Cricket

International Cricket: England vs. Pakistan 7/8/21 ODI Cricket Prediction

England vs Pakistan
July 8, 2021 8:00 am EDT

Pakistan’s tour of the England begins tomorrow with the first ODI match being played in Cardiff. The match will start on Thursday July 8th, 2021 at 8:00am EST. This 3-match series will be played without most of England’s usual stars amid extraordinary circumstances of a Covid-19 outbreak. Pakistan, although knowing of the chaos chose not to call off the tour and with that said, the show will go on. Cardiff’s pitch last month was tacky and two-paced with occasionally savage lift. It provides the opportunity for both bat and ball to reign supreme but if discipline is not displayed by either team they will find themselves behind the 8 ball in this series. Who will hold their nerve longer?

England post an all-new line-up to be led by the return of their world-class all-rounder, Ben Stokes. Stokes was not expected to return to the England setup until August after recovering from a badly broken finger at the IPL, but he has been called up to lead an emergency 18-man squad in the wake of an England camp Covid outbreak. Many of the players chosen will be new to the side with some notable names in the mix such as; Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Zak Crowley and Dan Lawrence. If we know anything about how England go about their cricket is that they will always be ready for any challenge and their players are always eager to grasp every opportunity.

Pakistan last played in the ODI format against South Africa at the beginning of April, winning that series 2-1. There spirits will be high following that performance but they are going into this series with little knowledge of their opponents’ strengths and weaknesses which can prove to be detrimental, they have some homework to catch up with. Babar Azam, Pakistan’s captain and scoring machine will be looking to sweep the “new-look” England side 3-0 to claim the top spot in the ODI Super League in which they are currently third on the table. Every opportunity that they can ask for is there for the taking if they want it badly enough.

This is a difficult match call due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the English Team. Both teams will be highly motivated as Pakistan seems to reach the top of the Super League table, and the England players looking to make a name for themselves, and establish themselves on the team. Two teams destined to provide a thriller from start to finish in this series, England have home-court advantage but Pakistan have a core that have played together and with great aplomb for a while now. The first game will go to Pakistan with their experience and cohesiveness, their ability to find many match-winners within their XI will take them across the line against the England side. England has a lot of individual players who while inexperienced can be very dangerous however we have to back the team that has experience playing together, and that is Pakistan .

Andy T's Free Pick: Pakistan to win

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Andy T

Andy is a former player and huge tennis fan. He has a wealth of experience on the tennis circuit and uses it to make the best picks available.

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