Pakistan v England 1st ODI: Ali and Hales impress in warm-up
Published:
Sam Barnard, Assistant Sports Editor | November 9, 2015
Pakistan v England
- First ODI
- Wednesday, November 11th
- Play begins: 11:00 GMT
- Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
- Live on Sky Sports 2
England must make amends for Test series loss
Visitors England go up against Pakistan once again in the UAE, and are out to get their own back in the shorter form of the game after suffering a disappointing 2-0 Test series loss.
Despite being two places ahead of the Men in Green (4/6 odds-on favourites) in the world ODI team rankings, England are 6/5 outsiders with Coral to win this first match in Abu Dhabi.
In the absence of Test captain Alastair Cook, Eoin Morgan takes over as skipper for this four-game series and the Irishman is a 4/1 shout to be best batsman for his side.
England Batsmen in good ODI form
Superstar Joe Root tops the market at 3/1, but Moeen Ali (76 runs off 36 balls) and Alex Hales (67 off 56) both highly impressed in a recent warm-up against Hong Kong, and are respective 7/2 and 11/2 chances.
Having won their last five ODI clashes, including a 4-0 triumph last time they met here in the UAE, England will certainly fancy their chances outscoring their hosts.
Willey to continue decent run
Trevor Bayliss’ men can also be devastating with the ball, and one man in particular has been impressive in the warm-up (taking four wickets) and in recent matches. Soon-to-be Yorkshire all-rounder David Willey is a fantastic 7/2 price to be top England bowler.
Spinners Adil Rashid and Ali will hope top impress out in the middle east too, and both have odds of 4/1 in the same market.
Shehzad pick of the bunch for Pakistan batsmen
For Pakistan, they will be hoping surprise Test absentee Ahmed Shehzad can come up with the good with the bat. Although still just 23-years-old, Shehzad has already played in 72 ODIs, hitting six centuries, and so is 7/2 to get the most runs for his team.
ODI captain Azhar Ali and veteran Younis Khan are also priced the same in that market.
With the ball, star spinner Yasir Shah is his side’s favourite at 2/1 to be best bowler, but rapid left-arm paceman Wahab Riaz is a brilliant shout at 7/2.
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Coral’s top tip: Ali looked in fine fettle against Hong Kong in a warm-up match, and so is 11/2 to put his opening order Test misery behind him and be best England batsman in this first ODI
