Friday sees the start of the Second Test between England and South Africa. England made easy work of South Africa in the First Test at Lord’s and will be looking to take a 2-0 lead in this series at Trent Bridge.
England captain Joe Root led by example in that First Test, particularly in the first innings where he scored an incredible 190. Although he was bowled out incredibly early in his second innings (5 runs), his confidence is clearly high and I imagine he will once again look to lead from the front with his batting. Joe Root to Score a Fifty in either innings is very well priced at a profitable 11/8.
Moeen Ali rightfully took the headlines at Lord’s for his spectacular bowling display in which he took ten wickets in the match, using the dry Lord’s pitch to his advantage to punish the South African batsmen. However, one player that went a little under the radar was Stuart Broad who took two vital wickets from the South Africa top four in the first innings. Trent Bridge, of course, is Broad’s home ground and he always seems to find that little bit extra in Tests in Nottingham. His record of 34 wickets and economy of 2.58 (far lower than his overall economy of 3.00) in seven Tests at Trent Bridge is an excellent demonstration of this. Broad to be England’s top bowler in the first innings at Trent Bridge at 11/4 is a good price.
There were not too many bright spots in the South African display at Lord’s last week, however, one of them was Quinton de Kock who played an excellent 50 in South Africa’s first innings to dig his side out of a huge hole. Although many South Africans are calling him to be played higher up the order, de Kock is a very useful asset down at the lower end of the order and has scored three 50s in his last five innings. The odds on de Kock scoring another Fifty in this match look good for punters at 5/2.