England face a tricky test

Despite his success on foreign soil, turning out for Rising Pune Supergiant, Stokes stirred up the emotions of England fans by telling Sky Sports News in a recent interview that playing for his country is his number one priority.

That patriotic stance, not to mention his IPL form, is sure to make him difficult to ignore in the pre-match betting, and Coral punters can back Ben Stokes to finish as England’s top run scorer at a fantastic 7/1. There’s also 5/1 on him taking most wickets for his side – he claimed a dozen for Pune – while those after a bit more bang for their buck can get 12/1 on a man of the match performance.

de Villiers expected to be standout

South Africa go as 11/10 second favourites to win the first ODI, but that is a bold call by our traders, considering they are currently top of the One Day International rankings, and sure to come to British soil intent on proving exactly why they sit top of the tree.

It is then no surprise, with The Proteas also ranked in the top-two of the test series pile, that they set-up for this match with both the best batsman and best bowler on the circuit. Despite England being odds-on for the win, odds compilers want nothing to do with opposing South African great AB de Villiers. The 33-year-old is 7/2 to score most runs for his side, and we’re also betting on his number of runs, 17/20 about over 37.5, the same price available about less than that.

Looking to knock the hosts out of the game is Imran Tahir. The popular bowler sits at the head of the wicket-taker field, 11/4 the current call for those who expect him to have a strong showing, and if he is on top of his game, Coral’s 14/1 in the man of the match field may just warrant an interest.

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