Afghanistan v England Cricket Betting Tips - ICC Champions Trophy
Will Jackson
It was a tough start to the ICC Champions Trophy for both of teams which means everything is to play for as England meet Afghanistan, and Graham Hardcastle has his latest cricket betting tips ahead of the game.
This is a must win for England, and you’d think they will have to brush Afghanistan aside to boost their net run-rate following their opening round defeat against Australia, and you can follow our latest cricket tips to keep up with Graham's work.
- Afghanistan v England
- ICC Champions Trophy, Group B
- Wednesday February 26, 2025, 9am UK
- Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Champions Trophy Cricket Betting Tips
Here are our Afghanistan v England cricket betting tips, odds and predictions from our range of cricket betting sites ahead of the game.
Take advantage of our latest deals and prices with the best betting sites and follow the cricket with Graham's tips.
Afghanistan v England Preview
England just can’t get it right against the white ball, can they!
Yes, they have won the odd game here and there in recent years, but there’s been zero consistency.
Their defeat against Australia on Saturday was a microcosm of their recent progress in that they did a lot right but it just wasn’t enough as the Aussies chased down a sizeable target of 352 for the loss of five wickets with 15 balls to spare.
Given this competition is short and sharp, there’s very little margin for error. It may now even be that two wins for England is not enough to secure a top-two place in the group for semi-final qualification, with Australia and South Africa now in pole position.
One thing is for sure. This game against Rashid Khan’s Afghanistan is a game they simply have to win.
If they lost it, they may not be eliminated mathematically. But they would be as good as.
I do expect England to win against an Afghanistan side who lost their opener to South Africa, though I’d be swerving the 3/10 and looking for value elsewhere.
Firstly, I’m going to suggest siding with William Hill’s Match Treble, which is available at 15/8 and would need England to win, for them to hit most sixes and for there to be 10 or more sixes hit in the match.
Batting conditions look to be good at this venue, and batting first or second I don’t think England will hang around. There were 16 sixes hit in the England v Australia match on Saturday. Australia shaded that, but England should overpower their next opponent.
Noor can shine for Afghanistan in defeat following early damage from Salt
Firstly, I’d be keen to take betfair’s 7/5 on Afghanistan to have at least one batter run out in the match, something which happened against South Africa in Friday’s opener.
I like the look of 20-year-old wrist spinner Noor Ahmed, who has been in good form of late. And if England are going to struggle, it’s likely to be the spinners who do the damage.
The left-armer was the sixth leading wicket-taker in the recent South African SAT20 competition with 13 wickets from 10 matches, and he struck once against South Africa.
I would be interested in taking bet365’s 13/8 on Ahmed to strike at least twice.
Phil Salt is available at an enticing 5/1 with BoyleSports to be England’s top run-scorer in the match. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see the opener really attack Afghanistan early in this one.
Although he only scored 10 in the Australia game, he has been in a steady run of form recently without going on to get a massive score. He went beyond 20 in his five previous 50-over and T20 innings against India earlier this month and late last.
And to finish this ODI betting tips preview, I like the look of bet365’s boosted treble. That’s 11/2 for Joe Root to score 30 or more runs and for Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid to strike at least twice apiece with ball in hand.
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