The previous test match at Lord’s finished in a surprise Pakistan win after some incredibly tame dismissals. It is plainly obvious that England underestimated their Asian opponents and paid the price. Many questions that were previously being asked of England such as the batting order and lack of a frontline spinner have now intensified.
However, there were some positives such as Chris Woakes’ bowling and fellow bowler Jake Ball’s impressive debut.
England will of course be looking to get back on track in this second test in order to lift the pressure. They should have learned their lessons from their poor batting in the first test and will be boosted by having their best bowler in James Anderson back in contention alongside excellent all-rounder Ben Stokes.
The great thing about betting on cricket is the good value you can find in all kinds of different markets. You do not just have to rely on one team doing well, if both teams do well you can be in a win-win situation.
The weather in Manchester over the next few days looks dry so we should see a lot of play and therefore a draw is out of the question. I would have to go with an England win at 19/20. Not the greatest odds but this should see you pocket a return.
Chris Woakes’ odds of being the best England bowler have certainly decreased in value after his 11-wicket haul at Lord’s. I would have backed him here were it not for the return of James Anderson. England’s all-time wicket taker will be coming fresh into this series after an injury and will be bowling on a ground he knows incredibly well. I would certainly back him to be England’s top bowler at 28/11.
In my last tip I backed Johnny Bairstow to be man of the match and he probably would have been had England not decided to toss away their victory. I am again going for another Bairstow related tip here. This time it is advised to back him to score a 50 in either the first or second innings at 5/2. The Yorkshireman scored a respectable 29 in the first innings and 48 in the second. If you want an outside bet at a 50, Baristow is your man as he is in good nick at the moment.
Finally I will look at another bowling tip. Yasir Shah took 10 wickets in the last match and Ben Stokes has called him ‘the best leg spinner since Shane Warne’ – high praise indeed. However, Yasir is a slight doubt for this match and even if he does play you imagine England will have figured out how to stop him, or at least do a better job of trying. With this in mind you can look at outsiders. The previously banned Mohammad Amir is likely to have a spring in his step and offer a value alternative at 11/4.
See more tips from Thomas here.