England face a tricky test
Stokes looking to continue his IPL form
Headingly provides the backdrop as England begin their summer series against South Africa with the opening One Day International match on Wednesday, played out live in front of the Sky Sports cameras from 2.00pm.
You can bet on a range of exciting markets with Coral, including match winner, top run scorer and top wicket-taker, as well as our special markets, designed to enhance your enjoyment of the play. Click now to pick your side and get involved.
England favourites to get off to a flyer
England go into this opener as betting favourites, and that’s little surprise, as they have recent history on their side, having beaten South Africa by 20 runs when the sides last met in this format at Wednesday’s venue.
Fancy them to get off on the winning foot again? Coral traders are offering a tempting 8/11 on England in the match betting market, and that’s sure to be incredibly popular in the run-up to this one.
Stokes a man on form
One player hoping to use the series to continue his run of devastating form is New Zealand-born English rep Ben Stokes, who goes in hot on the heels of being crowned Most Valuable Player in the Indian Premier League. There was little doubt he deserved the honour either, the 25-year-old scoring no less than 316 runs, before bowing out of the season early to sharpen his tools for this one.
Despite his success on foreign soil, turning out for Rising Pune Supergiant, Stokes stirred up the emotions of England fans by telling Sky Sports News in a recent interview that playing for his country is his number one priority.
That patriotic stance, not to mention his IPL form, is sure to make him difficult to ignore in the pre-match betting, and Coral punters can back Ben Stokes to finish as England’s top run scorer at a fantastic 7/1. There’s also 5/1 on him taking most wickets for his side – he claimed a dozen for Pune – while those after a bit more bang for their buck can get 12/1 on a man of the match performance.
de Villiers expected to be standout
South Africa go as 11/10 second favourites to win the first ODI, but that is a bold call by our traders, considering they are currently top of the One Day International rankings, and sure to come to British soil intent on proving exactly why they sit top of the tree.
It is then no surprise, with The Proteas also ranked in the top-two of the test series pile, that they set-up for this match with both the best batsman and best bowler on the circuit. Despite England being odds-on for the win, odds compilers want nothing to do with opposing South African great AB de Villiers. The 33-year-old is 7/2 to score most runs for his side, and we’re also betting on his number of runs, 17/20 about over 37.5, the same price available about less than that.
Looking to knock the hosts out of the game is Imran Tahir. The popular bowler sits at the head of the wicket-taker field, 11/4 the current call for those who expect him to have a strong showing, and if he is on top of his game, Coral’s 14/1 in the man of the match field may just warrant an interest.
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