South Africa vs Australia First ODI: Cricket Betting Preview

The five-match ODI series between South Africa and Australia will start at SuperSport Park in Centurion tomorrow. Two of the mightiest teams in the limited overs arena will be action and the cricket betting will be most exciting. The matches will be truly unpredictable and the fortunes can swing at any moment. Watch out the match for super fielding skills, sensational hitting and clever fast bowling. Both teams have their injury worries, but are evenly matched in that aspect as well. Watch the match for fun and try out online betting at 12BET for money. Here is our match preview.

South Africa – Preview

AB de Villiers is injured. So is Chris Morris. These are two crucial blows. But South Africa have enough depth in their squad to find handy replacements. Faf du Plessis will lead the team. The batting looks strong: de Plessis, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, and JP Duminy. But without AB, they seem to lose that explosive X-factor. It is time the other batters in the line-up, such as Rilee Rossouw and David Miller, stepped up the hitting quotient.

The bowling looks more explosive. Dale Steyn, Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada offer pace and venom, while Imran Tahir offers spin and guile. South Africa will miss their customary all-rounder. Tabraiz Shamsi, a left-arm Chinaman bowler, could be a surprise package.

Australia

The Aussies are without the AB de Villiers of their bowling: Mitchell Starc. He is injured. That is not the only injury concern for Australia. Nathan Coulter-Nile and James Faulkner too are injured. Pat Cummins and James Pattinson have not fully recovered from the injury. And the selectors have decided to rest Josh Hazlewood. That means relatively newish bowlers, John Hastings and Scott Boland, will open the bowling for Australia. The team also has some rookie pacers: Chris Tremain, Daniel Worrall and Joe Mennie. Adam Zampa will provide the spin option.

While the bowling looks a bit light, the batting is laden with explosive hitters. Steven Smith, David Warner, Aaron Finch, Travis Head and Usman Khawaja are all capable of producing big scores. Australia would prefer to bat the opposition out. But against a strong bowling unit like South Africa, it is easier said than done. In a cricket betting angle, it is going to be a straight tussle between South Africa’s bowlers and Australian batsmen. Whoever wins it will win the match.

Vital stats

Australia leads the head to head record against South Africa 47-40. There have been some memorable matches among those contests. The World Cup Matches in 1999 and South Africa’s chase of 434 in 2006 are still fresh in memory. In matches held in South Africa also, Australia have the in H2H stats: 20-17. That is why they say Australia find South Africa’s conditions more suitable for their game than in Australia. For the matches held in Centurion, the H2H stats are even-steven: 3-3.

Prediction

Australia usually find a way against South Africa. But their bowling is so inexperienced that South Africa must start as favourites for cricket betting purposes.

Photo Credit: sports24hour.com