mvaughan

The start of the series is going to be massive. Eight of England's XI will have played in the Test team so a win in the first ODI will help them clear the negative thoughts. But a South Africa victory and it could prove to be a long series for the England players. The Betfair market can't split the two teams at the moment, both trading at just over evens, but this is probably more of a reflection on England's good recent ODI record (whitewashes over Pakistan in February, the West Indies in June and Australia in July) than the state of play going into the series. The Aussies were coming off the back of no cricket when England rolled them over - South Africa are a completely different proposition; they've played plenty of cricket and are brimming with confidence. They certainly represent...