It’s been a fantastic summer of sport for the English public, with most sports beginning to return as normal after all the turmoil of the previous year. The rollout of mass vaccinations has allowed people to mingle again and attend these sporting events. The hosting of games during Euro 2020 and England’s unfortunate yet close call finish got the country excited after such a terrible time.
Despite cricket not being a part of the Summer Olympics, fans now have some very big games of their own to look forward to in the coming months. Cricket has grown a lot in recent times and a lot of that is down to games being played in different formats. A lot of people were getting bored with long, laborious games which became quite uninteresting. Versions such as ODI, One Day International cricket or T20, Twenty Twenty cricket brought some well-needed love back to the game.
Yet, it has to be said despite all this, Test cricket is still looked upon as the biggest and strongest format in the game of cricket as a whole. People love to play, watch, or even just have a bet on the games at online betting sites like nettikasinot. So, what games have England got coming up on this front?
Facing an Upcoming Challenge
As of writing, the Test series between England and India is coming up quickly and England has named a strong squad. This Test will be held on home soil and is known as the Pataudi Trophy. Despite winning the inaugural tournament under its new guise in 2007, India has not won since then, leaving England with a firm grip on the trophy. Home advantage usually plays a strong part in this, as even seen in England’s Test result when losing in India in February.
It’s hard to know how this series will go as some believe India to have a superior team. It will be a good series and it is being eagerly awaited to see what will happen, as despite being viewed as the better team, it is believed India will struggle in English conditions. Consisting of a gruelling 5 test schedule, this will be a tough challenge for both teams and could go either way. If you feel like you can pick the winner, be sure and check out the generous odds on offer at online betting sites.
The Big One
This coming winter sees the return of the Ashes, a mouthwatering clash between two giants of the world game, England and Australia. It’s easily the biggest Test series and certainly the most well known globally. It is believed, strangely enough, that Australians would even rather win the Ashes over one of their traditional rivals, England, than win the cricket World Cup.
An overwhelming feeling of national pride envelopes Australia when this series is on and much as they would like to beat them in England, this time around the series takes place in Australia, from the end of November through to the middle of January. It’s a big deal for both countries with bragging rights at stake. Again, home advantage could be important here. Confidence is high in Australia that they will win the Ashes series at home.
How could the Games be Affected?
While at the moment, everything seems to be returning to normal, there is no guarantee that things will remain this way. Both India and Australia have had massive problems during the spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic throughout the world.
While India is struggling with huge numbers of cases and deaths, life must go in this gigantic country. While Australia has suffered too, they have enforced very strict lockdowns repeatedly throughout the country and restricted the international arrival and departures of people severely.
While it’s believed the Tests will go ahead, It remains to be seen if the England squad will be allowed to travel to either country and if so, what measures they will be put under when they get there. If they are permitted to enter, it would be expected they would have to undergo some form of quarantine and have had all their vaccinations and medical documents in order.
Looking a little Further Ahead
Continuing with the cycle of test matches, there is not much respite for the England team. Finishing in Australia in mid-January, they are thrust back into more high stakes action at the beginning of March against old foes, the West Indies. Spread out over March and taking in 3 tests, this promises to be an intriguing battle between the two as they compete against each other for the Wisden Trophy.
There is no news on when the next test against South Africa for the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy will take place next. If you are stuck for something to watch, or you just can’t get enough of cricket, the West Indies face Pakistan in August over 2 Tests and Australia face Afghanistan in a single Test match just before the Ashes.
Summary
It’s an interesting year ahead for England in cricket and even with all the information available these days, it’s hard to predict if they will come out on top or not. Bookmakers have released odds for some of the games, which is usually a good indicator of who it is felt will win. It’s important to always remember how important home ground advantage is in the game of cricket, previous series results have shown us this can have a massive bearing on the games. If you like having a bet, it will have an effect on the team’s match result odds at online betting sites.
For example, Australia hasn’t won a Test series in India since 1970 and returning the favour, India has only managed to win one series in Australia in the last 60 years. The rules can be slightly confusing to newcomers but it’s certainly a sport on the rise and seems to get more television coverage now than ever before. Sometimes they are left baffled by the strange scoring systems involved and the fact that the best team doesn’t always win over the course of a series.
It’s possible that even after a few entire days’ play out in the sun and all the best efforts of the players, the game could finish as a draw or even in the no result category. Regardless of this, it is a great sport and has a huge following across the globe coming second only to football in the world’s favourite sports.