Date: August 13-17
Venue: Ageas Bowl
TV: Sky Sports
England’s Test series against Pakistan got under way in thrilling style as the hosts secured a dramatic fourth-day victory at Old Trafford.
Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler shared an important sixth-wicket partnership that set up a remarkable three-wicket success, with Pakistan having been firm favourites at one stage.
The action now heads to Southampton where the hosts are once again the favourites, but the tourists will have been encouraged by their performance in Manchester and look good value at 7/2 for our initial England vs Pakistan prediction.
A Look At England’s Betting Odds
England had to come from behind to win their series against the West Indies and looked set to go behind in this series until their fightback.
Joe Root’s men were 109 runs behind after the first innings and had to produce the second highest winning fourth-innings score at Old Trafford to avoid defeat.
England’s batting depth got them out of trouble but the balance of the team may change now due to the absence of Ben Stokes, with the all-rounder heading out to New Zealand for family reasons. Kent’s Zak Crawley is his likely replacement.
Although the match will be remembered for Woakes and Buttler’s memorable partnership, many of England’s other batsmen struggled against the Pakistan bowling attack.
In the first innings, only Ollie Pope scored more than 50, and in the second innings, Joe Root scored 42 as the highest score from a top-six batsman.
In four Tests this summer, England have only enjoyed one opening partnership of more than four runs in the first innings and that was just 29 in the second Test against the West Indies.
Facing England’s new-ball attack is never easy in English conditions either should Pakistan bat first, so Evens for the first wicket in the match to fall for under 20.5 runs appeals from the England vs Pakistan odds.
A Look At Pakistan’s Betting Odds
For large parts of the first Test it was not obvious who was the home team as Pakistan’s bowling attack thrived in English conditions, with the home batsmen struggling to score runs off them.
Mohammad Abbas took three wickets, but his economy rate was far lower than the English seamers – at 2.20 in the first innings and 2.25 in the second.
The added pace of teenager Naseem Shah gives Pakistan an additional threat going into the next Test too.
Pakistan looked stronger in the spin department, as well. Yasir Shah finished with eight wickets from the match, taking four for 66 in the first and four for 99 in the second innings, while Shadab Khan also took two.
In contrast, England’s Dom Bess took just two wickets, one in each innings, and could even be left out at the Rose Bowl.
Yasir appeals at 7/2 to be Pakistan’s top bowler in the first innings, while 8/1 for him to take five wickets in the first innings looks worth a small play in our England vs Pakistan betting tips.
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