south africa

On current form and throughout recent history, there is very little to choose between South Africa and England when it comes to Test cricket. Historically, since the Proteas were readmitted to Test cricket after the abolition of apartheid 30 year ago, South Africa have won 10 matches to England’s nine with 13 drawn. In seven Test series, that amounts to three wins for the home side, two for the tourists and two series which ended all-square. All of which suggests that Andrew Strauss and his team are way overpriced at 5-2 on the Draw No Bet line (William Hill) to triumph in the latest four-match head-to-head which gets under way at Centurion next week. South Africa have recently forfeited their number one ranking in the five-day game to India and their recent loss to England in the one-day series underlined why they must be considered a risky bet at 4-6 with skybet, blue square and 888sport for the upcoming series. I’ve no qualms with the top end of the home side’s batting, indeed Graeme Smith is a world-class opener and Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers will give him ample support. But recognised all-rounder Jacques Kallis may not be fully fit until the Third Test, while Alvaro Pietersen and Ryan McLaren lack experience. The Proteas‘ real problems are in the bowling department, however. While England come into this series with James Anderson, Graham Onions and Graeme Swann firing on all cylinders, South Africa are still over-reliant on the ageing Makhaya Ntini to take wickets. Plenty of shrewd judges have expressed that the veteran is past his best as he approaches a century of Test caps and a back up of youngsters Wayne Parnell, Friedel de Wet and an injury-prone Dale Steyn shouldn’t have the England batsmen quaking in their boots. I’ll admit I’d have like to have seen Kevin Pietersen have had more time at the crease lately, but Strauss, Alistair Cook and Jonathan Trott have all looked in good nick with the bat for England, as has Paul Collingwood. As long as the tourists keep their heads, it’s hard to see South Africa taking 20 wickets in a match given their current line-up but, that said, this is England we are talking about and they are more than capable of a major wobble when none is envisaged. With that in mind, have a bit of the 7-1 for a 1-1 series score with Ladbrokes. A drawn series can be backed at a general 7-2.

England’s first date with South Africa is looming. December 16th sees the two nations go head to head in the First Test at Centurion Park. With a couple of warm up matches ironically for England, being completely washed out, when they did take to the field against a South African Invitational side, it was only a fragmented appearance, in which the visitors did little to flatter themselves. England were hoping to get more out of their warm up matches, especially for the likes of Kevin Pietersen and some of the bowlers to play their way back to full fitness. With the top order of Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen all falling relatively cheaply, it was down to Alastair Cook to regain some control along with England’s best performer on tour so far, Paul Collingwood. They took England to 142-3 on a somewhat sluggish pitch.

Extra warm up matches were deliberately pencilled into the tour this year, in order to help England prepare properly in South Africa. Unfortunately that has all been undone by clement South African weather, which has kept England indoors in the nets and the gym. It has not been the ideal preparation, as England wanted to build upon the back of an unexpected 2-1 One Day International Series victory over the Proteas, with the other two games being rained off too. It was expected that England would struggle in the one day matches, but put up a much stronger performance in Test Matches. Who knows what awaits now, but England have one more attempt at a warm up match on Friday against the same Invitational XI. Pietersen, who remains England’s one big dynamic batting hope, only hit 25 in the last match, as was lucky to be around for that. The warm up games were as much for him as for fringe players to really step up their form.

Fortunately, the one day series has shown something like a bit of mettle from the England camp, along with form. Paul Collingwood is proving to be in some inspired form, while Andrew Strauss will always get run at the top of the order. Unorthodox wicket-keeping batsman Matt Prior is playing his way back into form, and Alistair Cook looks to be finding his early England career rhythm. But it is players like Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan with the bat, who continue to strengthen the England attack. The bowling attack however, is still looking just a little bit fragile. James Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom are still having niggles, which puts their Test performances in jeopardy. Because of this, England have called up Durham’s Mark Davies as cover.

