Sports Blog 19/11/2015: Cricket Preview - Pakistan v England 4th ODI, Friday 20th November 2015

It’s all to play for in the 4th and final ODI between Pakistan and England on Friday, with Eoin Morgan’s men holding a narrow 2-1 lead after their impressive victory at Sharjah on Tuesday.

England go into the game as narrow favourites, quoted at 3-13 in the match Supremacy spread betting market, with their narrow favouritism an indication of just how tight the series has been.

England’s victory on Tuesday owed much to the batting of diminutive Nottinghamshire batsman James Taylor. Taylor has been knocking on the door for a couple of years now, but finally seems to have firmly established himself in this England side; his match-winning 67 not out on Tuesday showed all the maturity and responsibility required of a middle order batsman at international level.

For Friday’s clash his Player Performance quote is pitched at 34-39 (based on 1pt per run, 10 pts per catch, 20pts per wicket and 25 pts per stumping), and for those that fancy Taylor to once again top score for England 9/2 is the price on offer.



Having lost his place in the Test side, Jos Buttler will be desperate to prove himself once more and regain his spot for the South Africa series this Winter. Buttler’s unbeaten 49 in partnership with Taylor saw England home on Tuesday, and with the scope for catches and stumpings his player performance quote of 40-45 could well generate significant interest for Friday’s match.

Despite batting lower down the order Buttler’s explosive hitting is a vital component of England’s ODI line up, and anyone fancying Buttler to top score should avail themselves to the 8/1 available.

On the bowling front England will look to new man Reece Topley and Warwickshire seamer Chris Woakes to lead the attack. Topley has bedded in beautifully to the England attack, and may be the left-arm option the coaching staff have been searching for. Topley’s Player Performance is quoted at 30-35, with his partner in crime Woakes pitched at 41-46. This is a reflection on Woakes’ greater ability with the bat, but it is arguably Topley who will be England’s biggest threat with ball in hand.

Pakistan for their part have looked shaky since establishing a 1-0 lead in the series. Batsmen have been throwing their wickets away after getting starts, with little 20s, 30s and 40s not being enough to get the job done in either game 2 or 3.

‘The Professor’ Mohammed Hafeez was in sparkling form back in game 1, and a return to that form would be most welcome for the Pakistanis. Hafeez is the 3/1 favourite to top score for the hosts, with a player performance quote of 41-46 to his name.

Captain Azhar Ali won’t want a losing series ‘at home’ to England on his CV, so he will have more motivation than most to level the series 2-2. Opening the batting Ali has the ideal position to set the tone for the Pakistan innings and lay the foundations for the stroke makers lower down the order to flourish. Ali is 10/3 2nd favourite to top score for his side, with his player performance quoted at 41-46.

Pakistan’s comedic running between the wickets reared its ugly head once again in Sharjah, which may make the total match run outs quote of 1.1-1.3 of interest. Alongside run outs, our traders have also priced up the usual range of special markets including total fours (41-44), total 6s (7.75-8.25) and 50ups (84-91).

With no 5th game in this series this game will effectively decide the series. Can England secure an impressive away series win? Will Pakistan fight back to restore parity? All will be revealed on Friday, with the coin due to go up at 10:30am UK time. Join us for the most comprehensive fixed odds and spread service, with in-play markets throughout the match!