England v South Africa - First Test

After some of the non-event Test series of recent times, this clash promises to be an absolute ripper. South Africa is one of the few powerhouse teams of world cricket and has lost just three of its last 17 Tests while England is starting to some positive signs with consecutive series wins over New Zealand both home and away.

Expect plenty of fireworks in this series with the flamboyant Pom Kevin Pietersen taking on his former countrymen. There is no love lost between Pietersen and the South Africans, particularly Proteas skipper Graeme Smith who Pietersen labelled a "'muppet'' in his autobiography.

Interestingly, England hasn't been a happy hunting ground for the Proteas who have won just nine of the 57 Tests they have played there. The most recent series between these two teams in England, in 2003, finished in a 2-2 draw.

For a rare change, England go into this series with a settled side and have set a quirky world record by naming an unchanged team for the sixth Test in succession. For South Africa, this series will be a great preparation for the bigger fish to fry when they take on Australia in both home and away Test series next summer. Graeme Smith's side, the No.2 ranked Test outfit, can smell blood in the water with all the retirements and changes in the world champion Australian side. They seriously believe they can take down the world champions and, if they are to be taken seriously, they simply must beat England in this series.

For that reason - and the fact we really like the no-holds barred way South Africa plays their cricket, we think they are specials to beat the Poms in this series. South Africa's most recent Test battle - a tough 1-1 drawn series in India - was much better preparation than England's twin Test series against New Zealand. The Kiwis are so low at the moment that they provide a poor form line and we think England could go into this series with false confidence.

The Poms also have no Andrew Flintoff and several players out of form, including batsmen Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood, so we don't like them at all in this series. There is no real menace in England's bowling attack while South Africa have plenty of bowling muscle in aggressive fast bowler Dale Steyn who has harvested an incredible 120 wickets at 21 from his first 23 Tests. Then there is the combative Makhaya Ntini and big improver Morne Morkel who is tipped to be a rising superstar.

So our first bet will be a two unit bet on South Africa to win the series at the terrific odds of $2.05 with TAB Sportsbet or $2 with Bill Hurley. South Africa do have a tendency to choke a bit away from home but we are sure they will be too good here.

The first Test of the four-Test series starts at Lords tonight but there is some rain in the air so we will be steering away from the match from a betting point of view.

We will be content to watch and learn for the second Test, and of course cheer on South Africa from a series betting point of view. But don't despair - we do have another series bet we are confident of having a collect on.

Dale Steyn, the threatening swing/pace bowler, has been an absolute sensation since making his Test debut in 2004. He has been the driving force behind just about all of South Africa's recent Test wins and has surged past Allan Donald's record for the quickest South African to 100 Test wickets. His brand of pace/swing looks custom made for English conditions and he should be far more suited to England than Ntini who basically thumps the ball into the pitch. Steyn, who was the world's leading quick in 2007 with 44 wickets at 17, bowls with an enormous amount of guile and we think he will dominate England's Test batsmen who have not faced him in bowler-friendly English conditions before.

We think he will easily take more wickets than his South African bowling counterparts. He is worth a two unit bet to be South Africa's leading series wicket-taker at $2.10 with either Blue Square or Bet 365. At $2.0 with Sportsbet make it a 1.5 unit bet.

As for other bets, we will be watching the first Test to assess the form of all players in English conditions. For the meantime, get on our suggested series bets and start cheering South Africa and the impressive Dale Steyn.

© 2008 Punting Ace.com

To discuss this Mr Cricket preview click here