South Africa vs. England Test Series
South Africa to win: 4/6 at Blue Square
England to win: 10/3 at ExtraBet
Drawn Series: 15/4 at Boylesports

One interesting bet which has popped up for the Series, is an England Draw No Bet – 5/2 at William Hill.

South Africa vs. England
Fifth One-Day International at Durban
Friday, December 4

Maybe something is really starting to click for England in the specialised One Day International format of their cricket game. England, after suffering a stern beating in the third of five ODI’s against South Africa, rallied to inflict the same fate upon their hosts in the fourth game. After deciding to bat first, South Africa crumbled apart under the pressure and excellent bowling by key England bowler, James Anderson. While Stuart Broad and Paul Collingwood chipped in with a couple of wickets, it was Lancashire’s Jimmy Anderson with his five wicket haul who destroyed the South African batting line-up. The hosts could only manage a lowly score of 119 all out. Anderson finished his day with fantastic figures of 5-23 off his allotted 10 overs.

In reply, England cruised to their required total, in just 31 overs, steered home by Jonathan Trott’s half century as opener. Captain Andrew Strauss chipped in with 32, and Eoin Morgan contributed with 28 from 40 deliveries. England are still waiting for Kevin Pietersen to hit the form that everyone in the world knows that he is capable of doing. He has only scored 51 runs off the bat in his three matches since returning to action after a long lay off. Thankfully he has come back into the side ahead of the Test Matches, giving him time to get back into his groove. The Test Match arena is an area where his expertise as one of the leading batsmen in the world will come into play.

England’s win means that they now have at least secured the position of not losing the series. The first ODI of the series was washed out by rain, and now England have won two of the subsequent three matches, putting them 2-1 up with just one to play. Despite England’s poor standings  in the world of One Day Internationals, they seem to like playing against South Africa of all teams, having enjoyed a lot of recent success against the Proteas, which is doubly odd as South Africa are seen as one of, if not the best team in the World at the moment.

South Africa look set to rest Dale Steyn, their potentially potent fast bowler, as a precaution for a hamstring injury he picked up. With the Test Matches being a bigger priority than ODI games, South Africa will rightly let him take it easy. The Test Match series of South Africa vs. England starts on December 16th. Meanwhile, the Proteas have named Jacques Kallis in their Test Squad, although the all-rounder has been missing from their ODI team with an injury. Kallis is such an important figure in the South Africa line-up, that they are ready to take a risk on him.

In a turn of fortunes, England look to be getting a little bit stronger as a unit, and now have a huge chance to build some more momentum ahead of the Test series, and get the South Africans looking at themselves and putting themselves and players like JP Duminy under more scrutiny. England will stick with the same team against for the fifth ODI on Friday.

South Africa vs. England – 5th ODI
South Africa to win: 8/13 at SkyBet
England to win: 6/4 at Boylesports

Don’t forget that most Online Bookmakers like Bet365 run excellent live-in play services for Cirkcet matches. You can bet on the likes of the Next Wicket to Fall, How Next Batsmen is Out and other entertaining fields like that.

South Africa vs. England Fourth ODI International
Port Elizabeth
8.00am GMT

England walk back into the lions den on Sunday, as they look to regain the upper hand over their South African counterparts. The Proteas crushed England by a massive 112 runs which saw them end a run of six defeats against the English in the One Day International format. There was some big hitting on Friday from the South Africans, who were put into bat first. The Cape Town ground on a day night match was notorious for favouring the first batting side, and that is exactly what happened  again. Batting first, South Africa raced to a massive 354-6, helped along by AB de Villiers’ 121 from just 85 balls.

England’s reply needed a steady start, something which they did not get, as they stood at 58-3 at one point. The only innings of note came from Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood again. However, with little back up coming down the order, England were soon chasing a lost cause, and were all out in the 42nd over, still more than a century in deficit of their total chase. That clearly was not what captain Andrew Strauss would have wanted, as being 1-0 up in the five day series, a second consecutive win would have at least secured a drawn series at worst, with the first ODI being rained out.

