Cricket 4th ODI: Pakistan v England Odds and Betting Preview

DUBAI, UAE – The fourth and final One Day International between Pakistan and England takes place in Dubai on Tuesday. The tourists will hope to complete a series whitewash to banish the memories of a torrid Test series in the United Arab Emirates.

England are the general 4/5 favourites to win Tuesday’s encounter, a result that would see them move up to fourth in the ICC One Day rankings. Pakistan only have pride left to play for and can be backed at a standout 23/20 to finish the series on a high.

Pakistan have struggled in this series which was totally unexpected following the dominance they showed as they whitewashed England in the Test matches. Their batting line-up has failed to perform in the 50-over format of the game and opener Imran Farhat only has a single century in 50 ODIs for his country which is a very poor return for a talented player. Pakistan hold many aces in the spin department but the pitches do not always suit this type of bowling and they need to be better equipped to change their plans when the conditions don’t suit. The bowlers helped Pakistan through to the semi-final of last year’s World Cup but they need to find more options as they build towards the next one in 2015.

England have shown signs of some improvement in One Day International cricket and their three-nil lead in this series highlights this fact. Steven Finn has done nothing to harm his chances of a Test recall for the trip to Sri Lanka later in the year and he has been the pick of some superb pace bowling from England’s attack. The young and talented Jos Buttler has yet to feature in this series but an injury has forced him to watch from the sidelines. The England selectors may decide to rest some of their stars with the series already in the bag and Tim Bresnan could replace James Anderson for this final match.

In the Top Pakistan Batsman betting, Younis Khan heads the market quoted at 7/2 with most firms despite missing the third game at this ground on Saturday. Mohammad Hafeez is a standout 4/1 with Stan James and he has struggled to build on a number of starts he has made in this series. He took the attack to England in the last game before being trapped LBW to Finn for 29 runs. Misbah-ul-Haq is priced up at 11/2 with bet365 while Azhar Ali, Imran Farhat and Asad Shafiq can all be backed at 6/1 with sportingbet. Shahid Afridi has scored 81 runs in the three matches and looks overpriced at 12/1 with the same firm given the frequency of Pakistan’s top order to fall cheaply.

It is not surprising to see Alastair Cook installed as the 3/1 favourite with Ladbrokes in the Top England Batsman market. The skipper and opening batsman has led from the front scoring centuries in the opening two games before he was caught out on 80 in the last game as he attempted three consecutive ODI centuries. Kevin Pietersen hit himself back into form with an unbeaten 111 runs in the nine wicket win over Pakistan on Saturday and he is a general 7/2 shot to top score here. Jonathan Trott is quoted at 9/2 while Ravi Bopara is a 6/1 chance with sportingbet in this market.

The spinner Saeed Ajmal is the 11/4 co-favourite at Ladbrokes with Shahid Afridi in the Top Pakistan Bowler betting. Ajmal was the only Pakistan player to take a wicket in Saturday’s encounter and he also managed a five-wicket haul in the opening game defeat in Abu Dhabi. Abdur Rehman and Umar Gul are 4/1 chances while Aizaz Cheema is quoted at 11/2 with Coral.

Steven Finn and Stuart Broad are the most prominent players in the Top England Bowler market with the pari priced at 3/1 with Ladbrokes. Finn has taken eleven wickets in three games and has shown pace and variation in his deliveries. Graeme Swann is priced up at 7/2 with bet365 while Tim Bresnan could play a role in Dubai and he is a 9/2 chance with Coral.

Play begins at 11.00 GMT on Tuesday 21st February and all the action is broadcast live on Sky Sports 1.

Pakistan v England – Match Result Odds