England - South Africa Twenty20 Wagering Tips

August 18, 2008 - Lawrence Foley Kevin Pietersen leads his England side into a Twenty20 International for the first time at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday hoping to prolong the winning feeling he experienced in his first test as captain.  Pietersen and his side will be confident that they can secure victory after seeing South Africa humbled by the England Lions (kinder term for 'reserves') at the Count Ground, Derby on Saturday.  South African wicket keeper Mark Boucher, who scored an unbeaten 63 in that match, was quick to undermine the significance of the defeat and to be fair you would expect South Africa to play with greater intensity on Wednesday and in the upcoming ODI series.  
 
South Africa are favourites for the match, despite having only played England once before in Twenty20 cricket and losing.  Indeed, England have won their last three 20 over matches on the bounce, all against New Zealand, a welcome winning streak after losing their previous four.  I think that England may be worth a small bet at 11/10 as they look to make up for losing the test series and set down a marker for the upcoming ODIs.
 
Pietersen scored a century in debut as captain, and he is worthy favourite to be England's top scorer in this match.  KP averages just shy of 28 in 20-20 Internationals, which though respectable, is not an average that is befitting a player of his stature and calibre.  Ian Bell is not far behind his captain with his own Twenty20 average, but Pietersen is on such a hot streak at the moment that it is difficult to see anybody outscoring him.
 
South Africa's batting line up includes the recalled Herschelle Gibbs and is one of the favourites to be the leading South African runscorer.  Neither he nor Graeme Smith offers much appeal at their respective prices in this format, but Mark Boucher does at 16/1.  After giving away his wicket cheaply throughout the test series, his confidence will have been buoyed by the 63 he scored at the weekend.  Batting lower down the order, he has more of a chance of getting in and posting a competitive score in this format than he would in test cricket, and his price is too big.
 
Recommendations:
 
England to win - 11/10 (General)
Kevin Pietersen Top England Batsman - 100/30 (Stan James)
Mark Boucher Top South Africa Batsman – 16/1 (Stan James)