It was, in some ways expected that the home side would come out all guns a-blazing to make amends for their failure in the second ODI where England out played them. England’s bowlers did not do a good enough job of tying the up South African openers, as length and line were not being delivered with any kind of consistency. The eagerness to get Stuart Broad back into the attack was part of the downfall, as he went expensively from his first couple of overs. Jimmy Anderson, likewise was not making any kind of impact under the conditions either.

It was De Villiers though who England could not cope with, and could not find a way to stop scoring, despite the constant changes in bowling. Because South Africa posted such a huge total, it was always going to give them a chance in field, as England had to play risky shots just to try and play catch up. Andrew Strauss and Luke Wright started off well, but the risks were not always rewarded. It was only Kevin Pietersen, getting back into form and fitness, along with Collingwood who put up any kind of resistence.

So it is on to the crucial fourth ODI with the series tied at 1-1. England’s battered and bruised bowlers, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Graeme Swann are all expected to play. England need to not be too dishearten from the hiding that South Africa gave them on Friday. England have gotten the better of the Proteas over recent times, and that is saying something as England’s ODI history is not much to write home about. Whoever wins this game will know that they cannot lose the series, and gain some huge initiative going into the 5th ODI.

England to win: 7/4 at Bet365
South Africa to win: 8/15 at 888Sport

Top England Batsman: If you fancy Paul Collingwood to continue his fine batting form, being England’s top scorer in the past two games, he is 9/2 at SkyBet.

The Autumn international Rugby matches come to a conclusion on Saturday, with Ireland, Scotland and Wales all in action. The most exciting game will be happening in France though, as the New Zealanders see what they can do against the French, who pulled out a big win over Tri-Nations winners South Africa a couple of weeks ago. After beating Samoa in the interim, one of the favourites for next year’s Six Nations, France will want to test themselves again against the unbeaten tourists. The All Blacks have beaten England, Italy and Wales on their tour this year, and will look to head back down under with a four game victory by beating the French. This should be a well contested match-up, with the French looking very good at the moment. France of course, have a reputation of being hit and miss, but if they can add the consistency to their game, they will be a dominant force alongside Ireland in the forthcoming Six Nations.

Ireland are the next team to take on South Africa, and the Irish will be looking to build upon the last gasp draw they managed against Australia at Croke Park. The Irish and the French are the best of the Six Nations teams at the moment, and some of the familiar names were rested for last weekend’s 41-6 rout against Fiji, Ireland should be somewhere near full strength to take on the Springboks. This should be one almighty clash of two good teams, and France have already shown that the South Africans are vulnerable. The one surprising factor in the South African game is how easily their scrum has been destroyed by France and then Italy. It is one area of their game that needs work, while the Irish are very strong up front.

Meanwhile, brave Scotland, who pulled off a famous win over the Australians last weekend, will look to build some momentum themselves, by beating Argentina. After giving England a good game, the Pumas didn’t play very well in their defeat against Wales at all. The Scot’s 9-8 win over Australia was a backs-to-the-wall rear guard action for sustained period, and they actually made a lot of errors which would have made their life a little easier had they been more composed. The result, surprising probably to even the Scots, was hard fought for, and only a failed late kick at goal from Australia’s Matt Giteau secured the win for the Scottish. Their forward pack will be tested again this weekend by Argentina, who are a rough, raw power house up front. They simply never turned up for some mysterious reason against Wales though, losing 33-16.

Wales, after losing to New Zealand and beating Samoa, go in search of their third win, and a chance to get some more practice in the scrum. That is Wales’ weak area at the moment, but they have enough in the backs with their running game to gloss over the cracks a lot of the times. They could get dominated by the Aussies in the pack, and one thing is for sure, is that the defeat against the Scots will have hurt the Wallabies. They came on tour looking for a Grand Slam against the four home nations, and that loss rained on that parade for them, along with the draw against Ireland. Wounded Wallabies are not to be taken lightly, and while they have been looking ok, they definitely have looked the weakest of the Tri-Nations teams. If Wales manage to beat them, then it will only serve to leave England with further egg on their faces, being the only team that Australia managed to beat on their Autumn tour, and that would leave Martin Johnson’s England reeling even further behind the progress of the other home nations.

