by Renee Israel
The international cricket season began easily for England against a
relatively weak West Indies team, but the real trial begins today (Friday, June
29) with the England versus Australia ODI cricket series.
The first of five ODIs between these two cricket giants swill be played at
Lord's today. Australia has just played a warm up game against Essex and will be
more than happy at the result. Most of the batsmen scored as Australia piled
over 300 runs. Then all Australian bowlers were in the wickets as Essex was all
out in just 32 overs for 134 runs.
Watson of Australia Flays England Strategy
Cricket fans enjoy the verbal banter that precedes England versus Australia
encounters. Shane Watson, the all rounder and vice captain of Australia, fired
the first salvo. He pointed out that the England strategy of going with five
front line bowlers is leaving them one batsman short.
This worked against the West Indies because the top three England batsmen were
able to score the needed runs. But it would not work against the Australian
bowling attack claimed Watson. The likes of Brett Lee and Pat Cummins can make
early inroads and expose the middle order.
On the other hand he acknowledged the strength of England's bowling attack. "…
on the flip side of that we know England have got a very strong bowling line-up
with no weaknesses there at all, so it's going to be a very good challenge."
Watson also said that his team is taking the England versus Australia ODI
series as a preparation for the Ashes next year. Watson has now been a part of
two consecutive Ashes losses and wants to turn the tables when Australia returns
to England in 2013 for the real encounter.
England Versus Australia ODI Online Betting
The online betting sites have opened several markets for the England versus
Australia first ODI. Ladbrokes online is frequently used by cricket punters. The
odds for either side winning the first ODI are 5/6 at Ladbrokes online. This
indicates that the cricket will be closely contested, but such odds do not
excite the punters.
There is a bet for most sixes in the match, which brings out the contrasting
styles of play in the two teams. Australia has the shorter odds of 8/13. This is
because Australians, like Watson and Warner, are known to go for the big hits.
The odds for England scoring the most sixes are 6/5 and this reflects their more
sedentary style of play.
There are a number of markets for batsmen at Ladbrokes online. The most
interesting are the odds for named batsmen scoring 50 runs. Some of the odds are
as follows.
England vs Australia Cricket Odds
Alistair Cook 9/4
Ian Bell 2/1
Shane Watson 2/1
David Warner 9/4
