England v Australia preview, player tips & predictions

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MATCH INFO
England v Australia
Venue: Lord’s, London, Tuesday, June 25, 10.30am (British time)
Head to head odds: England $1.73; Australia $2.10
Last time they met: England 9-208 (48.3 overs) d Australia 205 (34.4 overs) in Manchester, June 24, 2018.

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England v Australia at Lord’s in a World Cup cricket match. What could be finer?

This was certainly a match we circled in the draw before the tournament began as one not to miss, and England’s shock loss to Sri Lanka has made it that much more important, especially for the home side. Another loss here and all of a sudden England, the No.1-ranked side in ODI cricket, is in danger of not making the semi-finals.

And the English will have their hands full dealing with the resurgent Australians.

England hammered Australia 5-0 in a one-day series last year at home, including racking up a world record 6-481. But it must be remembered since that series disaster Australia have regained pace spearheads Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, as well as superstar batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner.

Also, Australia and England played a warm-up ODI match at Southampton before this tournament and Australia won, making 9-297 (Smith with 116) and bowling England out for 285, all while resting Starc and Cummins.

England have been made favourites with leading British bookmaker William Hill but this seems certain to be a battle royale.

This England v Australia betting preview will run you through best betting options for match 32 of 48 of the ICC World Cup 2019.

England v Australia odds:

For full markets visit the William Hill website.

HEAD TO HEAD BETTING:
England $1.73, Australia $2.10
Prediction: England can be forgiven one slip-up during the group matches but two? Losses to Pakistan and Sri Lanke may have revealed a few chinks in the armour. We would sooner take the $2.10 about Australia this time.

TOP RUN-SCORER BETTING:

England:
Top five in betting: Joe Root $3.75, Jason Roy $4, Jonny Bairstow $4, James Vince $5.50, Eoin Morgan $6.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v Sri Lanka: Ben Stokes 82no
v Afghanistan: Eoin Morgan 148
v West Indies: Joe Root 100no
v Bangladesh: Jason Roy 153
v Pakistan: Joe Root 107

Australia:
Top five in betting: David Warner $3.50, Steve Smith $4.33, Aaron Finch $4, Usman Khawaja $6, Glenn Maxwell $7.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v Bangladesh: David Warner 166
v Sri Lanka: Aaron Finch 153
v Pakistan: David Warner 107
v India: Steve Smith 69
v West Indies: Nathan Coulter-Nile 92

Top batter prediction: England opener Jason Roy (hamstring) is racing the clock to be fit for the match against Australia. He has missed the past two matches and England do no look nowhere near as dangerous without the dashing right-hander in the line-up. Jonny Bairstow will be nervous after two previous golden ducks in this tournament. We will go the old faithful Joe Root, who along with Ben Stokes has been head and shoulders above his fellow batters for much of the event. For Australia, we have been critical of David Warner’s slow starts but he found his rhythm beautifully last time. This time, however, we think the former skipper Steve Smith ($4.33) is the one to be on.

TOP WICKET-TAKER BETTING:

England:
Top five in betting: Jofra Archer $3.50, Mark Wood $4.33, Adil Rashid $4.50, Chris Woakes $5, Liam Plunkett $5, Tom Curran $5.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v Sri Lanka: Jofra Archer 3-52, Mark Wood 3-40
v Afghanistan: Jofra Archer 3-52, Adil Rashid 3-66
v West Indies: Jofra Archer 3-30, Mark Wood 3-18
v Bangladesh: Jofra Archer 3-29, Ben Stokes 3-23
v Pakistan: Chris Woakes 3-71, Moeen Ali 3-50

Australia:
Top five in betting: Mitchell Starc $3.25, Pat Cummins $3.50, Adam Zampa $4.50, Kane Richardson $5, Jason Behrendorff $5, Nathan Lyon $5, Nathan Coulter-Nile $5.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
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
v India: Marcus Stoinis 2-62
v West Indies: Mitchell Starc 5-46

Top bowler tip: Pace has ruled for much of this World Cup and both teams boast two of the quickest in the business: Starc and Cummins for Australia and Archer and Wood for England. We have great success tipping Archer, though unfortunately in four matches in succession teammates have matched his three-wicket hauls, cutting returns in half! We will stick solid with the laconic Archer. We also have been on the Starc bandwagon and again no need to jump off, even at $3.25. He and Archer lead the race to be the leading wicket-taker for the tournament!

WGL best bets: England v Australia

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

The Australian was arguably the best batsmen in the world before his suspension and the “proper” batsmen are really coming to the fore in this high-pressure tournament. The likes of Kane Williamson, Root and Smith are shining. We will try him at the good odds with William Hill.

Most sixes Australia at $2.50

No real reason except $2.50 seems exceptional value, especially with noted six-hitter Roy not certain to play.

England v Australia prediction

The pressure will be on the loser of this clash. As mentioned England thrashed Australia 5-0 in a home series last year. But another big stat is World Cups won: Australia 5, England 0. The Aussies know how to peak at the right time. Whichever way it goes this is a match not to be missed and certainly brightens up a Tuesday! Good luck and we hope you find a winner or two.

ALSO READ:
ICC World Cup 2019 betting guide
ICC World Cup 2019 leading wicket-taker
Cricket betting sites
ICC World Cup 2019 leading run-scorer
ICC World Cup 2019 player of tournament

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