South Africa vs England Betting – Second Test

South Africa vs England Second Test
Kingsmead
Starts December 26th

Where do the England cricket team turn to next? There has been much talk of how England’s stubborn defence in the face of adversity, saw them to a draw in the First Test against South Africa, just as it did in the Ashes of the summer against Australia. That’s all well and good, but they got themselves into a situation that should not have transpired. Yes, they survived, but unlike in the summer, the difference here, is that England do not have the comfort of playing at home in condititions suited to their bowlers, and this will be a huge factor considering the South Africans are likely to be getting stronger when pace bowler Dale Steyn returns for the second test.

England’s bowling is in question, perhaps not over the quality, but the variety of threat of which they are able to pose. Aside from Graeme Swann spinning his way through a lot of overs and getting his just rewards, Graham Onions looked the next best bowler, only by the fact that he showed a lot of control and consistency. However, even that did not look as threatening as it should have been against the South African batsmen. England do not have the luxury of calling anyone into the team from the squad, who will provide a spark of something different to help the cause.

One can wax lyrical about the greatness of Andrew Flintoff, but his day as Test player for England has gone, and it is evident that there is no-one there to replace the big man. England are lacking a serious, fast paced impact bowler to mix things up. On his day, James Anderson can tear through defences, but the conditions in South Africa do not appear to be suiting him. England rely heavily on great swing bowling, something that Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom (who is not as fast as Anderson), do well back in England.

There was debate over whether or not Andrew Strauss should have gone with five bowlers for the attack in the First Test. Sidebottom would be the best option, ahead of Liam Plunkett, who does offer a bit more pace, but has been on the periphery. But is there a point, if the ball is not going to swing for Sidebottom? He has made an impact in the tour, taking a five wicket haul after coming back from injury in a warm up game, but Strauss will also be worried by the fact that the batting completely collapsed in the second innings of the first test. Everything on the final afternoon should have been a lot more comfortable than it was. It took Graham Onions to see out the last over and salvage a draw for England.

If another bowler comes in, then Ian Bell, who failed again to make an impact, would go out. That would leave more pressure on Matt Prior and Stuart Broad with the bat, as they move up the order. England have problems at the top of the order with Alistair Cook unable to find an ounce of form, so is it better to have two below par batsmen in, and sacrifice again on the extra bowler. That will probably be the case as the selectors will probably stick with the same team, not expecting conditions at Kingsmead to suit the England style of bowling attack.

Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, has already started his Alex Ferguson style mentality games, citing that England are probably scarred from the horrendous collapse they suffered, which started with a rush of blood to the head from Kevin Pietersen when he was looking well set for a century. South Africa, on paper, and on the field, look much the stronger team, but England have this hit and miss quality. They can catch fire and look great, but then look embarrasingly bad at times, mostly when it is largely down to being the orchestrator of their own downfall. Put simply, South Africa have options, where the England touring party do not.

But no doubt Andrew Strauss would see it another way, England could have collapsed and suffered a defeat, which would have been worse, after seeing five wickets go for just 13 runs. Onions and man of the series so far, Paul Collingwood, showed some stiff upper lip to survive. Perhaps it is Smith who would be suffering more, for failing to take advantage of the situation and win. If South Africa get ahead in the series, it could be curtains for England, as they will be demoralised and it will be a long way back. The second test is crucial, and the England coaches have a lot of work to do, to patch up some holes in the England team.

South Africa vs. England Series (4 matches)
South Africa to win – 5/6 at William Hill
Draw: 3/1 at SkyBet
England to win: 100/30 at Boylesports

South Africa vs. England Second Test
South Africa to win: 7/4 at SportingBet
Draw: 13/8 at 888Sport
England to win: 7/2 at BetFred

Betting Advice: England will need a slightly better showing from their top six batsman if they are to compete in the Second Test. Kevin Pietersen looks as if he is getting back to form, and that is such a massive thing for England. He, Strauss, Trott and Collingwood are carrying the team at the moment, and it needs someone else to step up, simply because it is going to be another hard toil for England to take 20 wickets in the conditions.