England vs Afghanistan Match Prediction & Betting Tips
The Three Lions are roaring with confidence and Afghanistan are backing their ability - we’re ready with our England vs Afghanistan betting tips ahead of what will be a crucial first match for both teams in Group 1.
The action gets underway from 4.30 pm IST on Saturday 21st October at the Optus Stadium in Perth - and we have delved into all the pre-match gossip, checked out the physio room, found some key stats, and much more in our full match betting preview below. Looking for great odds? You won’t find any better than with Pure Win - we are a cricket betting site pride ourselves in providing the top price on every pre-match market!
The wait is almost over for both of these teams - which side will get their campaigns off to the perfect start?
England vs Afghanistan Betting Tips - England To Win
It’s hard to look past a win for the Pommies - our England vs Afghanistan betting tips are revolving around a comfortable win for one of the most exciting batting line-ups in world cricket.
It must be a strange feeling to be an English cricket fan heading into an international tournament as one of the favourites to lift the trophy. However, there is no doubt they deserve to be among the front-runners. Faithful supporter group The Barmy Army has witnessed a remarkable transformation of their team over the past decade, watching them grow from tentative tournament also-rans to destructive destroyers under first Eoin Morgan and now Jos Buttler!
Afghanistan do have some match-winners - most notably Rashid Khan, who is the most threatening spinner in world cricket in this format. We just think Jos Buttler’s charges will have too much!
The odds are skinny on England - you can back them at 1.12 with Pure Win, while Afghanistan are way out at 6.0.
If you would rather your free cricket betting tips have a bit more meat to the bone in terms of market price, continue reading below. We have picked out some individual bets that should do the trick!
Best Bet: Dawid Malan top England batter
We are selecting Dawid Malan to top score for England as our main bigger-priced tip. When he’s in the mood, there isn’t a boundary big enough - even in Australia! He’s coming into the tournament off the back of some scintillating knocks against Pakistan and Australia.
You can back him at odds of 4.5 to top the run-making rankings!
Check out some of these stats that justify our selection!
In 2022, Dawid Malan has hit 453 runs at an average of 34.84 and a strike rate of 142.90.
England have won both T20 contests against Afghanistan.
If you combine Dawid Malan’s batting average of 39.3 with his average strike rate of 139, it gives him a BASRA (Batting Average plus Strike Rate Aggregated) rating of over 1,000. Only ten players from full member nations have bettered this number in the history of the game.
However you decide to bet, please ensure you do so responsibly at Pure Win!
Golf Tee Brings In Alex Hales To Tee Off For England!
How times can change? It wasn’t long ago that Alex Hales was an outcast in the England set-up, cast aside as a selfish player that didn’t adhere to team values - at least according to ex-England skipper Eoin Morgan.
The explosive opener was banned after failing a drugs test and was also implicated in the infamous night out in Bristol with Ben Stokes, who ended up behind bars. It looked very difficult for Hales to ever appear in an England shirt again.
Enter stage left Jonny Bairstow - the Yorkshireman slipped on a golf tee to break his fibula and dislocate his ankle in what is surely one of the more extreme injuries to ever occur on a golf tee. His injury opened up the door for Hales to return - and the Nottinghamshire man has sailed through it to seize the opportunity.
There was some unwanted disruption to England’s build-up to the tournament - the immensely talented Reece Topley suffered yet more injury heartache, damaging ankle ligaments to put him out of the competition. Tymal Mills has been called in to replace him. Luke Wood has been added to the reserve list in case of a further knock to the attack.
It’s a different story for Liam Livingstone, who has been managing a knock carefully to ensure he is ready for T20 World Cup action. He told reporters: “There's only so far you can push it before it swells up and knocks you back a couple of days. Flying hasn't made it the easiest. I have to compress it every time I fly. It's just the physios wrapping it up in bandages just so it doesn't swell up. The swelling's what limits my range of movement, which makes it a little more painful to train on.”
The explosive middle order man should be fit and raring to go in time for the opener.
Player to Watch: Jos Buttler
One of the most exciting players in world cricket is leading his country out for the first time as skipper at a World Twenty20. He’s a player that understands the script - don’t be surprised to see him have a say!
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
Afghanistan Place Hopes on Rashid Khan
It’s a new era for Afghanistan under coach Jonathan Trott - the ex-England international was handed the reins after Graham Thorpe fell ill earlier in the year. Trott admitted it felt strange to manage his new team against his old side on the biggest stage of all - but is relishing the challenge.
Speaking to reporters before the match, he said:”We haven't come here to make up the numbers, the players certainly don't feel like that or think like that, we certainly don't train like that. That's our goal: to do as well as we can. I think to sit here and put a number of wins would be unrealistic. The goal is to play consistently good cricket, be competitive for all 40 overs of the game and make sure we do that really well.
There was an injury scare in the build up the this clash - star opener and wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz was struck on the foot by a ball by Shaheen Shah Afridi in the final warm-up game against Pakistan. He’s been cleared fit to play, however!
It’s no secret how he will look to get one over on his old team - the mercurially talented Rashid Khan remains the jewel in the crown of Afghanistani cricket.
The Afghanistan cricket board confirmed his fitness, releasing a statement that said: “Team doctor stated that the results are clear with no bone fracture. He will be assessed in the next two days and is expected to be available for our England fixture on Saturday."
Player to Watch: Rahmanullah Gurbaz
The wicket-keeper is a crucial element to Afghanistan’s batting roster - he’ll need to be at his best if his side are to get anything from this.
Predicted Playing XI
Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (capt), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
England vs Afghanistan Head-to-Head
These two have only played against each other twice - England winning on both occasion.
Rain Should Stay Clear at Perth
Rain has been an issue at the start of this tournament, but Perth should see a largely dry day on Saturday, meaning we should get a full day’s play in/
Conclusion
This one can go to England. They have the stronger side on paper and will prove too good for Afghanistan