France to win: 5/4 at SkyBet
Draw: 20/1 at Paddy Power
New Zealand to win: 4/5 at Stan James

Ireland to win: 6/5 at Stan James
Draw: 20/1 at Paddy Power
South Africa to win: 10/11 at SportingBet

Scotland to win: 4/7 at Boylesports
Draw: 20/1 at Bet365
Argentina to win: 15/8 at Totesport

Wales to win: 11/10 at ExtraBet
Draw: 20/1 at Paddy Power
Australia to win: 10/11 at SkyBet

South Africa v England
First One Day International
Friday, November 20th

Whether or not Friday’s First ODI goes ahead against South Africa, for England, it could either mean a chance to get their underdog one day game going, or if not, get a few extra day’s rest so that some of their players can recuperate and get fit. The mighty Kevin Pietersen returned to action as England geared up for the first encounter against the Proteas on Friday. There are a couple of late fitness tests though to go, for Paul Collingwood (who will set a new England record for ODI appearances) and James Anderson. Graeme Swann is definitely out of the first two ODI’s as he has strained his side, which leaves only youngster Adil Rashid as a spinning option. There has been much argument over how England have employed Rashid, limiting him to just one over of bowling in England’s hammering in the second Twenty20 international. Rashid is touted as one of the most prominent young talents in English cricket, but the England management have been very cautious over using him.

Therefore, news of Swann’s injury, the number one spinner in the setup, has prompted England to call up Kent’s James Tredwell as cover, and could, depending on the conditions, be thrown straight into action less than a day after stepping off the plane in South Africa. He could be a useful weapon in turning the ball away from South Africa’s prominent left-handed batsmen. James Anderson’s knee is giving concern, and with Stuart Broad already sidelined for the first couple of ODI’s too, Liam Plunkett has found his way back into the England fold as cover. Other injury concerns have been with bowler Graham Onions and opening batsman Alastair Cook. A washed out first ODI would not be too bad a thing for the England set-up, although it would detract from some of the excitement of the five-game series, because the first game is likely to be quite aggressive, with the South African’s looking to stamp their authority over the visitors, knowing that they clearly have the better team. Training has been held indoors though because of rain on Thursday, and the day-nighter is in some kind of doubt.

The only balance that England could focus on between the two teams, would be to take the game to the South African bowlers. South Africa clearly have the batting advantage, but they have a bowling attack which can be eaten away at as long as the England batsmen do not get bogged down in the crease. It is vitally important that the England batting order punish everything that is thrown at them, for the England bowlers will have a mighty task on their hands, trying to bowl out the South African batsmen, or trying to keep them to a relatively low total. It will be down to the batsmen to make a contest of this. They need to break the shackles of conservatism and recognise that failing by playing an aggressive game, is better than failing by prodding the ball tentatively around the park looking for singles and hoping for a late flourish.

The scared-to-lose tactics of England, has meant that they have barely registered a mark on their ODI games this year, and everything points to South Africa dominating the series. England’s tried and untrusted line-up will have their hands full, and it will be somewhat of a surprise if they take anything from this series, a look at the odds will give a fair reflection of just how vast the difference in form is right now.

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Tim Bresnan, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Joe Denly, Sajid Mahmood, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Liam Plunkett, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (wk),  Adil Rashid,  James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Luke Wright.
 
South Africa v England First ODI
South Africa – 2/5 at SkyBet
England – 9/4 at William Hill

South Africa v England ODI Series
South Africa – 3/8 at Totesport
England – 5/2 at Ladbrokes
Drawn Series – 41/10 at Betfair

We now know the 32 teams who will contest the 19th renewal of the World Cup next summer in South Africa. France’s progress to the finals was heavily controversial, although Stan James offer a best price 16/1 that Raymond Domenech’s team repeat their success of 1998. The big surprise on Wednesday evening was the exit of Russia, although the bookmakers don’t rate Slovenia’s chances in their first ever tournament. Coral make them 400/1 outsiders, although they are there on merit after finishing second in a tough qualifying group.

