South Africa will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing whitewash in the T20 Series when they take on England in the 1st ODI on Friday.
There were times in the T20 Series where it looked as though South Africa might get a win, but England were too strong overall and generally a better balanced side.
They now go into a 3 match series which like the T20 Series will see 2 matches take place at Newlands and 1 in Paarl.
South Africa had some pretty useful ODI form earlier in the year beating Australia 3-0 at home and they also drew 1-1 with England with no result possible in the middle ODI in Durban. The Proteas have a good recent record at Newlands and they beat England here back in February chasing 259 to win and getting home with a couple of overs to spare and 7 wickets in hand.
It is hard to argue with the current betting which sees England as firm favourites and while too short for me for a straight bet I wouldn’t discourage anyone putting the 5/10 in a multiple. The gulf between the sides at the moment seems large.
MATCH BETTING – Click here to bet on the 1st ODI South Africa v England
South Africa 33/20
England 5/10
Suggested Bet: Batsman Match Runs, De Kock over 36.5 runs at 17/20
De Kock scored a 100 here when South Africa beat England last time out and while he didn’t find the T20 Series I am hoping for more from him when he has some time to play himself in.
Suggested Bet: Most Match 6’s England at 8/10
England have some big hitters in their squad, for me they look the more likely of the sides to clear the boundary although as the betting suggests this should be quite a tight race and don’t forget the tie is also an option at 13/2.
Our Preview for Sunday’s 2nd ODI will be available on Saturday
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
