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England and Australia meet in the first One Day International of their five match series at Lords on Friday.
These two sides have one of the biggest rivalries in cricket and this is sure to be a fantastic series.
Looking at England to begin with, they can go into these matches full of confidence after winning their last ODI games against West Indies.They also put in a great performance in Sunday’s twenty20 match against the same opposition.
Alistair Cook will be looking to continue his great form at the top of the order.
He scored a century in the last ODI and seems to be relishing his role as captain in the side. Cook is starting an exciting opening partnership with Ian Bell, who scored three figures in the first match against West Indies.
With the ball, The Three Lions have one of the best attacks in the world with a mixture of raw pace, accuracy, wicket to wicket bowling and a top class spinner.
Cook’s team seem to be well set for this format of the game and will want to get one over on their old enemy and gain an advantage for the Ashes Series next year.
As for Australia, they have a squad that has a balance of youth and experience and Michael Clarke will want his young players to prove themselves on the big stage.
The likes of Clarke, Brett Lee, Michael Hussey and Shane Watson will be the men in the squad that provide the much needed experience and they will need to perform if Australia are to win this series.
It will be a tough ask for them though, England are on a great run of form and Australia’s last ODI series was a 2-2 draw with West Indies.
That said, the Aussies always pose a massive threat and are never to be taken lightly. It all makes for a fascinating five matches that are not to be missed.
Match Odds
The bookmakers are finding it difficult to split these two sides but England are the very slight favourites to win the match with odds of 1.91 (10/11) with Bet365.
Australia can be backed at 1.97 (97/100) with Betfair to start the series with a win and take a 1-0 lead into the second ODI.
Series Winner
The Three Lions are the favourites to take come out on top at the end of these five matches. You can back them at 1.91 (10/11) with Ladbrokes.
Australia will need to upset the odds if they are to win the series. However, they are by no means big outsiders as they are available at 2.00 (evens) with SkyBet.
Recommended Bet
England look to be in a great run of form and they could have too much for Australia. Cook’s side going on to whitewash their opponents with a 5-0 victory in the series is being offered at 15.00 (14/1) with StanJames.
