England v Australia - Glenn Maxwell worth backing for Top Australian Batsman in 3rd ODI

England v Australia Recommended bet

Top Australian Bat – Glenn Maxwell @ 7/1 (8.00) with Ladbrokes

England face Australia in the 3rd One Day International (ODI) at Trent Bridge on Wednesday, with Australia 2-0 down and needing a win in Nottingham to keep the series alive.

Given the inexperienced make-up of the Australian squad, they have done well to remain competitive in both of the opening matches, losing the first at The Oval by three wickets and the second at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff by 38 runs.  That said, Australian captain Tim Paine did win the toss on both occasions.

On a day when Australia lost to France in World Cup soccer and to Ireland in a Rugby Union international, the second ODI defeat to England made it an unwelcome trio of losses.  However, there were positives from the cricket.

Facing their highest ODI run chase of 343 at Sophia Gardens, Australia stayed in contention for long periods thanks to Shaun Marsh’s superb innings of 131, before being bowled by an excellent slower ball from Liam Plunkett.

Unfortunately he was given little support, with the decision to move opener Aaron Finch down to number five to combat England’s spinners resulting in a three-ball duck.  There was a spirited 46 from Ashton Agar (who also hit a handy 40 at The Oval) in a 96-run partnership with Marsh that briefly threatened to swing the game the way of the tourists but, despite a late flurry from Marsh and Paine, the target proved beyond them.

With England set to miss Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes through injury for the final three ODIs, the visiting batsmen will believe that runs are certainly possible over the remainder of the series.

Glenn Maxwell chipped in with 31 at Sophia Gardens to add to his 62 at almost a run per ball in the first ODI at The Oval.  Given that he’s in decent form, the powerful Maxwell could be worth an interest bet at odds of 7/1 (8.00) with Ladbrokes to be the ‘Top Australian Bat’ at Trent Bridge.

For those who believe that there’s been enough to suggest that a seriously weakened Australian team could possibly claim a win at Trent Bridge to keep the series alive, odds of 6/4 (2.50) are available with bet365 (*at the time of writing) on an Aussie victory in Nottingham.