Series Betting Preview

I admit it. I love a flutter now and again. I don’t bet on everything (my better half won’t allow it!) but it does make watching sport more exciting. Take golf for example. I find watching The Open incredibly relaxing. I love nothing better than sitting down with a beer on Sunday afternoon to watch the final round. However, I always find the drama more compelling if I stand to earn a few quid. I guess that’s just who I am.

One thing I’ve never done, however, is placed bets via online casinos. I’ve been to regular casinos of course – mostly on holiday or on stag dos – and generally enjoyed it. However, I wouldn’t know where to start when it comes to online betting. A friend has recommended this ultimate guide of the best online casinos so perhaps that’s a good place to start.

When it comes to cricket betting, I rarely put money on the outcome of individual matches. The odds rarely seem generous enough. But I do enjoy predicting the score before a big series like The Ashes starts. I feel there’s less pure luck involved if one can apply their knowledge of the game. I’ve watched cricket for three decades, and followed the individual players’ careers very closely, so I feel I know just as much as the bookies.

I also like a punt on who the leading scorers in particular series might be. I won big when I successfully backed Matthew Hayden to be the leading scorer in the 2007 World Cup. The winnings topped up my online account quite nicely. Supporting someone wearing a baggy green cap was a little weird though. Being a passionate England supporter I felt a little dirty afterwards!

I’m not always so lucky though. Although I earned a few quid when Danny Willett won The Masters recently, my recent betting record leaves rather a lot of be desired. I thought England would narrowly win the 2013/14 Ashes in Australia but actually got whitewashed 0-5. Similarly I backed Australia to beat us at home in 2015 but England pulled off a somewhat fortuitous but immensely satisfying victory. On this occasion, I didn’t particularly care that my modest stake went down the drain.

As the England versus Pakistan series rapidly approaches, I find myself drawn to the markets yet again. England are currently big favourites to win the series at 5/6 with Pakistan as long as 10/3. Although I’ll be supporting England, of course, I quite fancy Pakistan at those odds. Anything better than 3-1 in a two horse race isn’t bad at all.

Although England have just whitewashed Sri Lanka, and won in South Africa last winter, our team has plenty of holes. Moving Joe Root up to 3 is a risk and leaves the middle-order looking very fragile indeed. Pakistan have a more than useful pace attack, so if England lose early wickets we could be dismissed for low totals quite frequently.

I don’t want to seem like a harbinger of doom, as Pakistan have problems with their team too, but I don’t think England will win as comfortably as many experts seem to expect. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens in the coming weeks.

James Morgan

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