Thursday and Friday T20 World Cup predictions & cricket betting tips

Free cricket tips, best bets and analysis for Thursday and Friday's matches in the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Where to watch

Afghanistan v Ireland
Sky Sports Cricket & Main Event, 5am Friday

Australia v England
Sky Sports Cricket & Main Event, 9am Friday

Best bets

Aaron Finch to score under 19.5 runs v England
Sky Sports Cricket & Main Event, 9am Friday
2pts 5-6 Hills

Preview

England suffered a shock defeat to 7-1 underdogs Ireland at the T20 World Cup on Wednesday and that result increases the significance of their game against holders and hosts Australia at the MCG on Friday morning.

The Aussies made a dismal start to their title defence, losing to New Zealand by 89 runs, but they won their second game against Sri Lanka and their hopes of reaching the semi-finals were boosted by England's setback against the Irish.

Jos Buttler's men lost by five runs on the D/L method after rain forced an early end to Wednesday's game in Melbourne, where New Zealand's fixture against Afghanistan was later abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Just two points separate the six teams in Group 1 after two rounds of matches and, with only the top two qualifying for the semis, Friday's showdown between the Ashes rivals is a crucial clash.

England hammered the Aussies by eight wickets at last year's T20 World Cup and won 2-0 against them in a pre-tournament series earlier this month but bookmakers rate the hosts narrow favourites in Melbourne.

Rain has disrupted the early part of the tournament and a showery forecast looms over this fixture so it may pay to focus on the batsmen at the top of the order.

Australia captain Aaron Finch batted through the run-chase against Sri Lanka but a painful innings of 31 not out from 42 balls did little to dispel suggestions that the veteran opener does not merit a place in the side.

Finch himself admitted that he "just couldn't hit the ball" and England's classy fast bowlers will be confident of getting rid of a player who crawled to four off his first 15 balls against the Lankans.

Ireland are 13-10 to follow up their win over England by beating Afghanistan at the MCG in Friday's first game. They won 3-2 against the Afghans in August's series in Belfast but had lost 12 of their previous 13 T20 meetings and, with more rain forecast, no pre-match bet stands out.

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