RYAN SIDEBOTTOM: England v Sri Lanka preview & more!

The Super 12 Stage of the T20 World Cup is coming to an end, with semi-final spots still up for grabs in both groups.

England’s win against New Zealand has given them control of their own destiny in Group 1 – but they must beat Sri Lanka to make it to the final four, where they could be amongst New Zealand, who are strong favourites to beat Ireland in their final game. In Group 2, India and South Africa have their fates in their own hands – win their matches and they’re through to the semis.

Our brand ambassador Ryan Sidebottom knows all about high takes T20 cricket – he gives us his thoughts on England’s win against New Zealand, their match against Sri Lanka, and the final Group 1 games.

England showed their best form last time out – what did you make of their win?

It was a fantastic victory for England, and much needed to keep them in the hunt for the semi-finals. I thought it was a brilliant team performance – Jos Buttler being outstanding at the top of the order and setting a platform for the others along with Alex Hales to set a telling score.

The bowlers were absolutely brilliant, especially in those death overs when they didn’t concede many runs, and they nullified New Zealand’s dangerous middle order duo of Neesham and Mitchell after stopping Kane Williamson and Glenn Phillips. Those two were on a charge – the game could have gone either way – and the scores were nearly level, so to wrest control was some achievement.

It was great to see England put their best foot forward, but it was very much needed in the context of their previous disappointments and with the tightness of the group. That should give some momentum and confidence – and what I really enjoyed was that they were open to moving players around the order, and not just having a standard number three at three and number four at four.

They were open to change and it worked for them, but just an all-around good performance and Jos Buttler led perfectly from the front.

I think that with obviously New Zealand, Australia, and England still in the hunt, it could all come down to net run rate, which has made things very exciting for the fans.

All teams will know their scenarios before they play, but sometimes if you look at that too much, you can lose focus on winning the game and going out there and performing. That might have an effect on one of the teams – thinking too much about the scenarios at hand and questions such as ‘how many can we score’, ‘how many will our rivals win by etc’ rather than their own performances.

🇮🇪 Ireland v New Zealand 🇳🇿 (4am, Adelaide)

I think New Zealand will be too strong for Ireland. The Irish have done well to qualify and shown real class so far, but the sheer quality New Zealand have – especially with the bowling attack – may be too much for Ireland.

I think the batting still needs a shake-up – Kane Williamson is a world class player but others could be better suited to this format, and Glenn Phillips has saved their innings on two occasions so far – but their all round performances have really impressed and they did well to get as close as they did to England’s target.

🏏 RYAN’S TIPS: I’ll give Finn Allen one more go. He’s better than his last two scores and his 42 against Australia shows what he can do. For Ireland I think George Dockrell might have saved his best for last. He’s scored ducks the last twice but middle order batsmen have been crucial during this World Cup and if New Zealand’s bowling unit can restrict the openers again then he could get a better chance than odds of 8/1 suggest.

BACK Finn Allen Top New Zealand Run Scorer 1pt at 10/3 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

BACK George Dockrell Top Ireland Run Scorer 1pt at 8/1 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

🇦🇺 Australia v Afghanistan 🇦🇫 (8am, Adelaide)

All eyes will be on net run rate – Australia need as big a win as possible, although things are out of their hands now – and I think they’ll have too much for Afghanistan.

Australia haven’t played their best this tournament – Pat Cummins hasn’t bowled the way we know he can, and the top order hasn’t really fired – and David Warner needs to find a positive start, especially with doubts over Aaron Finch’s fitness after he picked up a hamstring strain against Ireland.

Afghanistan’s World Cup has been a washout. They missed out on a chance to face Ireland and whilst they gave England a slight scare, they’ve been below par as a unit, and they could only score 28 runs during the powerplay against Sri Lanka. Admittedly Sri Lanka’s excellent spinners did much of that damage, but Australia’s bowling attack can also limit them like England’s did here.

🏏 RYAN’S TIPS: Rashid Khan has a great record at Adelaide – he was the leading wicket-taker for the Strikers in two Big Bash Season and was also voted by his teammates as the club’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight season – and if he’s fit then he’s worth backing for top Afghanistan wicket taker.

Marcus Stonis has come to the rescue for Australia twice and after scores of 59 and 35, 7/1 looks big on him topping Australia’s run scoring charts, especially if he’s promoted up the order.

BACK Rashid Khan Top Afghanistan Wicket Taker 1 pt at 7/2 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

BACK Marcus Stoinis Top Australia Run Scorer 2 pts at 7/1 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England v Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 (8am Saturday, Syndey)

After their performance against New Zealand, England are understandably favourites but overlook Sri Lanka at your peril. I think they’ll have just enough to win this.

It’s worth looking at the Sri Lankans in detail. They’ve got a young, vibrant team again. One of the stars of the tournament has been Wanindu Hasaranga, who has been absolutely brilliant with the ball and looks to have a rare talent. It’ll be fascinating to see him take on Jos Buttler, who showed his very best against New Zealand last time out.

Net run rate will be a talking point beforehand, but England have just got to go out there and attempt to win the game, win it well, and then see how it goes. You can’t always look at net run rates. Yes, they’ll have that in the back of their minds, but I think that it could put them off and if you’re in that situation, you can think about the numbers rather than concentrating on doing the basics well and playing the team infront of you.

It should be a very good game, I think – we’ve had a number of thrillers during the tournament and with so many different outcomes possible there’ll be a big audience for these three games.

🏏 RYAN’S TIPS: I think the cream will rise to the top here. Jos Buttler can lead from the front again for England whilst Wanindu Hasaranga can top the wicket taking charts for the Lankans.

BACK Jos Buttler Top England Run Scorer 1pt at 5/2 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

BACK Wanindu Hasaranga Top Sri Lanka Wicket Taker 2 pts at 2/1 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)