The Hattrick - Ind Vs Eng 5th Test and NZ Vs Aus 2nd Test, March 2024 - Expert Betting Tips

Welcome back to The Hat Trick, brought to you by cricket-betting.com. I'm Ed Hawkins, and this is the live cricket betting show brought to you weekly. It tells you exactly what will be happening in two test matches this week. We've got India versus England, the fifth test from Dharamsala, and we've also got New Zealand vs. Australia from Christchurch, both games starting on Thursday.

Special tippers are returning again; we've got Manish finding the best stats angles, we've got John Wright, the former Aus compiler, and Ben finding the special bets. We start with India versus England. Our bookmaker is 10Cric, that's 10CRIC.com if you want to check it out online.

India is at 1.6, England at 3.3, the draw at 5.6. Remember, the standout bets come together at the end of each segment. We'll do India versus England first, as I said, then we'll do New Zealand versus Australia. 

Manish, what do we know about Dharamsala as a wicket? We know it's going to be very cold; I've seen a snow forecast. What's going on?

"Yeah, it's going to be very cold, somewhere around 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, and that probably will help the fast bowlers. Overall, if you look at this ground, it's not a high-scoring one, even though only one test has happened here before, it was the highest score of 332. But if you look at the ODIs as well, the average batting score is somewhere around 228. 

So, this is not a high-scoring ground; it supports spinners as well as fast bowlers equally. Nathan Lyon has a five-fer here, and Umesh Yadav did have a five-fer across two innings. So, I would say it's even ground for batsmen and bowlers, and somebody who possesses both abilities would perform well here."

Okay, thanks, Manish. On to you, John. The series is won by India already. Your former's comparative factor in a dead rubber, to prices. Give a little bit of drift on that India price if you're doing this because you know not to be quite at it?

"Not really. I think with World Championship test points available, England is currently lying eighth, India is second. I still think there's a lot to play for. The fact that India is bringing back Bumrah in this test match shows to me this is not really a dead rubber. I think there's lots of play for, and I think this is one that this is a venue that England marks to be competitive. As Manish says, I think it will suit them. The pitch and it could be a little bit of a leveller."

Yeah, tend to think you're right, John, on that pitch being a leveler. Chilly conditions, the ball could move around. Have a look at those Indian batsmen and their feet movement; if they're rooted to the crease and it's swinging, look at backing shortening their runs in play with ten cricket. Ben, John talking about England being competitive, they've been pretty competitive but haven't managed to finish a game off. 

Should've won the last game but strangely became passive, wasn't it? They went into their shell with the bat. They also started giving Kuldeep singles when they got India on the floor but couldn't finish them off in the first innings. What's going on?

"I think it's just a function of teams going to India. I mean, look at India's history; just winning in India is an impossible task. I mean, I was looking back at the history of some of the great Australian sides, Steve Waugh failed all the time, you know, Warne, Ponting, they just constantly failed.

Australia won when Ponting was Captain in that series because Gilchrist ended up being captain. It's just, it's a country that it's very difficult to win in. So, I don't think it's a applied against the bazball; this is just hard to win in India."

Yeah, Shane Warne's record in India not very good either. Check that one out to illustrate Ben's point further if you want. Don't forget to check cricket-betting.com for all your cricket betting needs, folks. Let's get straight into it for the first Hat-Trick of the show and have those standout bets for the first test of the fifth test, starting with Manish. What do you got?

"As I said, I think the top batsmen are going to find it difficult to score runs here, so it's all about the middle order that is going to be deciding who will have an upper hand, especially in the first innings. 

I think Ravindra Jadeja has been really good in this series with bat as well as ball. He's the highest wicket-taker for India, tied with Ashwin, and he's just behind Gill and Rohit Sharma when it comes to runs. So, I'm pretty much going for Ravindra Jadeja to be the player of the match at 7.4."

Yeah, man of the match in that last test match, the only test match played in Dharamsala, as Manish says. John, let's come to you. What's your top pick?

"My top pick in this test match, I think, is that 10Cric has priced up the England bowling totally wrong, the price they are at and what's happened in the series so far. So, hence, they've got Hartley, who's got 20 wickets in the series so far, at 3.1, and they've got Bashir at 3.05. 

I don't think Bashir will play. I think England will go with three seamers. I think they'll go with Wood, Robinson, and Anderson, and I think the England team has earmarked Robinson to bowl well at this venue. 

It's all about bounce, it's all about delivery. High bounce. Robinson will perform well here, even though he didn't get any wickets in the last test match. He'll perform well here, and the price of him to be the top England wicket-taker in the first innings at five ten is a little bit derisory. That's my bet."

Now there you go, that's why John is here. He used to price up these markets, so he knows what he's talking about. Ben, what's your top pick from some of the specials out there with 10Cric?

"I'm very much with John on this. I like the bowlers. I mean, I didn't actually realize it was only going to be 10 degrees, which is even more reason to pick English bowlers, and then Indian batters are going to come out with jumpers and struggle. It's a cold condition. 

I like Jimmy. I think Anderson, for like 4.3, is still very long as England's top bowler. So, I'm actually thinking of him as my pick for the match at 4.3. Just like the rest, batsmen, I would avoid. The batsmen again, in difficult conditions, we could see some failures. Quickly on, yeah, I'm on the bowlers, and for me, it's Anderson."

Anderson top England first innings wicket-taker. Yep, okay, great. That's your first Hat-Trick.

Got another Hat-Trick coming up, standout bets for New Zealand vs Australia. Profit-loss figures for our tips, as for shows in one-point level stakes, Ben is known as -0.58, and Manish and John -3. 10Cric have prices for New Zealand Australia match odds market for you now. New Zealand 3.7, Australia 1.49, the draw 7. 

