Cricket World Cup - Top Batsman v England

The Twenty20 World Cup get underway at Lords tonight with the opening match between the Hosts England and The Netherlands, After the lovely weather we have been having lately it probably comes as no surprise to anyone that its been raining down south for most of the day. Hopefully though by 5pm it should have cleared through and the slap happy slog-a-thon can get underway.

Lords certainly isnt an easy place to bat in overcast conditions but with this being a floodlit match both captains could have a tricky choice to make if they win the toss. Personally i think id bowl if i won the toss and make the most of any moisture there might be in the air early evening, Besides the game should really be into its latter stages before the real effect of the lights kicks in.

England (probable) 1 Luke Wright, 2 Ravi Bopara, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Owais Shah, 5 Paul Collingwood (capt), 6 Eoin Morgan, 7 James Foster (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Ryan Sidebottom, 11 James Anderson.

England were terrible at the previous Twenty20 World Cup, but the squad looks better, strong, more balanced with plenty of match winners this time around and i fancy them to do well this time around. Bopara and Wright will probably open and with KP at 3 it looks like a good top order. In the middle Shah, Collingwood and Morgan and Foster will keep the scoreboard ticking over and Broad Sidebottom Swann and Anderson can all hold a bat, but importantly will bowl both good lengths and with discipline, with a mixture of pace.

The Dutch side have a couple of decent players on show, Namely Ryan Ten Doeschate and Dirk Nannes the rest are made up of average 2nd xi cricketers and shouldnt really cause much of a worry to any of the big test playing nations. They struggled to 104 in a warm up game against the Kiwis and i can see that pattern continuing for the World Cup.

England are extremely short for this match and offer no value to back to win this match, but the other markets offer some appeal. I will try to find some value around the competition if i get time. In many ways in potentially 1 sided matches the toss could play an important role in 'top scorer' bets, If the 'Dutch' bat 1st and get rolled over cheaply one would expect only the top 2 or 3 to bat for England and personally i wouldnt fancy backing any of the Dutch top order as there 'top batsman' instead i would chase the value and back 8, 9 10 or Jack as its quite possible the top order could get rolled cheaply.

2 main bets here but over 2 posts so if you read this one first you may as well skip to the bet at the bottom of the next write up.

Im happy to 'Dutch' (pardon the pun) the England openers to top bat tonight, Bopara and Wright.

Bopara top England batsman 4.44pts @4.0 with Ladbrokes

Wright top England batsman 3.56pts @5.0 with Ladbrokes

If either top bat for England tonight it returns a profit of 9.78 pts so its a 2.22 shot, which seems more than fair to me tonight.

Pick : Bopara or Wright top batsman tonight
Odds : 2.22
Stake : 8 / 10
Bookmaker : Ladbrokes
Match Result :
Tipster Personal Link/Sponsor:

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