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Warne warns England not to underestimate Australia

| 27.06.2012

England can do no wrong in the one-day arena at present as they avoided defeat against both Pakistan and the West Indies and many punters may see them as the big value to triumph in another series with Australia.

Both teams cannot be separated in terms of overall victory, with the pair priced at 10/11 to triumph across the five-game series.

Meanwhile, both teams are also 10/11 to gain the early initiative in the first of the meetings at Lord’s.

In terms of name value, this Australian team is far less well-known than days gone by, with a number of young players being given opportunities.

Because of this, Australian spin legend Shane Warne believes England may have underestimated their opposition, which could prove a fatal mistake.

He said in a piece for the Daily Telegraph: “A few former England players and commentators on the game don’t think Australia have any bowlers and are a batsman or two short.

“Combine that with England’s current form and record in England at present and it equals a walk-over when they resume battle.”

But, there is plenty of power at the top of the batting line up, with David Warner and Shane Watson both wanting to get on with it early on to take advantage of the powerplay overs.

Michael Clarke and David Hussey provide some experience in the middle order, while Matthew Wade has been compared to Adam Gilchrist in some quarters for his batting abilities.

Quick bowling can also be found through Pat Cummins and James Pattinson, who can both exceed 90mph, while Xavier Doherty is a more dangerous limited-overs bowler than the one England smashed around during the last Ashes series.

Australia showed their capabilities by thumping Essex in their final warm-up game ahead of the first ODI, beating a team that included England captain Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara by 179 runs.

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Author

Craig Kemp

Craig has written for Ladbrokes since the 2010 World Cup, having previously gained a Media & Sports Journalism degree and contributed to publications including the Racing Post. His main areas of interest are horse racing and UFC, but he is also an avid X Factor gambler and likes nothing more than indulging in a spot of Hip Hop Karaoke.