England vs. New Zealand 1st T20 International Tips: Phillips to sparkle for Black Caps
Cricket World Cup fever will begin to kick into full power over the coming weeks and England's quest for world supremacy once again will kick off with the first of four T20 matches against New Zealand on Wednesday night, as the pair clash at Chester-le-Street, Durham.
Our man Steve Chambers has taken a look at the betting for the T20 international clash, which is a repeat of the 2019 Cricket World Cup final and he has picked out his two best bets for a match that England will head into as warm favourites.
Glenn Phillips - Top New Zealand Batsman @ 11/2
With England available at odds as short as 4/9 to win the match on Wednesday then it's no value in backing a home win, but New Zealand have some very smart players set to be unleashed with the bat, however, the value could lie further down the betting in the Top New Zealand batting.
The likes of Devon Conway and Finn Allen have been smashing the ball to all parts in The Hundred, which concluded on Sunday evening and that opening pairing are likely to return to the top of the order for this contest, but it's the 11/2 about Glenn Phillips being the top NZ batsman that makes the appeal.
Hard-hitting in the middle order, Phillips walloped a swashbuckling 65 off 37 balls in a warm-up win over Gloucestershire on Sunday and while he will need the top order to falter - as he comes in at number five - if he can get to the crease in the second half of the innings then he's more than capable of hitting the ball to all parts and bagging a quickfire half-century.
A Boundary to be hit (Off the Bat) in each of the first 3 overs of the match @ 15/8
Both teams have tremendous talent opening the batting with England likely to unleash the likes of Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow at the top, while the abovementioned Conway and Allen will lead the Black Caps into bat. Well, with such attacking brilliance opening the batting then why not take a chance with Paddy Power's 15/8 about a boundary being hit off the bat in each of the first three overs of the match.
With fielding restrictions for the first six overs, only two fielders will be allowed out the 30 yard circle, so the batsmen will be unleashing over the top and trying to get off to a flying start. Buttler, who topped score in The Hundred is one of the best limited overs batsmen in world cricket and he heads into the match in fine fettle, while Malan is another with a talent for finding the gaps.
As mentioned previously Conway and Allen have been scoring plenty of runs in The Hundred, so the 15/8 is more than fair for what should be an absolute run-fest in the north east.
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