- England vs Pakistan
- Twenty20 International Series, Game Three (of four)
- Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 6.30pm
- Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Jos Buttler with 84 starred with the bat before Jofra Archer took two wickets and was amongst a trio of bowlers who impressed. It was the ideal way for England to begin their preparations for the forthcoming T20 World Cup.
Pakistan were bowled out for 160 chasing 184. Now, they have to kick on.
Unfortunately, over the last 18 months or so, since winning the T20 World Cup in Australia at the back end of 2022, England have been so inconsistent. In fact, in both limited overs formats, it’s been more bad than good.
Despite that, they are still rated highly ahead of their trip to the Caribbean. But they could do with walking the walk. Of course, nothing will be decided over the next few days. Though, it would be lovely if they could win this series 3-0 and make a statement.
I do think England will do that, but they are too short to back for an outright win. At 1/2, I just don’t see a great deal of value.
Opening up - with bat and ball
To get us going in this preview, I like Ladbrokes’ special of Jos Buttler and Phil Salt to combine to score 75 runs at the top of England’s order - on offer at 6/4.
Captain Buttler hit 84 in game one and Salt 13. The latter, I’m expecting good things from over the next month or so.
Sticking with the same firm and their price boosts, their 13/8 on Pakistan new ball quick Shaheen Afridi to take two or more wickets is worth taking on.
He is in fabulous form at the moment. In his last five T20 internationals dating back to April, he has returned a trio of three-wicket hauls and one four-for. With each of those performances, he has been Pakistan’s top bowler. He claimed 3-36 at Edgbaston.
With that in mind, it’s certainly worth considering him to be their top wicket-taker again, at 11/4 with Paddy Power.
Sticking with the openers’ line which I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, I also quite like William Hill’s #YourOdds 19/5 on an England win and Buttler to score 25 plus runs and Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan to do the same.
Back to Shaheen, bet365′s 11/2 to take three wickets in the match is extremely juicy.
Fakhar Cracker - again!
Pakistan left-hander Fakhar Zaman brought us in a 6/1 shot in game one, his 45 from number four ensuring he was Pakistan’s top run-scorer in the match.
He came into that fixture in excellent form, and I thought he was over-priced to achieve the top bat feat.
Fakhar remains on offer at a decent price - 11/2 with Betfair - so I would be going again on his success, for sure.
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