After a bit of an anticlimactic one-day international series between Australia and England that ended in a 4-1 win to the visitors, the two teams will be back at it in the Trans-Tasman Twenty20 Tri-Series, along with New Zealand set to kick off on Saturday, the 3rd of February.
The three nations will face off in a round robin tournament in which each team will play against the other two teams twice, totalling six games over two weeks before the final will be held at Eden Park on the 21st of February between the two top teams. Games will be spread between Australian and New Zealand grounds, with the MCG, SCG and the Bellerive Oval as the Aussie stadiums set to host a game.
The series has thrown the finals of BBL07 into disarray, with a host of stars that would have otherwise been playing in the domestic competition set to miss the finals. Aaron Finch, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Travis Head, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake and Andrew Tye have all been selected in the Australian T20 squad, and all represent BBL teams that finished in the top four. They’ll be joined by perennial Aussie T20 stars such as captain David Warner, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
TIP: Aaron Finch series leading runscorer (Australia) - $3.50 at Ladbrokes
The English squad looks very similar to the one that stepped out for the ODI series, with one massive inclusion. Ben Stokes has been named in the squad for the Trans-Tasman Series, and should have a massive impact in his return to international cricket after a hiatus due to legal troubles. Stokes fetched the highest price of the IPL auction this season at just over $2.4 million AUD. Stokes, along with the likes of Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan give the English side a deadly line-up with the bat.
TIP: Abdil Rashid top series wicket taker (England) - $4 at Ladbrokes
As it so often is, the New Zealand squad will be lead by a handful of superstar players. Trent Boult and Tim Southee will spearhead the bowling attack while dominant top order batsmen Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson should hold together the batting line-up. One wildcard to watch will be all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme, who went for close to $430,000 AUD in the recent IPL auction, and is capable of turning a game with bat or ball.
TIP: Martin Guptil series leading runscorer (New Zealand) - $3.25 at Ladbrokes
Tough series to call here. The England squad were dominant in the ODI series, but besides Roy and Hales at the top of the order, we think they lack the raw hitting power that you need to get the job done in a T20 match. They are so effective in ODI’s because of their ability to score at 5 or 6 runs per over through the middle section of an innings, but the advantage in pure power hitting needed over 20 overs has to fall with the Aussies.
D’Arcy Short, David Warner, Aaron Finch, Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell are all capable of scoring at a strike rate of over 200, and it only takes one of those four batsman to go off in any particular game, along with a steadying role from the likes of Travis Head, for the Aussies to win. The Australians have finally cottoned on to the fact that T20 is a completely different game, and rather than picking the most talented cricket players for their squad as they have in the past, they have gone with a team comprised of T20 specialists that have dominated the Big Bash League over the past few years.
Billy Stanlake and Andrew Tye are masters of the art of T20 bowling, but the T20 format is and always will be a batsman’s game. With the lineup we mentioned above, along with some lower order hitting power in Marcus Stoinis and Alex Carey, it’s extremely hard to see the Aussies losing enough games to see them miss out on at least making the final.
TIP: Australia to win the Trans-Tasman Series - $2.85 at CrownBet
Always Gamble Responsibly.
