- Group B - Saturday 8 June, 6pm
- Kensington Oval, Barbados
Would England have chased 109 in 10 overs to beat Scotland on Tuesday had the rain not intervened to leave both nations with a point apiece?
Probably, but by no means definitely.
No doubt, it was an unconvincing start to the campaign as Scotland posted 90-0 from 10 overs batting first before having their target adjusted on Duckworth Lewis Stern.
It has certainly increased the unease amongst the England fans, who still remember their disastrous 50-over World Cup campaign in India late last year.
Once a juggernaut in white ball cricket, England are more like a Ferrari with a dodgy engine. Some days they will purr, others they will leave you searching for the number of the AA.
I do think Australia, who eased past Oman in their opener, will win this competition and will win this match. They are 4/5 with BetGoodwin to win, an odds on price which is just about at the limit that I would be taking.
It wouldn’t be great news, clearly, for England to lose this one but certainly not a terminal blow given they will qualify for the Super Eights in second place and have fixtures against Oman and Namibia to come.
Here is our pick of cricket betting tips from our collection of online bookmakers and sports betting offers.
Could be Starc viewing for England fans
The pitches haven’t been great so far in this competition - definitely on the slow side. With that in mind, I would be interested in taking bet365′s 13/8 on England leg-spinner Adil Rashid to take two wickets.
Rashid was expensive in a couple of overs against Scotland the other day, but that can happen.
He struck three times in two matches against Pakistan last month and loves playing against Australia across the various formats. He has taken 59 wickets against them in 38 career appearances.
Australia’s new ball quick Mitchell Starc started the campaign on Thursday morning with a couple of wickets against Oman, a game in which he had to leave the field one ball into his fourth over with cramp.
He is fully expected to be ready to face England, and he’s our tip to be leading wicket-taker in the tournament, and he’s been boosted to 7/4 by Ladbrokes to strike twice in this fixture. That’s definitely worth siding with.
He has taken seven wickets in his last three competitive T20 matches (excluding World Cup warm-ups) for Australia and Kolkata at the IPL, and I also think he’s worth siding with to be his country’s top bowler in this match, on offer at 3/1 with Virgin Bet.
High fives
Betfair have an enticing #OddsOnThat special on offer at 5/1, which is worth taking on - for sure. That is for respective captains Jos Buttler and Mitch Marsh, added to Aussie all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, to combine and score 125 plus runs in the fixture.
Stoinis impressed with 67 v Oman, and Buttler was impressive form in the home series against Pakistan. Marsh has been a bit scratchy of late, but it just needs two of those to come off to put us in sight of success.
And William Hill also have a 5/1 shot on Rashid to be England’s top bowler and for England to hit most sixes in the match.
That, like the previous bet at fives, is worth a couple of quid.
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