These five talking points and tips can help you build your #BetYourWay for the first T20I between New Zealand and England in Christchurch on Friday.
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Here are Guy Giles’ cricket betting tips for the first T20I, which starts at 01:00am on Friday.
Mixed start for England
England travelled to New Zealand on a high after a historic World Cup-winning summer, with their T20 squad boosted by the presence of several exciting youngsters.
The likes of Tom Banton, Pat Brown and Saqib Mahmood have, however, struggled in their two warm-up matches against New Zealand A.
It was the old guard of Adil Rashid and Jonny Bairstow who led them to a six-wicket win in their opener, before the hosts responded with an eight-wicket thrashing on Tuesday.
The Black Caps are fresh off a 2-1 series win in Sri Lanka, while their last T20 match-up at home saw them beat India by the same score.
New Zealand to win the match {ODDS:490534521:3/4}
Munro is back
England’s final warm-up match was dominated by one player: Colin Munro.
The veteran opener smashed an unbeaten 107 from just 57 balls to carry New Zealand A to a simple eight-wicket victory.
Munro was dropped from the New Zealand side during the World Cup after scoring just 125 runs across their first six matches.
His poor run continued in Sri Lanka with scores of 0, 13 and 12, but he looks to be back in form after Tuesday’s performance.
Colin Munro to score over 22.5 runs {ODDS:490995904:5/6}
Ferguson still firing
Lockie Ferguson was one of New Zealand’s most consistent performers during the World Cup, taking 21 wickets in nine matches.
That was good enough to see the right-arm seamer named in the Team of the Tournament, alongside captain Kane Williamson.
Ferguson finished with figures of 3/32 in the first warm-up match of the tour, his first outing since taking three wickets in the World Cup final on 14 July.
He was without one in the second match on Tuesday, but there is no doubt that the 28-year-old will be one of the Black Caps’ principal threats with the ball on Friday.
Lockie Ferguson to be New Zealand’s top bowler {ODDS:490995928:7/2}
Bairstow with point to prove
It was a mixed summer for Bairstow, with the wicketkeeper-batsman playing a big part in England’s World Cup win before a series of failures in the Ashes saw him booted from the Test side for this tour.
He remains in the limited-overs side, though, and underlined his continuing quality with a match-winning knock of 78* off 45 balls in the first tour match.
Bairstow is a player who thrives on adversity, with two match-winning centuries in the World Cup coming after a surprise outburst against the press.
His Test omission will have had a similar effect, and it would not be a surprise if the 30-year-old puts in another big performance this week.
Jonny Bairstow to score over 24.5 runs {ODDS:490995890:5/6}
Parkinson shows promise
Lancashire leggy Matt Parkinson is one of five uncapped players selected in the England squad, rewarded after taking 46 wickets across the last two T20 Blast campaigns.
That form earned the 23-year-old both a first international call-up and a £75k deal to play for the Manchester Originals in The Hundred next summer.
Parkinson sat out the first tour match but got his chance on Tuesday and impressed more than his figures of 1/38 would suggest, with two dropped catches coming off his bowling.
There is no guarantee that Parkinson will play in the first T20I on Friday, but he is certainly one to watch out for if he does.
Matt Parkinson to take over 1.5 wickets {ODDS:493040457:6/4}
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