England v South Africa Third Test: 5 Bets to Take

The much anticipated between England and South Africa gets underway tomorrow at The Oval. The series is tied at one apiece with the Proteas looking to win their first Test series against England since 2012.

has been in top form with his picks of late, and he has five bets to take for the third Test at The Oval.

Draw

There are a lot of factors that make this Test a difficult one to call. Both sides have suffered convincing defeats in the series so far making this series evenly poised. There is rain expected in London for the first two days. That is why I have gone for the value bet which is a draw at 3.40.

35% of the 103 Test matches at The Oval have ended in a draw so we could see that happen in this Test match. The only concern would be these two sides’ inability to bat for long periods as we’ve yet to get to the fourth day of a Test in this series.

Ryan Rickelton

Many South African fans have been calling for Rickelton to get a run of games in the Test team. His performances in domestic cricket and in the County Championship have been fantastic. In this season’s County Championship, he scored 539 runs for Northamptonshire in eight innings at an average of 77.00, with 6 fifties and two centuries to his name.

He is more than ready to perform for the Proteas at the highest level and I feel him coming in at number 5 could help him settle into his innings as we’ve seen how both teams’ top orders have struggled in the series.

Anrich Nortje

I backed Nortje to be the Proteas’ top bowler in the previous Test and he did not disappoint. While he can be expensive, Nortje has been one of the stars of the series so far and I expect him to figure strongly on a surface that has historically offered decent pace and good bounce.

The South African quick has taken a three-wicket haul in each of his three innings in the series so far and I expect him to be amongst the wickets once again.

Ben Stokes

England’s captain is coming off a man-of-the-match performance after his century and four crucial wickets in the previous Test. Stokes finally looks to have found the right tempo to his batting in the last match and will be a handful once again for the Proteas’ bowling attack.

He has a fantastic record against South Africa, scoring 4 hundreds in his 14 Tests against Boucher’s men. Back him to be England’s top 1st innings batsman.

Fall Of 1st Wicket

This market has been profitable in this series with England’s opening pair both struggling for runs. Elgar and Erwee have not been as bad as the two Englishmen but they too have struggled. There is rain expected at The Oval tomorrow which means it will be overcast, therefore making it even tougher for the openers to have a decent opening stand.