Australia take a 2-0 lead into the 3rd Ashes Test in Melbourne starting on Boxing Day. We take a look at the game from a betting angle.
Having won the 1st Test in Brisbane by 9 wickets, Australia cruised to another convincing win over England in Adelaide. The home team won the toss and chose to bat first in the day/night Test and after battling early they reached 473 for 9 with a century for Labuschagne and 90’s for Smith and Warner. The 9 wickets were spread amongst the English bowlers with Anderson with his 2 for 58 off 29 overs probably the pick.
England were always in trouble in their innings eventually reaching 236 with only Malan and Joe Root offering resistance both getting 50’s. Starc finished with 4 for 57 and Lyon 3 for 58. Australia elected not to enforce the follow on and went into bat again declaring at 230 for 9 setting England a target of 468 to win. That was never going to be an option, but the draw was certainly a runner and the match went down to the final session with England being bowled out for 192 after some stubborn resistance from Buttler and Woakes. Richardson who was unlucky in the first innings got 5 for 42 to break the back of England’s batting line up.
The MCG has thrown up some dodgy wickets over the years, but by all accounts the surface should be good offering plenty of pace and bounce for the bowlers.
Looking at the Series Betting, Australia are predictably short at 1/50 and for those interested in the 5-0 whitewash it is available at 15/10.
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3rd ASHES TEST BETTING – Click here to bet
Australia 40/85
Draw 4/1
England 5/1
SUGGESTED BETS:
Top England Batsman, Malan at 7/2
Malan and Root have been the stand out performers for England with the bat, but I sense that the pressure is getting to Captain, Root and this may impact him in the middle. Root is a 15/10 favourite, but Malan for me offers better value at more than twice the price.
Top Australian Bowler, Richardson at 4/1
It is not 100% clear that Richardson will play, but I think he is going to get a run after his impressive performance in the 2nd Test and the fact that there are a number of injury concerns amongst the Australian fast bowler ranks. Richardson is the type of bowler who creates plenty of chances and beats the outside edge and hopefully things will go his way as they did in the second innings in Adelaide where he bagged 5 wickets.
Australia race to 10 runs, Warner at 17/20
For this bet to arrive we need Warner to get to 10 runs before Harris who is priced at 27/20 and given Harris’s form I am more than happy to take this one although punters should know that neither batsmen to make 10 runs is also an option and that is quoted at 13/2.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