Manish, straight back to you, what do we know about the Christchurch pitch?

"So, pretty interesting one, the team batting second has won about 53% of the matches, which goes contrary to what test cricket is about. But if you look at the venues across New Zealand, the win percentage for team batting second is more than the win percentage for team batting first, which is 33 percent as opposed to 27% when batting first.

Here, it's all about winning the toss and bowling first because the team batting second has won about 53% of the matches out of the 12 that have happened so far. It's a pretty high scoring ground, but there have been certain low scores as well, so I would say win the toss, bowl first, and get the team out cheaply in the first innings, and that's your chance to win. The temperature would be around 20-25 degrees with a bit of clouds, so it's hotter than India."

Okay, John, pitches a bit of a leveler in the first innings in Wellington. For these two, Australia has shortened right up to 1.45. We're going 1.6, so that first game, random about that region, we wait on Australia and play here. I know we're supposed to love the Kiwis as punters, but my goodness, they are the most frustrating team in the world, constantly getting into winning positions and then chucking it away. 

They drive me absolutely mad. Yeah, it's always a mismatch, these two sides. I mean, I think the last time New Zealand won a test match was 1993. I think, without that Wellington test match, I think, you know. 

New Zealand won the toss, put Australia in, and Australia, I mean, that innings of Cam Green at 174, he carried his bat through in his 174, was unbelievable on a real tricky pitch. So, I think Australia at the moment is very very strong. I think that Wellington pitch probably took New Zealand by surprise because Wellington doesn't usually turn so much, and it was very favorable for Nathan Lyon.

I think, you know, the Australian balance of the side, they've got six batters they've got at the moment, I think they're going to stick with them for a period of time. The bowling, the balance of the bowling attack is unrivaled worldwide, and I struggle to see how New Zealand is going to be competitive even in the second test. 

Yeah, it's continuing my rant about the Kiwis. How do you prepare a pitch at home for Nathan Lyon, and then don't even realize you've done that? I don't know. Ben, any hope for the hosts?

"I, they're my favorite side. I mean, I like Australia obviously, but I like the Kiwis. The batting lineup for New Zealand is exceptional. Aside from a run out, which was the dumbest thing I've ever seen, which you don't, you shouldn't run yourself out in a test match, but you know, Kane knows better.

They've got a decent batting lineup. Unfortunately, when you're facing the likes of probably the most underrated bowler in Australia's history, in Nathan Lyon, you've got Cummins, we've got Hazlewood, and you've got Starc, that's a big problem straight away, no matter how good your batsmen are at home. They're gonna struggle.

Having said that, there are some really good betting odds there, but they're gonna struggle, right? Too difficult for New Zealand even at home. Australia is going to win this one quite easily, I think"

Okay, let's hope for better sugar, and that Australia's price spikes in play. We don't want to be really advising 1.45 shots. Suggest 1.8 might be the price you get involved with if that's your bag. 

Right, let's go to standout picks, the Hat-Trick of bets please. Ben, I'm coming straight back to you first, keep you on your toes. 

Just to start with and come back to the one, I think Cameron Green at 6.8 for the century is a very interesting one, probably a bit risky, but at 50, he batted exceptionally well at 3.25. The irony is the groaning in Australia is, given himself 10 tests, stick around, it's kind of there's a little bit comparison with Cameron Green and our favorite captain at the moment in Marsh.

So, Cameron Green is still, it's still, there's still not convinced that he's the right test batsman, but anyway, he did the masses, scored 174, so 50 runs for him at 3.25, some interesting one.

The one that did jump out at me, though, top team with top batsman, New Zealand at 2.2. They've got a good batsmen. I'm not saying they'll win the match, but at 2.2 for the best batsman at home, I think that's a great one. That's my house."

Australia, about it not being so hot over the last couple of years, so that's a decent pick from Ben, that Kiwi to be the top run scorer. Manish, your standout pick with 10 cric, the New Zealand vs Australia?

"I completely agree with Ben. I like New Zealand's batting lineup; they bat deep. Even Phillips scored 71 in the last game batting at seven, I think. So, I'm going to go with Kane Williamson to score 33.5 runs or over at 1.83. He has more than 1000 runs in the last 10 games. As long as he doesn't get himself run out, I think 33.5 is too low for a person of his caliber. So, Kane Williamson to score 33.5 at 1.83 is my bet."

And Williamson wins 30% of the time, the last two years, on top. But I'm glad you mentioned Glenn Phillips. Is there a better cricketer in the world across all formats? He's taking five-wicket hauls in test matches. He's a wicketkeeper blasting white ball stuff, now is scoring runs in about test cricket as well. Incredible stuff from him. The last word and the last bet goes to John Wright. For this one. 

I'm big. I'm big with Cameron Green. I think he's massively overpriced at 6.8 to be top in the first innings. Now, he's batting at four. I think that'll be his place now. I think the Australians will build their team around him. I think Andrew McDonald has said they're going to rest him in the lead-up, so he's not going to play ODI cricket, it's not going to play T20 cricket. 

They know that he's the three-format player that will play all things. But with all the Australian players near retirement, they'll get preference. He's about, he got 100 in the lead-up to the last game when he got 174 out. I think Cam Green is the real deal. There's a few derivatives, whether you're overpriced, the number of fours, and him to get over 20, to 5 and a half, but I'm gonna go in with him to be the top scorer. Definitely overpriced. Bam, for 6, it's Cam Green, top Australia bat in the first innings."

There you go, your double hat trick is done. The three standout bets for the fifth test between India and England from Dharamsala, starting on Thursday, and also New Zealand versus Australia from Christchurch, starting on Thursday as well, brought to you by cricket-betting.com. Go and check out the match prediction site, loads of stuff on there. You get to get your teeth into if cricket betting is your thing. We will see you next time.