Dean Etheridge
South Africa’s thrilling win over England in the 2nd ODI on Sunday ensured a series win for the Proteas. But with automatic qualification for the 2023 World Cup in India still not assured, the 3rd and final match of their ODI series with England is anything but a dead rubber. South Africa needs to sweep England 3-0 to keep their automatic qualification hopes for India alive. Can they do it? Let’s take a look with our latest free cricket betting picks.
- What; 3rd 50 Over One Day International
- Who; South Africa vs England
- Where; De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa
- When; Wednesday, February 1st, 2023
South Africa leads the best of three match series 2-0. The series win is in the bag. But for South Africa at least, there is still plenty to play for. Due to a combination of poor form and the home side canceling their ODI series with Australia, the South Africans now sit outside of the automatic qualification spots for the 2023 World Cup in India.
South Africa have to win this game
If South Africa doesn’t sweep England 3-0, they will have to go through the indignity of the qualifying group that takes place in Zimbabwe in June and July later this year.
Can South Africa sneak into an automatic spot for @cricketworldcup 2023?
What their second ODI win over England means in the qualification race 👇https://t.co/POrYnpbrzZ
— ICC (@ICC) January 30, 2023
This will be a ten team tournament, with two sides qualifying for the World Cup later in the year.
The idea of the qualifying group is to give some of the minnows a chance to make it to the World Cup. So, South Africa should easily come through the process. But they did lose to the Netherlands in the 2022 T20 World Cup, so they can’t take qualification via this method for granted.
As one of the main cricket playing nations, it will be a pretty humiliating experience for South Africa if they have to play in the qualifying event. So, along with pride, this is the main reason why it’s imperative that Temba Bavuma’s team complete the 3-0 series win over England.
Betting to win the 3rd ODI; South Africa vs England
After winning the first two matches of the series, you would be forgiven for thinking South Africa would be the favorites to win this match. But that’s not how the best cricket betting sites see things. They make England their -138 favorites to win on the moneyline, South Africa is +115.
| South Africa vs England 3rd ODI Betting |  |  |  |
| South Africa | +115 | +115 | +110 |
| England | -138 | -140 | -145 |
England are the current World Cup holders and cricket betting punters and the best sports betting sites alike, seem to all think they will come good in this series.
In prop betting, Quinton de Kock at +300 is favorite to be the top South African batter. Anrich Nortje is favored to be the hosts top bowler at +225. For England, Dawid Malan is the favorite to be top batter at +330. Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid are joint favorites to top the bowling at +300. These prices are from Bovada. You can read more about them in our Bovada sportsbook review.
South Africa have edged the big moments
In the first match of the series England looked to be heading towards a comfortable win, until a late batting collapse brought on by South Africa’s quick bowlers turned the match on its head.
Collapse 😬
England slumped to a 27-run defeat against South Africa in the first ODI.
That's despite Jason Roy hitting 113 runs!#BBCCricket #SAvENG
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 27, 2023
In the second match, England’s bowlers struggled to break South Africa’s middle order, in the way that Rabada, Nortje, and Magala – in particular – did to them in the opening match.
England didn’t have the services of their main pace bowlers, Jofra Archer or Mark Wood, to call on. This was a huge factor as it made life more comfortable for the South African lower order batters, compared to what England’s lower order had to contend with in the first match.
Try as Olly Stone did for the hosts, on his own, he couldn’t contain the likes of Temba Bavuma and David Miller on the flat pitch, and this was one of the main factors why South Africa completed their run chase, while England failed in theirs.
Our Cricket Picks
Onto our cricket picks. Automatic qualification for the 2023 World Cup is on the line for South Africa. England are using this series to blood Harry Brook into the ODI squad. And to also ease Jofra Archer back into international cricket after nearly two years out with injury.
In short, it’s a serious match with plenty riding on it for the hosts. While for England, it’s merely preparation for the World Cup. England does still have the players to hurt South Africa. And as they showed in the second match, they are capable of posting big totals.
As good as England’s 342/7 was in match two, it wasn’t enough to win the game. But South Africa won’t be able to chase huge totals like that down everyday. The win in the second match took a colossal effort from the hosts.
Even after the first two matches, the top sportsbooks still see England as the favorites in the final match. But given the form, what’s on the line, and the way South Africa handled the pressure in both matches, for my cricket betting pick, I have to choose South Africa at +115 with BetOnline.
I’m also having a prop bet on this match, and my pick is for David Miller to be the top batter for South Africa at +550 with Bovada. Miller showed a calm head and rose to the occasion with his unbeaten 58 on Sunday.
If South Africa find themselves in trouble with the bat, then Miller could be the man to save them. And if they are in trouble, it means the top order won’t have scored many, giving our bet on Miller an even better chance of winning.
