Couch Critic provides his betting tips for the second test match between England and Pakistan which starts in Southampton on Thursday including best bets from @Olimp_SA
ENGLAND vs PAKISTAN - Thursday 13 Aug, Southampton
After the Woakes and Buttler shenanigans we head to Southampton for back to back test matches as the Pakistani’s look to fight back in the series having come up short in Manchester.
Setting the Scene
With England struggling at 12/3 in reply to a solid first inning 326 from Pakistan and the visitors later going in to bat in their second stint with a hundred run lead Misbah-ul-Haq would be disappointed that his team came out on the losing end at Old Trafford.
For the visitors Shan Masood caught the attention with a brilliant 150 in the first innings whilst the talented Babar Azam showed why he is so highly rated as well. Unfortunately, none of the tourists were able to come to the party with the willow at the second time of asking. Yasir Shah proved lethal with eight wickets in the clash whilst the three-pronged quick attack showed glimpses of what they can offer.
The hosts had yet another poor batting effort in their first innings – were it not for a sixty from Ollie Pope the Poms would have been in deep trouble. In the fourth innings it was Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes who came to the party and showed incredible temperament to get their team over the line in the end. On the bowling front Stuart Broad remained the chief destroyer.
How I see it Playing Out
Broad and Pope delivered nicely for us with the only surprise being the strong showing from the Pakistani top order in their first innings. The visitors will be kicking themselves at not capitalising on being able to survive batting first in English conditions and then stopping any of the English top four from getting a start. Having the luxury of bowling last in the test with two spinning options was the advantage the visitors would have been bargaining on turning into a victory. How they bounce back from not being able to capitalise after the first test ran according to plan for the vast majority of the game is the big question – they will likely be mentally deflated by not taking their opportunity.
In the series against the Windies we saw Shanon Gabriel enjoy conditions at the Ageas picking up nine sticks in total on that occasion.
Betolimp Best Bets
Top Pakistan 1st Innings Batsman – Asad Shafiq @ 7.70
Both Masood and Azam looked like a million bucks in their first outing in the first test. Yet we saw in the second dig that Shafiq or Rizwan could offer some value should the top order fail, which is always a solid possibility against a strong English attack.
Top England 1st Innings Batsman – Jos Buttler @ 9.90
The Pakistan new ball attack delivered as expected in the first innings at Old Trafford and should this happen again Buttler could be a lively player in this market. The English keeper has taken a lot of criticism but has shown a solid return to form with two fifties in his last 2 matches. Jos is also one of the better players of spin and with Yasir Shah in good form this is an extra plus for this pick.
Batsman to Score a Hundred in the Match – Joe Root (Yes) @ 4.80
Root hasn’t scored a hundred in a long time and it has become a bit of a habit for the number one English batsman to look good before throwing a start away. Yes, this is a good Pakistan attack but with Stokes missing for the 2nd Test it is squarely on the skipper’s shoulders to stand up and be counted. Given my Buttler play above I would prefer this to materialise in the second innings of course.
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Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change
Couch Critic
