England v Australia: top series runscorer betting preview, predictions and tips

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The top England first-innings runscorer market has been a minefield for punters with 12 different players winning the heat in the 16 Tests since the end of the 2017-18 Ashes.

The inconsistency of England's batting was underlined by last week’s Test against Ireland as night-watchman Jack Leach, promoted from number 11 to opener in the second innings, made 92 – the highest score of the match at Lord’s.

Captain Joe Root top-scored only once in England’s last 16
Test first innings yet he is a clear favourite to be their leading series runscorer against Australia.

His first Test innings as skipper was 190 against South Africa in 2017 but he has managed only four centuries in 50 subsequent innings as skipper and a likely promotion to bat at number three – seemingly against his wishes – won’t fill punters with confidence.

Preference is for a couple of stars of England’s World Cup triumph.
Ben Stokes was rested for the Ireland Test after his heroics against New Zealand and, although he rode his luck towards the end of the final, his batting throughout the tournament was hugely impressive.

Stokes’s last five innings at the World Cup were 82 not out, 89 (against Australia), 79, 11 and 84 not out and most of those runs came when his side were in trouble.

Restored to the vice-captaincy in Test cricket, the left-hander should be full of confidence with the bat. He averages 38 since the start of 2016 and looks too big at 8-1 to shine in a struggling batting line-up.

Jos Buttler’s crucial 110-run stand with Stokes kept England in the World Cup final and he has also played some important Test innings since last year’s recall.

Buttler was the leading runscorer in the two-Test series against Pakistan in 2018 before scoring a maiden Test century against India at Trent Bridge later that summer.

His tally of 250 runs for England in the low-scoring winter series in Sri Lanka was second only to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes and the second act of his Test career has yielded eight fifties and a ton in 24 innings.

Buttler had a disappointing 2015 Ashes series, averaging just 15, but his last ten ODI knocks against the Aussies include unbeaten scores of 100, 91 and 110 and he looks a more complete Test batsman these days.

The vulnerability of England’s top order means Stokes and Buttler are serious contenders at big prices but it is hard to quibble with Steve Smith’s status as favourite to be Australia’s leading Ashes runscorer.

Of course, Smith hasn’t played a Test match since his role in the sandpaper scandal in March 2018 but he is a masterful batsman in the longest form of the game.

The way he blunted England’s bowlers in the 2017-18 Ashes in Australia was extraordinary – in just seven innings he piled up 687 runs, nearly 250 more than any other batsman in the series.

Smith was also prolific in his last series in England, scoring a double-century at Lord’s and 143 at The Oval in Australia’s two victories.

The bigger the challenge, the more likely the former captain is to rise to it – his last eight Test matches against India have featured seven centuries – and, once he is in, he is a difficult man to dislodge.

Smith has reached 50 in 47 Test innings, going on to 100 on 23 occasions and his conversion rate of 49 per cent towers over Root’s figure of 28 per cent.

The Aussie right-hander had a solid World Cup campaign, signing off with 85 in the semi-final defeat to England and the home bowlers should be seeing plenty more of him this summer.

Recommendations
B Stokes top England series runscorer
2pts 8-1 Hills
J Buttler top England series runscorer
1pt 12-1 Hills
S Smith top Australia series runscorer
3pts 2-1 bet365, Hills

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