mvaughan

It was a fine performance from England the other day and I was glad to witness a far more aggressive approach to their batting than what we've seen in recent times. There was real purpose and intent to the way they went about things and it was nice to see the returning Tim Bresnan smashing a few boundaries towards the end of the innings.

Of course Sri Lanka didn't do themselves any favours by bowling some horrible deliveries at the death which the likes of the aforementioned Bresnan and Eoin Morgan duly punished. They also suffered an awful batting collapse which meant they were never really in the game from an early stage of the second innings. That said, the rain helped England a lot more than it did Sri Lanka, and there was a lot more in the pitch for the home side's attack than that of the visitors. The ball also did a lot more under lights than it did when England batted and we know what a threat James Anderson can be when that's the case.

Sometimes England get into a groove where they find great self-belief and go on a run where they win three or four tough, tight matches on the trot. But I think it's a little early to assume that's going to happen in this Series. At the very least I think this second ODI will be a lot closer and the biggest clue as to who may win it will lie in the sort of pitch that they prepare up at Headingley.

If it's a green top where the ball does something then you have to fancy England, who have the better knowledge of those sort of conditions and the better seam attack. But I have a sneaky feeling that the Headingley pitch will be a belter, the sort of track where Sri Lanka chased 321 with 13.5 overs to spare a few years ago. And if it's a flat track that can be conducive to spin, then Sri Lanka will be in pole position to level the Series. Not just because they have more options in the spin department but also because they have the sort of batsman who will really enjoy batting on that sort of track. One such man is Mahela Jayawardene, who failed at The Oval the other day but showed us just what he can do when he gets his eye in with that swashbuckling innings in the T20 match. Back him to top score for Sri Lanka.

It's therefore worth taking a gamble that the Headingley curator produces another lovely track and at the current prices I'm tempted to stick with Tillekeratne Dislhan's men to win this one. I can understand how with rain on the cards the other day Dilshan decided he'd rather chase a reduced total with ten wickets in hand than bat first. But I don't think he'll be making that mistake again and this time he'll probably choose to have first digs and aim for somewhere between 280 and 300. And that should be enough to defend.

One of the big positives for me the other day about England was the batting of Craig Kieswetter who played some lovely shots in a priceless innings. Alastair Cook was unlucky, you always are when you're caught down the legside like that. But I fancy England's latest opening partnership to make a good start at Headingley so I'm also backing them to get 30 or more on the board before the fall of the first wicket at 2.0.


Recommended bets:

Back Sri Lanka to win @ 2.4
Back Mahela Jayawardene to be top Sri Lanka batsman @ 5.0
Back 30 runs or more in the England Opening partnership market @ 2.0


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