3rd Test England South Africa Betting Choice Preview

The second test of this series between South Africa and England was sensational in every way, with only the lack of a positive result detracting from the status it will acquire in the pantheon of great test matches.Ultimately England fans will remember that bad light denied them fifteen overs in which they required just two wickets to win the game, but if a draw had been offered to Michael Vaughan at any part of the first one and a half days, the England skipper would have devoured the hand offering such generosity.Much has been written about this current crop of English players and what is becoming increasingly clear is that they are talented to a man, and the possess wonderful fighting qualities. Each of the batsmen, with the exception of Vaughan himself has found some good form, but the most encouraging aspect is with the ball. Steve Harmison shot to the top of the world rankings in thesummer after spearing through the West Indies and New ealand, but his form on this tour has been poor.Ashley Giles too, also a major player in the summer successes has been relatively mute. In the absence of their best skills, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones have stepped up to the plate however and proved their quality to be very much test class. If the other two can rediscover their form, maybe this is an attack which genuinely can trouble Australia in the tantalising Ashes Series of 2005.One must not get ahead of oneself though, and with three games remaining in this series, there is still much work to be done with a slender 1-0 lead. The match in Durban will have taken a great deal out of both camps, and with just a three day turnover before the first ball is bowled at Newlands, the capacity to recover quickly will be integral to the levels of performance for bothsides.The beautiful Cape Town venue is enough to lift the spirits of any cricketer though, and there is no reason to suspect either side of holding a significant fitness advantage.England are 5/4 favourites for the match, with the draw at 31/20 and South Africa seen as 3/1 shots. This is one of the favourite grounds for the home nation however, and the only team to have won there since the lifting of apartheid is Australia. A bouncy pitch is expected, but this should suit both teams. We cannot be swayed to go for a bet on the overall outcome of the game.We successfully went for Jacques Kallis to be the top scorer for South Africa in the second test, and feel that the same bet is advisable once again. The South African team is littered with inexperience, and the three players with proven quality are Kallis, Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs. Smith has beenstruggling of late, and the fact that Gibbs has hardly played any cricket was blatantly clear in Durban.Kallis scored more runs that anybody in the game during 2004, and his first innings knock of 162 In the second test suggests that 2005 should well begin in the same vain. An overall batting average of 54.58 Is superb and we simply put him in a league of his own in the Proteas batting line-up. He also averages 74.10 at this ground including 130 not out as his last knock here andat 15/4 we are happy to advise lending your support.Have a free bet with Bet365 on the cricket!