England will play their final Test match of the home summer this week against Sri Lanka, having already sealed the series win. Here are the latest betting odds for the match, which will take place at The Oval in South London.
England v Sri Lanka third Test match: Who will win?
All the momentum is with England, who have already registered two comprehensive wins over Sri Lanka in the series. After winning the first Test match at Old Trafford by five wickets, the hosts were more dominant at Lord's, where they bowled Sri Lanka out for 196 in the first innings and recorded a 190-run win. While Sri Lanka will have to pull off a miraculous turnaround to win the game, a draw isn't out of the question, with rain scheduled to interrupt at least some of the match.
There is a yellow weather warning in place from the UK Met Office for Kennington on Friday (September 6), which is the first day of the game. The warning states that "heavy rain may lead to some travel disruption and flooding in places across Southern England during Friday." With rain also predicted for day two and four of the match, the chances of the match ending in a draw are fairly high. For those up for predicting the English late-summer weather, a draw would be a good bet, with returns of seven for every pound betted on Stake.
Who will be the team with the best batter?
Several batters impressed for the hosts at Lord's with Joe Root scoring centuries in both innings of the match and Gus Atkinson scoring his maiden first-class hundred at No.8. Sri Lanka's batting has been less impressive, albeit with a few bright spots.
Three players scored half-centuries in their second innings at Lord's while Kamindu Mendis scored 74 in the first to go with his century in the opening Test of the series. It would be sensible, however, to back an England player as the top batter in the game, with Jamie Smith set to play his first Test on his home ground having impressed all summer.
Backing him would give odds of a 5.8 return on every pound, while backing Root to repeat his form from Lord's would get a return of 4.2.
Who will be the team with the best bowler?
Atkinson was also the star of the show with the ball at Lord's, picking up his third five-for at the ground in his second Test there. A bet on him would return 3.65 for every pound betted. 20-year-old Josh Hull will make his international debut during the game, with him backed at a 4.3 return. However, Asitha Fernando is so far the leading wicket-taker in the series across all teams, and is backed at a 3.3 return - a bet on him would be where the smart money is.
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