England do not look like anything more than a quarter final team at the 2011 Cricket World Cup to be honest. Their defeat against Ireland pretty much put a dampener on their progress, and if that has sucked the life out of them, then they could even be in danger of not making it into the top four (England are currently 3/1 at Wililam Hill to go out at the group stage). This scenario was suggested on these pages ahead of the tournament, and with just one win from three opening matches, there is still a lot of work to get through now, with three games remaining. They still have South Africa to come, along with the West Indies and Bangladesh. The latter two are winnable games, or at least they should be for England, but as they have shown, they find it hard to raise their game against weaker opposition. They struggled past the Netherlands, they struggled past Canada in a warm up match, so quite where England will go from here is a bit of a mystery. They put in a solid performance in a draw against India, but their bowling attack just does not look potent enough. The batting looks fairly solid, but it hasn’t been backed up at all from their bowling, which has looked tired, unadventurous and laboured at times. The rest of the usual suspects are still well in the hunt in the 2011 Cricket World Cup, and aren’t facing the problems which England are. Australia and Sri Lanka are ticking along nicely, with South Africa looking sharp as well. Even if England get through to the quarter final stage, you really have a problem seeing them beat three of the best teams in the world from that stage to win the competition.
Cricket World Cup Outright
Host nation India are still leading the way at 11/4 at Bet365 as favourites. This has been helped by them playing on their home turf, in their own conditions. Yes, they have choked before under the pressure of expectation, especially under the fierce scrutiny of their passionate fans at big tournaments. They have gotten of on a solid footing, and look a shoo-in for the quarter finals. Not sure if they are still the complete side which can take it all the way, but even as favourites they are good value for money at the moment. They will gain some advantage in the latter stages of the tournament against the southern hemisphere teams, but do they have the consistency? South Africa, tipped here from the start have had their odds shortened after an impressive start. They are now in at 4/1 with Bet365 to lift the cup, and they make for a solid bet as well. They have major weapons in their front line seam bowling attack with the new ball, and two of the most impressive, in form batsmen around in the world at the moment. They really do carry a big threat, even though they still have the label of being the big chokers of world cricket. They are looking strong and are too good value in the market at the moment to ignore. Sri Lanka, one of the front runners before the tournament even started, have one of the best line ups of all teams, with explosive batting and bowling. They suffered a bit of a setback when Pakistan beat them by 11 runs, but Sri Lanka will get through to the knockout stage and no one will want to face them at that point. Have drifted a little to 5/1at Bet365 but worth a shot, especially as they won the tournament the last time it was held in their neck of the woods. Need a big response as they face Australian next. The other major force looks to be Australia, who are also a great price to take at the moment at 11/2 with Boylesports. We spoke about their threat, even though they are looking a little average in terms of world class quality. The Australians, who have won the last three World Cups simply are not going to lie down and give up their crown. Have destroyed New Zealand and Kenya and are warming up for their next match against Sri Lanka. There is still a big draw on taking Australia to win again here, this time, more against the odds than ever.
Group A Winner
Well, Australia are front runners to win the group, after Sri Lanka lost an early match to Pakistan. The Aussies are 6/4 at Bet365 to finish first and that looks a decent price. Pakistan who are 15/8 at Boylesports to win Group B, perhaps are the one side who are going to be flying under the radar in terms of results. Controversy follows them everywhere, and you are pretty much waiting with bated breath for them to implode. The media hype about their personnel is more attracting of attention than what they are doing on the pitch. Still, a victory over Sri Lanka should have had a unifying effect, but still fancy Australia to top the group ahead of them. Sri Lanka were favourites to win the group before things got underway and although they have gone out to 9/4 at Boylesports to top the group, it is still more than feasible that they can make it happen. Would stick with the Aussies though, there is just something about them, that dogged ability to pull through adversity like no other side.
Group B Winner
Well, South Africa are the early pace setters, after two solid opening victories. That has pulled their price in to 6/5 at Blue Square to win this market, now at the same price as hosts India at 888Sport. The South Africans looked a strong side coming in, but there are always major doubts about their ability to perform consistently on the big stage. They have the undisputed talent to pull this off though, and from a comfortable start, should gain confidence. Those two matches were against the West Indies and the Netherlands, but they got the job done professionally, and next up for them is England, who you would expect the Proteas to beat, leaving them in a strong position. The deciding factor in this group will be on March 12th, when India play South Africa. England are trundling in as third favourites to win Group B, but that is just too unlikely, and the bookies recognise that at as they are priced around 14/1 with BetFair to pull it off. They’ll need to win from here on out, and not looking strong enough or stable enough of a bet to make it happen.
2011 Cricket betting advice and tips
So, in this incredibly protracted tournament, which is not really going to start until the quarter finals, the excitement is pretty low at the moment. There have been reports that the new format, which is taking forever to get through the group stage, is killing off the interest of the whole World Cup. While that may be true, is doesn’t pass up the fact that there are still plenty of betting opportunities to take advantage of, especially with the big sides playing minnows. This is a great opportunity to get into live in play betting for the cricket, which will open new markets as you go along, such as fall of next wicket, next man out etc, just to add extra dimensions to your cricket betting. With the competition still in its infancy, the time to take outright prices is right now. Don’t wait until the final eight are decided at the end of the group stage, as prices will be trimmed then, so be brave in your selection and get your bets in now. It will pay off in the long run. Don’t worry about To Qualify markets, not unless your think someone like Ireland are going to pull off another upset and get themselves through. The possibilities which will be open to you in live in play betting at the cricket world cup cannot be stressed enough, and if you are wondering where to go to in order to find some of the best live betting available, then hit Bet365 who have recently updated their line betting console, and it is excellent for all of your needs. It has been improved to make it even more efficient than it was, backed up more solidly by stats as well. If you are not a customer at Bet365 then when you open an account there, you can take advantage of their incredible £200 free bet offer for joining them. The Cricket World Cup is going to rumble on for a long time yet, so take advantage of all the online betting opportunities it is going to throw your way.