Portugal managed to ease through against Bosnia despite missing Cristiano Ronaldo, although they are sure to have officially the world’s best player back for the finals. Sporting Bet offer 18/1 that Carlos Queiroz steers the team to glory, although they continue to lack a cutting edge up front. Meanwhile, the dream is still alive for Euro 2004 winners Greece, who landed a 1-0 win in Ukraine to go through this week. Otto Rehhagel’s tactics worked a treat in Kiev, although the bookies are less convinced that they’ll make an impact in South Africa. Victor Chandler offer 150/1 that they are triumphant.

Some people are suggesting that the 2010 World Cup winner is going to come from a select group of two. Spain proved during Euro 2008 that they are an outstanding team and Ladbrokes make them slight favourites at 4/1 to prove that they’re the best nation on the planet. Manager Vicente del Bosque is blessed with some technically brilliant players and it’s hard to pick holes in them at the moment. Similarly, Brazil have an excellent World Cup pedigree and Paddy Power are lifting their heads above the parapet by offering 5/1. The South Americans have featured in three of the last four finals and qualified easily. Perhaps backing both of these teams will prove to be a profitable excursion.

In recent months, one of the big market movers have been the Ivory Coast, with William Hill going as short as 20/1 that they become the first African nation to win the tournament. They very nearly beat Germany in a friendly recently and have arguably the world’s best striker in Didier Drogba. The Elephants will have plenty of competitive match action in the African Nations cup and are the continent’s best chance of success. While the hosts will obviously have home advantage, they looked to be a mediocre team during the Confederations Cup and Coral are prepared to lay them at 200/1.

One of the teams that has drifted the most is Argentina and the rumour on the grapevine is that the bookmakers are out to get Diego Maradona’s team next summer. Bet Fred offer a standout 10/1 about the Albicelestes, although they were slightly fortunate to qualify and having Lionel Messi in the team does not equal success. However, firms are reporting a brisk trade on the Netherlands and England to win next summer’s competition. The Dutch blew the opposition away in qualifying and have been cut to 14/1 (bet365), while England are 13/2 (Coral), with Fabio Capello fielding a weakened team against Brazil recently. It might be worth taking this price now as there will be a flood of patriotic money coming for the Three Lions by the time next summer comes around!

England’c cricketers actually put on a decent, entertaining and exciting Twenty20 game for once, as they faced South Africa in the first of two Twenty20 internationals. Helped by a bit of English luck, otherwise known as the rain, England held on a victory via the Duckworth/Lewis method, winning the game by one run. England batted first and they posted their highest over Twenty20 total of 202-6. Man of the moment for England was Eoin Morgan, who has had his critics but now and again shows what he can do with the bat. His 85 not out, came in just 45 balls, and was the highest individual score by an England player in Twenty20. Jonathan Trott, made an early apperance as opener Joe Denly was skittled out first ball of the match, and Trott made a steady 33 to get the innings going.

Captain Paul Collingwood also led with a fine display, hitting 57 from 32 balls, and the performance with the bat was a marked improvement from their only Twenty20 warm up match in which they failed miserably against South Africa A. Whenever England do well with the bat on a wicket, there is always a thought at the back of the mind, that if England can score a lot, then what will a genuinely good team like South Africa do? Despite it seeming a huge total, South Africa started firing away quickly. They reached just short of a hundred in only nine overs and if the match had been stopped one over earlier, they would have been ahead on the Duckworth/Lewis.

But it wasn’t to be, and they needed 8 off the 13th over to keep their noses in front. Jimmy Anderson was the man bowling for England, and he managed to contain the South African batsmen, who were AB de Villiers and big hitting Albie Morkel to just six. That left them on 127-3, one run short of salvaging a tie. Although it did not really play out to a satisfying conclusion, it did at least produce a pulsating and exciting match for the spectators, something which bodes well for the rest of the winter tour in South Africa. England, historically are not a good Twenty20 or ODI team, and maybe that spark will be the one that is needed to really contest against the best in the world with a settled team.

