Sports Blog 10/11/2015: Cricket Preview – Pakistan v England 1st ODI, Wednesday 11th November 2015

After a disappointing 2-0 defeat in the Test series England shift their focus to the 50 over format for a 4 match ODI battle with Pakistan starting on Wednesday.

Eoin Morgan once again skippers England, and there will be plenty of other new faces from the Test series, with the likes of Alex Hales, Jason Roy and David Willey all looking to continue England’s recent progress in the one day sphere. Pakistan will be led by Azhar Ali, and several other new faces have arrived for the ODI series including giant left-arm seamer Mohammad Irfan, probably the most recognisable player in world cricket. Just as in the Test series, Pakistan (Evens) go into the battle as firm favourites. England are chalked up at 11/4, with a drawn series available at 2/1. On our Series Win Index, where 10 points are awarded per game won and a bonus 25 points awarded for winning the series, Pakistan are quoted at 37-40, with England priced at 25-28. For those who fancy a one sided series Pakistan to win 4-0 is 11/2, whilst England to win by the same score line is a juicy 14/1.



The returning Jason Roy will be an absolutely key player for England if they are to make use of the first 15 overs and seize the momentum early in the contest. The dynamic Surrey batsman has had mixed fortunes since being given his chance at the top of the English order, and with other men looking to stake their claim you feel Roy needs a strong showing to cement his place in the side. Our traders quote Roy series runs at 136-146, perhaps reflecting an uneasy lack of confidence in the South-African born right-hander. One England batsman who does inspire total confidence these days is Yorkshire’s Joe Root. Now firmly established in the elite echelon of world batsmen, Root is the undisputed prize scalp in any English line-up. Our traders clearly are expecting him to once again perform well, quoting his series runs at 152-162, and installing him as the 3/1 favourite to be England’s top run scorer in the series.

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali will be a focal point of their batting line-up, often playing the anchor role whilst the more flamboyant batsman go on the attack. With the added pressure of captaincy to cope with (not something to under-estimate given the fiercely critical and passionate Pakistani public), Ali will have plenty on his plate. Our traders however have faith in the skipper, chalking him up as the 3/1 joint favourite to be Pakistan’s top run scorer in the series alongside ‘the Professor’, Mohammed Hafeez. Ali’s series runs quote is pitched at 156-166, with Hafeez quoted just a fraction lower at 152-162.

After his shock retirement from Test cricket, Shoaib Malik will now focus on the ODI format, stating his desire to play until the next world cup. That sounds unlikely, but there is no doubt Malik will be dangerous with both bat and ball this series. With a double hundred in the first test and stacks of wickets in the third, Malik should certainly be on the radar of the England coaching staff. Malik’s series performance quote, based on 1 pt per run, 10 pts per catch and 20 pts per wicket, is priced at 208-218, offering the chance to take a view on how well he will perform across all disciplines throughout the series. For England Adil Rashid will fill an all-rounder role, with his leg-spin bowling really catching the imagination of the cricketing public back home. The Yorkshireman, for so long mentioned as a potential England star, now has a golden opportunity to nail down a place in England’s plans across all 3 formats. With his handy lower-order batting likely to be needed once again, his series player performance quote of 148-158 may well be of interest.



The two outstanding bowlers of this crop of Pakistan bowlers are undoubtedly paceman Wahab Riaz and deadly leg-spinner Yasir Shah. Both performed superbly in the Test series, and it would be a surprise to see that not continue into the ODI format. Both men are on offer at 60-66 in the series bowling index market, with 10 pts awarded per wicket taken with a 25 pt bonus available for a 5 wicket haul. England’s bowling attack loses Anderson and Broad for this format, putting plenty of pressure on Warwickshire seamer Chris Woakes to provide wickets for his side. Another England player who has yet to convince his many doubters that he has a long-term future at this level, Woakes series bowler index is quoted at 50-56.

As ever a full range of series markets is available with Spreadex. Total runs scored across all 4 games for instance is quoted at 2040-2080, with series extras 108-113, series sixes 33-36 and series ducks 5.7-6. Series ‘Off to a Flyer’ – the total number of runs scored in the first over of each of the four matches – is pitched at 13.5-14.25, and both England and Pakistan aggregate opening partnerships are quoted at 145-155. On top of this the usual full range of markets for each individual match will be available, so keep an eye on the website or the app for all the match by match and in-running markets.