Cricket betting: 2nd ODI - NZ vs England

"We didn't adapt" was the excuse that batsman Owais Shah gave for England's six-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the first one-day international in Wellington on Saturday. Punters, and there is an army of them who are on the tourists to take the five-match series, are likely to respond with 'that doesn't wash'.

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They can feel aggrieved at England's poor performance - they were shot out for just 130 - while the emotion they will feel at looking at the updated prices for the series is likely to be dismay. New Zealand are no better than 4/5 (Boylesports, Paddy Power) for glory and England, who were as skinny as 4/7, are available at 6/5.

The teams meet again in Hamilton tonight and for Paul Collingwood's men and their backers it is crunch time. Defeat at Seddon Park would virtually wrap up the series for the Kiwis, an amazing turnaround following England's apparent dominance in the Twenty20 matches.

Fortunately for England their failure to adjust to the slow and low nature of the wicket in Wellington should be irrelevant at Seddon. The pitch is expected to be easier to bat on, a fact borne out by the run feast that New Zealand and Australia enjoyed there this time last year.

The hosts beat Australia by one wicket in that game after chasing down an improbable 347. Matt Hayden and Craig McMillan both hit brutal centuries, which suggests an easy-paced pitch for the batters. That should help England assert the dominace that the bookies were expecting pre-series. Despite their failure in game one, the visitors' batting is superior man-for-man.

The top runscorer market should be easier to call if the pitch is good to bat on. Punters should consider getting with players who are in the team for their hitting ability, rather than graft.

That means Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder and Scott Styris are the three to choose from for the hosts while Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell - who has a habit of making flat tracks pay - and Phil Mustard could be the picks for England.

Verdict: 2pts Ian Bell England top runscorer @ 5/1 (Ladbrokes)

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