South Africa v England Second Twenty20 Match
South Africa: 8/15 at Stan James
England: 9/5 at Sporting Bet

Eoin Morgan top England batsman: 6/1 at Stan James

Betting Advice: South Africa won’t have taken that result lightly, as there seemed to be some misunderstanding by the men out in the middle as to how many runs they needed. Regardless, there will be a plan to get rid of Trott and Morgan especially on Sunday. The Proteas will come out firing to try and stop England building any kind of momentum ahead of the ODIs. This is where the South Africans are probably at their most dangerous.

Friday, November 13
Johannesburg
4pm GMT

England have been bolstered by the news that three of their front line bowlers have recovered from injuries ahead of the first of two Twenty20 International matches against South Africa, which takes place on Friday in Johannesburg. James Anderson, Graham Onions and spinner Graeme Swann have all be declared fit enough to play, which will be something of a relief to Twenty20 skipper Paul Collingwood. England lost badly to South Africa A in a Twenty20 warm up in the week, in which England could field the only 11 fit players they had with them. Only Swann took part in that match, in which he picked up his injury, but has been given the all clear to resume action.

England will however, be without two names still. Stuart Broad has not managed to regain his full fitness after injuring himself in the first One Day warm up of the tour, and Kevin Pietersen, who joined up with the squad, is not ready for action just yet. Pietersen, England’s most powerful and potent batsman, may not make an appearance in the Twenty20 games, but the South African born player, has been training hard to keep his fitness levels up while recuperating from his Achilles problem. Pietersen has not played for three months or so, dropping out of the summer Ashes series against Australia halfway through. Seeing him back will be a welcome sight for One Day and Test Match skipper Andrew Strauss, and also the travelling Barmy Army who will no doubt be making their vocal presence on the tour.

Alistair Cook, one of England’s opening batsmen, is struggling to be fit, after coming down with a sore throat, which may keep him out of the first Twenty20 match. That could give South African born England player Jonathan Trott another great chance to prove himself, after making a fine 88 in England’s first One Day warm up game. Trott, who has been a nice fringe element to the England squad, is possibly, like Pietersen and Strauss (who is also South African born), one of the players who could actually break into a very strong South African batting line-up. Trott knocked off a century in his first full appearance for England in the fifth and deciding Ashes match, after being called up as a late change to boot a poor Ravi Bopara out of the line up. Trott can be taken at 11/2 with Betfred to finish as England’s top batsman for the first Twenty20 match.

As a unit in South Africa, the England batsmen will need to be on their top games in order to compete against the Proteas in all formats. The Twenty20 contents represents a chance to gather some momentum and to get a feel for the opposition. England defeated South Africa in a one day game during the Champions Trophy earlier this year, but taking on and defeating South Africa in their own backyard over a series of games is going to be a tall order. England though, do have things to work with. They were not great in the Summer in beating Australia in the Test Matches, but they got the job done, being a far better Test Match side than in either of the shorter format of games. That was emphasised in the drubbing Australia handed them in ODI series following the Ashes series. The post-Ashes euphoria is not quite there this time around, like it was in 2005, when England went into a sharp slump from hitting that triumphant pinnacle, struggling to hit any form in Pakistan. This time there is more pragmatism, a view to avoiding past mistakes.

On their day and fully fit, England have the power to put up a good contest. Andrew Strauss is in great form though doesn’t partake in the Twenty20 games, Alistair Cook can produce important innings, Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior can all chip in with great scores, Kevin Pietersen will score, and the tail end is probably a lot stronger than it has been for years. If the likes of Jonathan Trott and Joe Denly can build on experience, England will be heading in a good direction for batting. It is to the bowling department which there is probably the most criticism aimed at, due to lack of potent wicket takers. Jimmy Anderson on his day, is one of the best swing bowlers in the world, but England lack a powerful force without Freddie Flintoff charging in down the wicket. Stuart Broad is supposed to fill that role, but, while a good player in his own right, has not filled the massive boots left behind by Freddie. Swann has proven very useful in his role, but England are lacking a fast bowler in the great Australian Glen McGrath’s role, who can metronomically take wickets on any surface and in any condidition.

