Australia v South Africa preview, player tips & predictions

Welcome to our ICC World Cup predictions for Australia v South Africa being played at Old Trafford. Our Cricket World Cup betting expert runs the rule over the two teams and finds some potentially lucrative wagers.

Australia are rated firm favourites to beat the Proteas in the final group match of the cricket World Cup 2019 and they will have strong incentive to do so.
Not only will they want to go into the semi-finals in winning form, they will want to ensure they finish in top place overall and play fourth-placed New Zealand in the semi-final at Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday.

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That will mean avoiding home team England in a semi-final at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Thursday. It gives them an extra couple of days ahead of the final at Lord’s on Sunday, should they win through to that point.

It won’t be easy for the Australians even though the South Africans have had a largely disappointing campaign. They are a tough outfit and their pride will have been stung by the fact they are sitting in eighth place in the 10-team tournament.

But Australia boast the form bowler in the tournament in Mitchell Starc and a couple of the top run-scorers in Aaron Finch and David Warner. They are in great shape to really have a crack at a sixth World Cup ODI title.

It pays to check leading cricket bookies William Hill on the day of the match to spot any late specials on offer. Your tip for top batsman could be among the enhanced odds offering.

This Australia v South Africa betting preview will run you through betting options for match 45 of 48 of the ICC World Cup 2019.

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MATCH INFO
Australia v South Africa
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, Saturday, July 6, 1.30pm (British time)
Head to head odds: Australia $1.44; South Africa $2.75
Last time they met: South Africa 5-320 (50 overs) d Australia 9-280 in Hobart, November 11, 2018.

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Australia v South Africa odds:

For full odds visit the William Hill website.

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HEAD TO HEAD BETTING:

Australia $1.44, South Africa $2.75
Prediction: We expect Australia to come out on top in a tough contest. The Proteas have nothing to lose but their top order just have not scored enough runs to be competitive overall.

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TOP RUN-SCORER BETTING PREDICTIONS:

Australia:
Top five in betting: David Warner $3.75, Aaron Finch $3.75, Steve Smith $4.33, Usman Khawaja $5, Shaun Marsh $7, Glenn Maxwell $8.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v New Zealand: Usman Khawaja 88
v England: Aaron Finch 100
v Bangladesh: David Warner 166
v Sri Lanka: Aaron Finch 153
v Pakistan: David Warner 107

South Africa:
Top five in betting: Quinton de Kock $4, Faf du Plessis $4.33, Hashim Amla $4.50, Aiden Markram $5, Rassie van der Dussen $6.50.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v Sri Lanka: Faf du Plessis 96no
v Pakistan: Faf du Plessis 63
v New Zealand: Rassie van der Dussen 67no
v Afghanistan: Quinton de Kock 68
v West Indies: Match abandoned

Top batter prediction: Quinton de Kock came into this tournament touted as one of the superstars but just has not quite caught fire. It won’t get any easier here for him up against Starc and co early on. We expect a couple of early wickets will give a player like Rassie van der Dussen ($6.50), who we have had success backing earlier, plenty of time in the middle. For Australia, they have always had at least one batsman stand up and make a big score in each match, indicating they are all in great nick. We will go with Steve Smith ($4.33) to make a big one, possibly even a ton.

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TOP WICKET-TAKER BETTING PREDICTION:

Australia:
Top five in betting: Mitchell Starc $3, Pat Cummins $3.75, Adam Zampa $4.50, Kane Richardson $4.50, Jason Behrendorff $4.50, Nathan Lyon $5.50, Nathan Coulter-Nile $5.50.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v New Zealand: Mitchell Starc 5-26
v England: Jason Behrendorff 5-44
v Bangladesh: Mitchell Starc 2-55, Marcus Stoinis 2-54, Nathan Coulter-Nile 2-58
v Sri Lanka: Mitchell Starc 4-55
v Pakistan: Pat Cummins 3-33

South Africa:
Top five in betting: Kagiso Rabada $3.50, Imran Tahir $4, Lungi Ngidi $4.33, Chris Morris $5, Tabraiz Shamsi $5, Beuran Hendricks $5.50, Andile Phehlukwayo $5.50.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v Sri Lanka: Dwaine Pretorius 3-25, Chris Morris 3-46
v Pakistan: Lungi Ngidi 3-64
v New Zealand: Chris Morris 3-49
v Afghanistan: Imran Tahir 4-29
v West Indies: Match abandoned

Top bowler tip: How can we go past Mitchell Starc? He has taken 24 wickets already at 15.54. We tipped Starc to be the top tournament wicket-taker and we have been on him all the way through in individual matches. So he has been good to us and looks certain to top the overall tally. We won’t switch now, although Jason Behrendorff has also looked hugely dangerous with his eight wickets at 16.75. For South Africa, Kagiso Rabada has just not had his usual spark, so we will predict Lungi Ngidi at $4.33 to take the most wickets for his team.

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Best bets: Australia v South Africa

Each of our ICC World Cup betting previews will highlight some potential wins for punters, or where our cricket tipsters think there is value to be found.

Steve Smith man of the match at $11

Smith will break out with a big score at some stage. Australian fans will be hoping it is in the final! But we suspect he is ready to notch up a ton in this match and guide Australia to victory.

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Australia v South Africa predictions

As mentioned South Africa have nothing to play for but pride at this stage. That could mean a lot but we expect Australia, with the lure of top spot and a seemingly easier semi-final draw, to be right on their game. They are looking ominous with their propensity to find form at exactly the right time for this ICC World Cup. Good punting.

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