The second T20I between England and Pakistan will be played at Cardiff. England leads the series 1-0 after winning the first one rather easily, but will be wary of a backlash against a side which looks balanced on paper.

If one were to discount all the murmurs about match-fixing and if the Pakistanis do play to their potential, the side seems much better than their performances all this year. However, that is a big ‘if’, and for now, despite their obvious batting issues England will go into the match as favourites. Coral offers 1/2 for an English win, whereas Pakistan is at 15/8 (Blue Square)

England’s top-order had failed in the first game and it had needed perennial rescuer, Eoin Morgan (5/1 at Ladbrokes) to fight it out with Michael Yardy (16/1 at Bet365). With debutant Steven Davies scoring a 30 as well, the side would have been relieved to have him score a few given the long tail that the side possesses. England will look to their captain, Paul Collingwood (5/1 at William Hill) to give them some runs in the middle-order, after his consistent failures have let the team down.

One gets the sense that this could be Craig Kieswetter’s (4/1 at Blue Square to top-score for England) game with the bat as well. He has already lost his gloves to Davies in both the limited overs versions, and if he is batting as a pure batsman, he will need to get some runs under his belt.

Despite the balanced line-up that Pakistan had in the previous game, the batting in the middle overs was a huge let-down. Shahid Afridi (7/1 at Ladbrokes) needs to promote himself up the order, and probably also get in Azhar Ali (7/1 at Blue Square) instead of Fawad Alam. Kamran Akmal (5/1 at Blue Square) is also clearly struggling for batting form on the tour so far, and it may not make too much sense to open the innings with him. It could well be Abdul Razzaq sent up the order to take on the new ball and then have Afridi come in at number three or four.

Tips:
Favourites: England (1/2 at Coral)
Top England batsman: Craig Kieswetter’s (4/1 at Blue Square)
Top Pakistan batsman: Shahid Afridi (7/1 at Ladbrokes)