South Africa vs England Betting – Swann and Anderson Fitness Worries

South Africa v England
December 16th to 20th
SuperSport Park, Centurion

England’s selection problems for the forthcoming first Test against South Africa, is all about the bowlers. Over the limited warm-up matches ahead of this opening contest the England bowlers have shown some bursts of impressive form, just not all of them at one time. This points to a little bit of individualism as opposed to a team coming together in unity with form. That will be a wee bit worrying for England fans who are awaiting the contests against the Proteas, because it looks to be a case of, if one man isn’t on top of his game, then the bowling attack is going to look limp.

England have had serious injury problems in the bowling department, since arriving in South Africa. Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Graham Swann and Ryan Sidebottom have all problems which have hindered their tours. Fortunately though it looks as if they are all getting back somewhere to full fitness, and it is a bit of a shame that the build up has been a bit fragmented, and hopefully it won’t affect the matches too much against a strong South African team. Graham Swann, who is an important part of the attack, took a 6 wicket haul in one match, James Anderson produced a great display with a five wicket haul of his own, and the most recent stand out performer was Ryan Sidebottom who took 5-42 in England’s final warm up match

In all interests, England skipper Andrew Strauss will be hoping that both of his fast bowlers, Anderson and Sidebottom can take part in Wednesday’s series opener. England need them, even though they have been struggling to be fully fit, in Anderson’s case, for the past couple of months. Sidebottom at full fitness and form is the perfect guy to cause the South African’s problems. Sidebottom certainly is a more attractive proposition than perhaps Graham Onions, who is a steady performer, but has yet to really stamp his authority at the highest level. Liam Plunkett is the other fringe bowler, but he should be down the pecking order behind Onions at best.

There is a call for England to go with five bowlers, simply because of the pitch, which could favour the batsmen, especially the big hitting Proteas. For a fragile England bowling attack, it could be a lot of hard work for them to take 20 wickets in the match between four of them. This is where the missing presence of Andrew Flintoff will still be hurting England, yes, even after this time. There is no one to fill his shoes, but perhaps there is a need for Luke Wright, as an all-rounder, to step out of the One Day International fold and start performing in the Test Arena.

The South African team harnesses a lot of batting power, and they will be geed up by the fact that veteran Jacques Kallis has made a full recovery from an injury which kept him out of the One Day International series. With Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini, the South Africans are not going to be a push-over. England have a little momentum after winning a rain-effected ODI series against the Proteas, but even in those games, the South Africans showed glimpses of just how dangerous they can be. Maybe South Africa are not as quite on top of the world as rankings have recently suggested, but they are side who are a capable of beating anyone in the world. England, who won Team of the Year at the Sports Personality of the Year event on the back of their Ashes victory, are a stronger Test side than One Day team.

Andrew Strauss just needs everyone fit and to get everything from his bowling attack. That is where games are won and lost, for not having the confidence in your bowlers to defend a big total, or to skittle out the opposition in a furious spell, makes their own batsmen hesitant at the crease. There is still some coming together as a team needed by England, but they have shown a degree of that in the short from of the game. If the weather is on their side, and key men like Anderson and Swann can stay fit, it should be a close series.

Betting Advice. England have lost six of their first seven Test matches in a series, which helps shorten the odds on a South African win, but they do like playing against the Proteas. There are still some question marks over the strength of the England team, not only because of injury, but because of the form of the likes of Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen. They have the components to compete, but on a team level, they are not as solid as the South Africans.

South Africa vs. England First Test
South Africa to win: 13/10 at Boylesports
Draw: 7/4 at Ladbrokes
England to win: 7/2 at Boylesports

Series outright
South Africa to win: 4/6 at SkyBet
Draw: 15/4 at Boylesports
England to win: 10/3 at Extrabet