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England moved 2-1 ahead in the NatWest Series with an impressive 42-run victory over India at Edgbaston on Monday and there's a strong case to be made for them extending that advantage in the fourth match at Old Trafford on Thursday.
It's too early to get carried away with the Three Lions suddenly becoming a one-day force but there are definitely signs that they are moving in the right direction.
For a start they've topped 280 in all three games so far and have also been superb in the field.
That's all in stark contrast to India who are giving England a 30-40 run start in every game with some shambolic fielding and lacklustre running - and they've also failed to take advantage of winning the toss three times in a row.
We're back to day/night territory on Thursday and the toss looks like being more crucial than ever because the clear skies and sunshine which have characterised most of this series are set to be replaced by plenty of cloud cover and chillier temperatures.
And while it was India who surprisingly made the most of the swing-friendly conditions in the Test series, there's no doubt England should be at a huge advantage if they are able to bowl under lights in the one-dayers.
Clearly that's almost certain to depend on the flip of a coin but even if it goes against the Three Lions they did show in the second game in Bristol that it isn't necessarily game over.
And they are also set to be boosted by the return of talisman Andrew Flintoff on his home ground after the all-rounder was left out as a precaution earlier this week following a minor knee niggle.
Despite that - and the further evidence of the Three Lions' progression - the odds haven't changed a great deal so the 4/5 about England taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series looks more than fair.
Admittedly their one-day record isn't great in Manchester but they've thrived at the venue in Tests during the same period so we're not too concerned about that, especially as they've only played one 50-over match there in the last four years in any case.
More significant to Thursday's game is the fact that India's fielding problems aren't going to be put right at a stroke and the batsmen aren't helping the situation with their running between the wickets.
That's compounded by them falling into the traps set by Paul Collingwood with increasing regularity and they are a team to oppose right now.
Given that we feel England are going to come out on top, we're also going to risk a couple of slightly speculative man-of-the-match wagers on Flintoff at 12/1 and Monty Panesar at 20s.
Flintoff's bowling has been superb in the two games he's played - he collected his best-ever ODI figures at Bristol with 5-56 - and the widely-held belief that he's struggled against the Indian spinners isn't backed up by enough evidence.
He's batted just once in the series, stroking a glorious four through the covers first up before he just got under a delivery from Ramesh Powar and was caught on the boundary.
He can surely be forgiven that given he was struggling with his knee and there's every chance he can make key contributions with both ball and bat on his home ground.
Switching to Panesar and bearing in mind the success India have had with their spinners Powar and Piyush Chawla, there's surely every incentive for England to keep Monty in their starting XI.
And that's especially the case at Old Trafford where the bouncy surface has made him a huge threat in the recent past and where the bigger boundaries will give him plenty more protection than of late.
He snaffled the man-of-the-match award in the Test against the West Indies there earlier this year thanks to career-best match figures of 10/187 and also picked up eight Pakistani wickets in 2006.
There's an argument that he was fizzing the ball through a little too quickly at Edgbaston on Monday but towards the end of his spell the pace looked far better which should set him up nicely for Thursday's match.
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