Australia and England will play the seventh and the final game of the ODI series at Chester-le-Street, and with the scoreline reading what it is currently, the hosts could be forgiven if they believed that a 0-7 score was possible against them.
This is the reason why I feel that Centrebet’s offer of 2.85 for an English win is rather low; given the situation in the series, and given how desperately hungry the Aussies would have been after their loss in the Ashes, one would have thought that the odds of an English win look rather long.
Betfair, on the other hand, offers 1.54 for an Australian victory, clearly, banking on law of averages that England may just come back from the dead – from the Ashes? – and stage a recovery. But for that to happen, they will need to bat, bowl and field well together, something they haven’t managed since the last test match at the Oval.
A full-strength Australian line-up should take field in the last game, unlike the previous couple of games when a couple of their main players had been rested. This should make it even more difficult for the English. The only consolation for the hosts is the return of Paul Collingwood, who should start refreshed after the break and will be a key if England need to win at least one game!