THE EDGE: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Thursday’s Test Match fromLords between IPL final between England v Ireland with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
We have the first Test of the English summer on BETDAQ Betting Exchange this week as England host Ireland at Lord’s. Everyone will remember the last time Ireland played England at Lord’s – Ireland bowled England out for 85 on the opening morning and gave them a real scare. What is forgotten is that Ireland were bowled out for an embarrassing 38 in the final innings as they attempted a chase of only 182, so in the end it was a big win for England – 143 the margin. The reality is a “scare” is the best thing Ireland can hope for here; it’s very hard to see anything bar an England win.
Since that Test in 2019, Ireland haven’t actually played Test cricket since this year. They have played three Tests in quick time however, somewhat lucky for Ireland as Sri Lanka asked for a two Test series as there was still a slight chance of them getting into the World Test Championship Final at the time. Ireland lost all three Tests, they did get close in one when they posted 492 in the first innings against Sri Lanka. After conceding 704/3, they ended up being bowled out for 202 and lost by an innings and ten runs. As I said above, Ireland might play well for a day or two, but over the course of the Test England will come out on top.
England’s focus will be on the Ashes, this is basically a warm-up Test. It won’t be long until Australia are in town, and Jimmy Anderson Ollie Robertson will be rested for this game – they are going to be fully fit for the Ashes, Brendon McCullum said but they do have niggles. I think the general feeling when everyone saw the squad for this Test was England went in a lot stronger than expected! It’s going to be a tough task for Ireland, especially as they have no domestic red ball set-up.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
The weather looks beautiful in London for this Test so we have no worries there. The draw is trading 9.8 at the time of writing, and that might come in a little given it’s a four day Test. Other than it being a shorter Test than usual, it’s hard to see a draw here – especially considering the way England play Test cricket these days! Usually though Lord’s is a good place for the batters when the sun is out, so this game will focus around how Ireland get on with the bat.
RECOMMENDED BET:
As I said above, even though Ireland might have a strong day or two it’s hard to see them getting a result in the end. Their best hope seems to be with the bat and putting up a good score. England won’t have their best attack, but it’s still levels above what Ireland have. Ireland have taken the decision to allow Josh Little, their star bowler, to sit this Test out. That was a big call, and highlights that Ireland are mainly focused on white ball cricket these days. They gave out for years about not playing Test cricket, and now they arrive to Lord’s without their best player. Ireland’s bowling without Little has been exposed against weaker sides than England, and given good batting conditions you’d have to expect England to bat Ireland out of the game. England are only trading 1.16, and while I can’t see past an England win I won’t recommend a bet that short.
The Edge Says:
No Bet. Back England in-running if they reach 1.4 or higher on with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/EngIre
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
With England trading 1.16 at the start of the Test, we’re going to need some drama in-play for this market to catch fire. As I said above, the best hope of some market movement is Ireland batting well. I really can’t see their bowlers being successful against England in these conditions – if England reach 1.4 while batting I would be all over that. In terms of market movement – Ireland have Paul Sterling up top and if he gets going he can really move the market, then you have Harry Tector who will need a big innings if Ireland are to score big, and Lorcan Tucker has been in good form. Also, Curtis Campher and George Dockrell can really smack the ball around down the order, if they get a decent platform.
