England v Australia ODI betting tips: Australia to win and Travis Head to top score

England’s attention turns to the one-day format when they face Australia in the first of a five-match series at Trent Bridge on Thursday (12.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event).

Rain in Manchester curtailed the T20 series which ended 1-1 after England’s three-wicket win at Sophia Gardens on Friday, cancelling out Australia’s 28-run victory in Southampton.

England will again be without captain Jos Buttler for the series as he has failed to recover from the calf injury that ruled him out of both the T20 series and The Hundred.

Harry Brook will skipper the side for the first time. He only made his ODI debut 18 months ago and has impressed for his country in all formats of the game, although his runs have come more so in Test and T20 cricket rather than the 50-over format.

Phil Salt, who skippered the T20 side is also in the squad, which seems light on experience. Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid are the standout names among the bowling attack, while all-rounder Liam Livingstone will be hopeful of continuing his fine form.

Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey have come into the Australia squad, bolstering the ranks with plenty of experience. Although there are few fledglings, including 19-year-old Mahli Beardman.

It’s always box-office entertainment when the two rivals clash, but betting sites are giving the edge to the Aussies, but England are no pushovers in the one-day format despite their disappointing World Cup campaign in 2023.

This is the oldest rivalry in the 50-over format. It was these two sides that faced off in the first one day international match in January 1971 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground - a game that Australia won by five wickets.

53 years later, the Australians still have the edge, leading the head-to-head by 88 wins to 63.

Relying on the English weather in September is always a tense affair, but fingers crossed we have a break from the rain which has blighted the schedule at times this season.

The most recent meeting between the two sides came at last year’s Cricket World Cup when Australia won by 33 runs in the group stage. England were off the boil in their title defence and allowed the Aussies to reclaim their crown - for a record-breaking sixth time.

Although England have been the benchmark for white-ball cricket, their latest series against the Aussies was another sign that their rivals are back on the scene as a dominant force in the 50-over game.

England are going through a transitional phase in the white ball as Brendon McCullum will take over the reins in addition to his Test duties following Matthew Mott’s sacking.

Australia secured a clean sweep, winning the series 3-0 down under in 2022. Given the recent meetings between the sides, it’s hard to see look past the Baggy Greens, both on Thursday and in the series on cricket betting sites.

Australia’s form and experience may just give them the edge to start the series with a win to earn their sixth victory on the spin over England in the 50-over format.

England v Australia ODI prediction 1: Australia to win - 4/7 Betway

It has been nine months since England last took to the field in an ODI, and Duckett could be in line for a promotion up the order in one of the notable changes from their defeat to the West Indies at the end of last year.

The 29-year-old has been in impressive form with the red ball for England in 2024. He scored 707 runs in 11 innings against India, the West Indies and Sri Lanka at an average of 64.27.

Duckett has certainly answered England’s call for stability at the top of the Test match batting ranks and now he could be primed to do the same for the 50-over side to join Salt opening the innings.

Duckett has a good record in his 11 ODI matches, scoring 395 runs at an average of 39.5.

He has notched one hundred and three fifties in those 11 innings and you can get odds of 13/2 with Betway for him to start the series with a century or a bolder selection of 12/1 with some of the best betting sites to pick up the player of the match award.

All eyes will be on Brook to make an impact in his first start as captain, but Duckett could help his team-mate out by easing the pressure with a stellar display against the Aussies. We like his odds to lead the way for Brook’s men on his home patch.

England v Australia ODI prediction 2: Ben Duckett to top score for England - 18/5 BetVictor

For the Aussies expect Head to cause more problems for England, after an excellent start to his tour in the T20 series. Head smashed 59 off 23 balls in in Australia’s win in Southampton, taking 30 off one Sam Curran over.

He followed that with 31 off just 14 in Cardiff, cementing his status as one of the world’s best T20 batters. He will now look to take his form over to the 50-over game, where he will once again open the innings.

Head has an impressive average of 42.05 in ODIs, scoring six hundreds and 15 fifties in 65 matches.

However, his recent form against England is noteworth. He scored 240 in three innings in the last series between the sides in 2022, including a brilliant 152 in Melbourne.

The 30-year-old’s average takes a substantial jump against Australia’s most famous rival up to 49.69.

We believe there could be more fireworks in store from the left-hander at the top of the order to lead the run column for the tourists with a price of 11/4 available on betting apps.

England v Australia ODI prediction 3: Travis Head to top score for Australia - 11/4 Bet365

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