mvaughan

It's make or break time for England as far as this ODI Series goes and the last thing they want is to have to play three dead rubbers as a result of losing this one.

The absences of Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Graeme Swann through injury have understandably weakened the side but, ironically, it's been their batting that's let them down. Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan have all made starts at one stage or another but none have gone on and scored a century and tonnes win ODI matches. Just look at the impact the hundreds scored by Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh had on proceedings in the first two matches. One of England's top four needs to score a century or else I fear Australia will win yet again.

I've talked about who I think should open the batting with Strauss elsewhere but I think England need to stick with Paul Collingwood in the middle-order. He's struggling for form with the bat and has been since the start of the Ashes series but you always get the feeling with him that one good knock can radically change his fortunes. They're also a far more balanced side with him in the team because of the bowling option he gives you and what he brings to the party in terms of his fielding. 'Catches win matches' is one of those tired old cricket clichés but it's true, as is the fact that run-outs can also turn a game and saving boundaries goes a long way to putting pressure on the opposition. We all know how important Colly is when it comes to those three things.

A word on Samit Patel. It's hugely frustrating for England that he hasn't been prepared to do his bit to meet the minimum standards of fitness that the management set him as a goal. No-one asked him to run marathons, they just asked to see an improvement but he hasn't made the effort to put in the hard yards and has rightfully been snubbed for the World Cup. I've got no respect for players who aren't prepared to work hard. He's got all the talent in the world with both bat and ball and he'd make the perfect partner for Graeme Swann in terms of tying teams down in those middle overs, but he clearly doesn't want it enough. And that's a shame. For himself and for England.

Australia are carrying all the momentum here but each match has been relatively close and with the return of a refreshed James Anderson and Kevin Pietersen almost certain to play as well, I'm going to stick with them one last time.

Recommended bets:
Back England to win at 2.2
Back Andrew Strauss to be top England runscorer at 5.0
Back Shane Watson to be top Australia runscorer at 4.6

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