Afghanistan v Australia: World Cup betting preview, TV channel, team news & tips

TV: Sky Sports Cricket, 1.30pm Saturday

County Ground, Bristol

Australia beat Afghanistan by 275 runs on their way to victory at the 2015 World Cup but the Afghans have made significant progress in the last four years.

They are still 7-1 underdogs against a side who have won four of the last five World Cups, but their three-wicket warm-up win over Pakistan provided another warning that they should not be taken lightly.

Australia, though, have been well backed for the trophy after eight straight ODI wins over India and Pakistan and an impressive warm-up victory against England at the Rose Bowl.

Aaron Finch’s men are just 1-10 to clear the first hurdle on their path to Lord’s.

Best bets
All eyes are on David Warner and Steve Smith as they play their
first internationals for Australia since returning from year-long bans for ball-tampering.

A decent case can be made for both in the top-runscorer betting – Warner had a sensational IPL campaign for Hyderabad and smashed 178 off 133 balls against the Afghans in Perth in 2015.

Smith’s 116 against England followed warm-up knocks of 76 against the West Indies and unbeaten knocks of 89 and 91 against New Zealand in Brisbane.

But the big two may find themselves overshadowed by Usman Khawaja, who may drop down to number three to accommodate Warner despite his excellent run of form at the top of the order.

Khawaja took full advantage of his fellow left-hander’s absence in March’s series in India and five ODIs against Pakistan in the UAE.

His scores in those ten games were 50, 38, 104, 91, 100, 24, 88, nought, 62 and 98 and his 89 in Monday’s warm-up victory over Sri Lanka should have cemented his place in the top three.

Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi has starred in various T20 leagues with his hard hitting and canny off-spin.

Nabi can exceed bet365’s performance line of 39.5 – his warm-up efforts made up at 94 (3-46 and 34) against Pakistan and 64 (1-34 and 44) against England at The Oval.

Recommendations
U Khawaja top Australia runscorer
1pt 4-1 Betfair, Paddy Power
M Nabi over 39.5 performance points
3pts 10-11 bet365

Team news
Afghanistan
Wicketkeeper-opener Mohammad Shahzad is a slight doubt after retiring hurt with a hamstring problem against Pakistan last week.

Australia
Warner missed the warm-up win over Sri Lanka with a sore leg but he has been passed fit to play and skipper Finch hinted that he will open the batting.

Venue
The boundaries at Bristol’s County Ground weren’t big enough for the West Indies, who hit 18 sixes in a total of 421 in a warm-up against New Zealand.

England chased down 359 to beat Pakistan with five overs to spare on May 14 and Moeen Ali hit a 53-ball ton against the Windies in 2017.

Weather
Sunny intervals and temperatures reaching 24C.

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