In the second game on Saturday high-flying New Zealand meet the unpredictable Windies in Manchester whilst Sunday sees South Africa in search of a degree of redemption as they clash with Pakistan at Lords.
New Zealand vs West Indies (Saturday @ 14:30) – Manchester
SETTING THE SCENE
New Zealand remain one of only two teams still unbeaten in the World Cup. Their bowlers did the job to restrict both Bangladesh and South Africa for scores below 250. Ferguson, Henry and Boult have proved a very dangerous trio.
Everyone knows how dangerous the Windies can be but after a demolishing of Pakistan early doors the men in maroon followed it up with a few disappointing losses. Whilst their opponents are flying high with 4 wins from five outings the West Indies only have that solitary win from their five attempts and are down in 7th place on the log.
LET’S TALK TACTICS
The Kiwis will know that they need to offer Williamson some more support with the bat as he surely can’t always take care of business himself, regardless of how good he is. With the ball the recipe should remain the same for the New Zealanders with their lefty, their seamer and their express tear-away. The Windies will have to look to target the rest of the bowlers (but knowing these eccentric players they will just continue to trust their instinct and go hard at anything they feel is in their hitting zone).
Quite frankly the men from the Caribbean hardly spend too much time trying to plan their tactics. The Windies’ quicks will keep coming at you but the lack of a quality spin option means their variety, or lack thereof, remains an issue for the islanders.
England notched up 397 and India were able to post 336 against Pakistan on this Old Trafford track. Both teams should fancy their chances of getting amongst the runs, however as we’ve seen throughout this competition, the new ball needs to be treated with respect before the pain can be dished out later.
HOW I SEE IT PLAYING OUT
When the Windies really come off they can make any bowling attack look as tame as a kitten. The Black Caps are the team on the high though and they should get the job done here. Matt Henry impressed with the early movement he got against South Africa and I reckon it’s time for Taylor to take the load of Kane’s shoulders whilst I still remain weary of the West Indies’ hitting power.
Bets with BETOLIMP:
Top NZBatsman – Ross Taylor @ 4.50
Top NZ Bowler – Matt Henry @ 4.00
Team Total Match Sixes – West Indies over 6.5 @ 1.72
Pakistan vs South Africa (Sunday @ 11:30) – London
SETTING THE SCENE
South African fans will believe that the less said of their team’s World Cup campaign the better. The sole victory for the Proteas came against Afghanistan and they find themselves languishing down in 8th spot.
Pakistan had their fans excited with a victory over favourites, England, but apart from that success there has been little else to write home about. The Pakistani’s are on the same amount of points as the South Africans and the loser of this game can prepare themselves for a barrage of abuse from their supporters who will be calling for blood in the aftermath of their World Cup no-show.
LET’S TALK TACTICS
Pakistan have pretty much solely relied on Mohammad Amir in this World Cup. Imam Ul-Haq, Babar Azam and Mohamad Hafeez have all offered something with the bat but there had not been consistent, substantial runs from the batsmen and this has cost them dearly. Pakistan need more runs and more contributions of some of the other bowler if they are to pile more pain onto the Proteas.
For Faf du Plessis his bowlers haven’t been the issue. Yes, Tahir and Rabada have been less lethal than expected but they have still been reliable options. Morris has been superb as back-up to these two. With the willow the men from the Republic have been dire. Rassie van der Dussen has been the only batsman who has looked in any kind of form. The lack of momentum at the top of the order has put the South Africans in all sorts of strife.
HOW I SEE IT PLAYING OUT
With two struggling teams clashing here I’m not going to be getting involved in the outright winner market. Rassie has far and away been the only SA batsman to stand up and be counted and he offers some good value in the betting. Hafeez is likely to feature with both bat and ball and since Pakistan should be in with a chance of victory I will look to his spin and batting contributing for a Man of the Match Performance. The same argument can be made for Chris Morris (take your pick based on who you fancy more between these two sides).
Bets with BETOLIMP:
Top South Africa Batsman – Rassie van der Dussen @ 6.00
Man of the Match – Mohammad Hafeez @ 21.50
Man of the Match – Chris Morris @ 21.50
(Note, all odds quoted are subject to change)
Enjoy the cricket and happy punting!
