although the New Zealand loss was very eye opening given the ease of the win for New Zealand, it could easily be forgiven because it was the first game of the tournament and another top tier side. The losses against Afghanistan and then the manner of the South Africa defeat has definitely raised the alarm – especially in the English press.
We’ve had all sorts of questions asked, and even Joe Root basically said (not in so many words, reading between the lines) that the team wasn’t set up well for this format. The reality is England have put 50 over cricket on the back burner, and now they are paying the price. Their major domestic tournament is now only 100 balls too, which no other country plays. All these things are something for the press to highlight, but the reality is England just haven’t been good enough. If they were winning; no one would be talking about how poor the domestic 50 over competition is; which is run in the background of the Hundred with much lower quality players.
With just two points from four games, England’s World Cup hopes are hanging on by the barest of margins, and only because of the way other results have gone. They have to win every game left and that might not be enough. They face a very average Sri Lanka side here; but Sri Lanka will see this as an excellent chance to cause an upset and make some positive headlines for themselves.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
This is the second game at Bangalore, and very high scoring conditions are expected. England got things totally wrong in Mumbai at the Wankhede basing their tactics off IPL stats. I said at the time that most cricket fans will know conditions well based off the IPL, but bowling in the Indian heat is very different to night time conditions, plus add in the dew factor for chasing. Given the superb batting conditions on offer, I would bat first here. Australia put up 367/9 against Pakistan and while Pakistan put up a good fight to chase it, run rate pressure won the day for Australia.
RECOMMENDED BET:
There’s no getting away from the fact that things have been dire for England at this World Cup. They’ve been blown away by New Zealand and South Africa, and then faced an embarrassing loss to Afghanistan too. Confidence must be very low, but you have to say conditions should suit them here. Sri Lanka lack the power hitting needed for this ground, while the good batting conditions can help the England batters smash their way back into form too. Sri Lanka are a very average side and their bowling has been smashed to all parts at this tournament too. England win for me and the 1.37 is worth taking.
The Edge Says:
Three points win England to beat Sri Lanka at 1.37 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/EngSri
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
At Bangalore you definitely want to be supporting the batting side. Although Pakistan came up short in the big chase against Australia, as a trade that would have worked very well with them definitely getting into range. The Sri Lanka batters don’t really have the power hitting for this ground, but at the same time we have excellent batting conditions, short boundaries and high altitude so all that usually means runs. This isn’t a ground to support either bowling side! Although England have been poor at the World Cup; the Sri Lanka bowling unit has definitely been a team you want to take on, so don’t be surprised to see a massive score from England.
