Australia vs England Match Prediction & Betting Tips
There is lots on the line ahead of a do-or-die clash, and our Australia vs England betting tips aims to make sense of it all to help you find the best value!
Unexpected defeats to New Zealand for Australia and Ireland for England makes this a must-win for both sides - but which of these old rivals will bag the points?
The action gets underway from 1.30 pm IST on Friday 28th October at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
The weather forecast looks greyer than the prospects for both these sides at the time of writing, but we will press on in providing you with the best insight as part of our full match preview. Refine your cricket betting online strategy right here at Pure Win!
Australia vs England Betting Tips - England To Win
They may be the 2021 champions, but Australia are not playing well at the moment - a run of form that stretches back before the tournament when England were on the verge of completing a 3-0 series win over the Baggy Greens before bad weather intervened. The win over Sri Lanka isn’t enough to convince us - and that’s why our Australia vs England betting tips are revolving around a win for the Three Lions.
That’s not to say England are playing the best cricket, either! After stumbling over the finishing line against Afghanistan, they were humbled and humiliated by Ireland last time out.
You can back England to win at odds of 2.0, while Australia are a shade shorter at 1.78. The value is obviously in backing the slight underdogs, and that’s what we’re recommending in the main element of our cricket predictions.
Best Bet: Liam Livingstone Top England Run Scorer
It was an uncharacteristic performance by the majority of England’s batting line-up against Ireland - only Moeen Ali found any fluency, hitting 24 not out from 12 balls, while the rest struggled to get going.
Liam Livingstone came in down the order in what was a surprise to many, given his explosive capabilities with the bat. He only faced two balls before rain brought proceedings to an end, with England five runs behind on the Duckworth Lewis Method.
Skipper Buttler is likely regretting his call - Livingstone’s average strike rate in Twenty20 cricket is over the 150 mark. More time at the crease and he perhaps could have gotten England into a winning position.
They are unlikely to put him down the order again - we expect to see him come in at five, giving him a good shot of landing the top batsman ranking for his side here. You can bet on Livingstone to score the most runs for England at odds of 13.0 - a juicy and appealing price right here at Pure Win!
Australia Attempt to go Back to Back!
The Baggy Greens are finally up and running! A win over Sri Lanka last time out was convincing and confidence-boosting for fans of a side that has been frustrating to watch in the matches previously.
After being set a target of 158 to win by the Lions, Marcus Stoinis did what Marcus Stoinis does best - hit runs at an incredibly fast rate in devastating fashion.
The all-rounder blitzed 59 runs from just 18 balls to register the fastest half-century in Twenty20 international cricket by an Australian, and the joint-second fastest in Twenty20 World Cup history.
His knock earned the praise of skipper Finch, who told the post-match press interviewers: “It was a pretty special innings. To come out with that intent is the main thing. When you walk out to bat and you have that presence at the crease, that's half the battle in T20 cricket. When you have the skill and the strength that he's got, that's a pretty good combo.”
All eyes turn to England on Friday, and Finch is confident both teams will put on a spectacle:
“It's always a great event. Any format of the game, anywhere in the world, it's pretty special so we're looking forward to it."
Player to Watch: Aaron Finch
All eyes on the captain at the moment, and he can probably hear the whispers of discontent brewing in the Australian cricketing public. He scraped his way to 31 from 42 balls to register a strike rate of 73.81 - an uncharacteristically and damagingly slow knock by his high standards.
A brutal assessment of Finch’s current woes was delivered by ex-Aussie skipper Michael Clarke to a Sky Sports Radio: “I thought if the Sri Lankans can get this ball in the right area while it’s new, we could be under the pump. If that’s England’s bowling attack, if that’s India and Pakistan’s bowling attack that I watched the other night, if that’s South Africa’s bowling attack, Finchy is not lasting 10 seconds because he played and missed and balls went over the stumps.
He tends to play his best cricket when his back is against the wall - are we about to see the real Aaron Finch stand-up? You can back him to top score against England at odds of 5.2.
Predicted Playing XI
Aaron Finch (capt), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
England’s Pride is Hurting
Though Ireland played very well in their humbling of the Three Lions, there’s no hiding from the fact that England were miles below the high standards they have set themselves this year.
There was no urgency to what should have been a relatively straightforward chase of 159 - only one of the top five batsmen registered a strike rate of over 100. Once the rain set in, they were never given a chance to get ahead of DLS, and a five-run defeat has put their World Cup hopes in jeopardy.
Skipper Jos Buttler knows the importance of the game on Friday - he told reporters in the post-match press area: “We made a mistake here which has put even more pressure on us in a tough group, but if you needed a game to get up for - a must-win game - England and Australia at the MCG is certainly one of those."
There are no new injuries for team management to consider.
Player to Watch: Moeen Ali
The only player to be striking the ball cleanly for England appeared to be Moeen Ali - and due to his position in the batting line-up, he always represents good value in the top England batsman market.
He is attractively priced at odds of 13.0 to be his side’s top scorer.
Predicted Playing XI
Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Australia vs England Head-to-Head
The Australia vs England head to head record in this format is extremely tight, with the Three Lions shading it by one (10-11).
When batting first against England, the Baggy Greens average more than 170! Will they post another high score here?
Rain Could Ruin The Fun
Yet more wet weather is forecast for Melbourne on Friday - the recent deluge is wreaking havoc with the World Cup! Here’s hoping we find enough breaks of play to squeeze in a classic!
Conclusion
It’ll be a close run thing, but we think the Three Lions can keep their dream alive and all-but eliminate the hosts! However you decide to bet here at Pure Win, please make sure you do so responsibly.