South Africa v England First Twenty20 International
South Africa to win: 8/15 at SkyBet
England to win: 7/4 at William Hill

Twenty20 Series (Two games)
Drawn Series: 5/4 at Bet365
South Africa to win: 11/8 at Ladbrokes
England to win: 5/1 at Bet365

Betting Advice: England have won just 8 out of 21 Twenty20 Internationals, so it doesn’t bode well for them. That is compared to South Africa’s 66% record of having won 18 out of 24. That, combined with England’s poor showing in the warm up, and with South Africa’s guns blazing well in their one day format warm ups, South Africa should breeze through these two Twenty20 Internationals. If these were the Test Matches, there would have been a little more confidence in England.

England started their winter tour of South Africa, home of the football World Cup 2010, with a warm up match against the Diamond Eagles. All in all it was a bit of one sided match, as England ran up a score of 294-7 in the One Day fixture. The competition for places in the One Day should hot up next week, when superstar batsman Kevin Pietersen flies to South Africa to join up with the England squad, and so that should keep some of the batsmen on their toes. Ashes Game Five hero batsman Jonathan Trott made a great statement as to his form, as he cracked a very good 85 off a 104 balls, including seven boundaries. Skipper Andrew Strauss also contributed heavily with the bat, putting 72 runs on the board. Joe Denly and Paul Collingwood were the only batsmen not to make it into double figures.

In reply to the tourist’s good score, the Eagles only lasted for just over half of their allotted 50 overs in the game at Bloemfontein. The home side only rallied to a paltry 109, with England’s bowlers all sharing the spoils. Jimmy Anderson, Paul Collingwood, Sajid Mahmood and Graeme Swann all took two wickets each, as did Stuart Broad at a price. The seamer picked up an injury to his shoulder in the match, in which he only bowled four overs, but the injury was apparently picked up while fielding and not bowling. With Freddie Flintoff retiring from Test Matches, and still in rehabilitation which keeps him out of the One Day Internaional format, the importance of having Broad in the team is unquestionable.

It is a long winter tour for the England cricket team, which includes four Test Matches against the Proteas, five One Day Internationals and a couple of Twenty20 internationals. The youngster Stuart Broad is an important part of the success of the tour. He is the fire in the belly of the team, and he will not take part in England’s next warm up match, which is against the Warriors on Sunday. With a few more warm up games to get under their belt ahead of the main events, the England management will want to keep Broad in shape for the England v South Africa matches, in which he should be playing all forms of the game.

It is fair to say that England and One Day games generally do not go together well, especially after suffering horrendously in the summer against Australia. They did redeem themselves a little with some performances in the Champions Trophy, but there is clearly still work to be done. While this was simply a warm up game, it should at least build a little confidence. With Strauss, Trott and Eoin Morgan all contributing well, it should at least build a bit of confidence to take into the tour. It is the place of Eoin Morgan which is probably most vulnerable when it comes to the re-selection of Kevin Pietersen. England’s next fixture is on Sunday, and it will likely be the same familiar team which takes the field. England are also waiting on the fitness of Graham Onions.

While you will be hard pushed to find odds on the warm up games, pay close attention to them for individual form, as it will help to gauge some sort of value in price when it comes to the One Day International Series against South Africa. The best prices for which can be found below. As well as the England fixutres, take note that the South Africans are playing warm up fixtures too, most of them on the same day as the England ones.

England v South Africa ODI Series
South Africa to win: 2/5 at Totesport
Draw: 23/2 at Betfair
England to win: 9/4 at Victor Chandler