Cricket betting tips: South Africa vs Australia, Northants Steelbacks vs Birmingham Bears

Many non-cricket fans have forever struggled with the concept of Test cricket and the fact that two teams can play for five days and still not have a winner at the end of it. 

Well, if those same people ever hear about the World Test Championship - a tournament which lasts two years - then they will probably roll their eyes once again!

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But those two years come to a close at Lord’s on Wednesday as the home of cricket hosts the final of the World Test Championship for the first time with holders Australia taking on South Africa.

Both sides come into the final in excellent Test form and the Aussies as well as the Proteas are sure to be very well supported across the duration of this match.

When day one concludes at Lord’s, the action will just be getting underway at the County Ground, Northampton where Northants Steelbacks hope to continue their very impressive start to this year’s T20 Blast when they take on Birmingham Bears.

The Steelbacks are the early pace-setters in the North Group but will be up against a resurgent Bears side who have found their form in recent games as two teams who were knocked out in the quarter finals in 2024 lock horns.

South Africa vs Australia preview

It is fair to say that contests between South Africa and Australia have been eventful over the years. This meeting in the final of the World Test Championship at Lord’s comes seven years after the infamous ‘sandpapergate’ incident during a Test between the sides in Cape Town.

And head to heads in this country have also provided entertainment with the last ball scenes at Edgbaston during the 1999 Cricket World Cup semi-final replayed time and time again, much to the frustration of South Africa fans!

But this is 2025 and the ICC Test Champions Mace is up for grabs with the teams finishing in the top two positions during the group stage.

South Africa took first place but Australia were only deprived of the chance to finish top of the pile due to receiving a points deduction due to an over-rate issue during the 2023 Ashes.

It is the Proteas who come into the final with marginally stronger form, winning their last five Tests compared to Australia who have prevailed in their last four!

However, Australia have won three of their last six Tests in the UK whereas South Africa have been beaten in four of their last five.

FIRST’s top tip for South Africa vs Australia

Pick: Usman Khawaja to be Australia’s 1st Innings top batter - 7/2 with Highbet

At 38 years of age, Usman Khawaja is certainly into the autumn of his international career but he is still hungry for more and begins this game with 5930 Test runs to his name.

He hit his highest Test score of 232 earlier this year against Sri Lanka in Galle. The left-handed opener enjoyed a fine Ashes tour of the UK in 2023 when he hit scores of 141 and 65 in the first game before a second innings 77 at Lords.

The Queenslander has a traditional Test opener’s character - unflappable, calm and level-headed - and struck 195 not out in the first innings the last time he came face to face with South Africa in this format.

Northants Steelbacks vs Birmingham Bears preview

There will be an expectant crowd at the County Ground, Northampton on Wednesday evening as the hosts look to continue their 100% winning start in this year’s T20 Blast and add to their five victories in the North Group.

The Steelbacks may not be the most fashionable of the county sides but they have been mightily effective in this campaign, recording victories over Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Worcestershire and Lancashire so far.

Birmingham Bears began this season with defeats against Notts Outlaws and Durham but have since bounced back with convincing wins over Yorkshire and Derbyshire. 

They will be looking to make it three in a row but face a Northants side who are 12 points ahead of them in the table and who came out on top by 11 runs when these teams last met 

in Northampton, just under 11 months ago.

FIRST’s top tip for Northants Steelbacks vs Birmingham Bears

Pick: Ravi Bopara to be top batter - 11/1 with Highbet

Some say that life begins at 40 and former England international Ravi Bopara is adding weight to that claim after a fine start to this season’s T20 Blast.

He finished ‘not out’ in Northants Steelbacks’ first three games, including making 84 against Derbyshire, his highest score in the competition since 2010. Plus, he’s only five runs away from bringing up 200 runs in this campaign. 

The batting all-rounder has already gone past the 5000 run T20 Blast mark this season and brings a whole heap of ability, not to mention experience and supreme self-confidence, every time he comes to the crease.

Extra tips

Pick: Josh Hazlewood to be the player of the match (South Africa vs Australia) - 11/1 with Highbet

With 13 wickets at an average of 26.15 across his three previous Tests at Lord’s, it is certainly fair to say that Josh Hazlewood knows how to exploit the slope and conditions in North London.

He comes into this final after helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru secure their first ever Indian Premier League title earlier this month and has taken 57 wickets at an average of 19.68 across the 2023-2025 World Test Championship cycle.

Pick: Ben Sanderson Brevis to be Top Bowler (Northants Steelbacks vs Birmingham Bears) - 5/1 with Highbet

With 14 wickets to his name already in this year’s competition, striking every 8.5 deliveries and averaging just 8.85 per dismissal, Ben Sanderson has been having a real blast.

The 36 year old right-arm medium-fast pacer took 4/15 in the last T20 in Northampton and has since taken eight more wickets, including 6/8 against Worcestershire last week!

Previous matches

FIRST's predictions for England vs West Indies and Surrey vs Hampshire Hawks

Top tip: Jacob Bethell to be England’s top batter - 11/1 (Highbet)
Top tip: Jason Roy to be top batter - 5/1 (Highbet)

Pick: Alzarri Joseph to be West Indies’ top bowler - 15/8 (Highbet) 

Pick: Dewald Brevis to be Hampshire Hawks’ top batter - 3/1 (Highbet)

England vs West Indies preview

Whisper it quietly, but England seem to have turned their wretched form around over the last couple of weeks.

After beginning 2025 with 10 defeats from 11 matches (4x T20Is, 6x ODIs) while touring India and Pakistan, England have found the going a lot more in their favour back at home where they have won all four of their opening fixtures (3x ODIs, 1x Test).

Tougher assignments are on the horizon, with Test series against India and Australia to come, but next on the agenda for Brendan McCullum’s side is a T20I series against West Indies.

Once again, this sees England return to a format in which they have recently struggled, winning just one of their last six, but their convincing ODI series win over West Indies will see them approach this opener in Durham with plenty of confidence.

As for the tourists, they found themselves stuck in traffic en route to The Oval on Tuesday, something which led to the delay of the start of the game. 

Eventually losing by seven wickets, the ‘men in maroon’ would maybe have preferred to stay snarled in the pile-up, but they can now turn their attention to the shorter format as they target a return to form after losing eight of their last nine T20Is.

FIRST’s top tip for England vs West Indies

Pick: Jacob Bethell to be England’s top batter - 11/1 (Highbet)

There have been plenty of words written and sentences spoken about Jacob Bethell so far across this English cricket season.

Funnily enough, the majority of it was when he wasn’t even in England after he opted to stay in India with RCB as opposed to return and fight for his Test place in the match against Zimbabwe.

But as soon as the 21 year old left-hander had the bat in hand back at home, he set about showing his talent with 82 runs from 53 balls in the opening ODI.

Earmarked to be England’s superstar over all three formats for the coming decade, Bethell will be targeting more runs against West Indies. 

A team who he has been dismissed against only once in four T20Is, while hitting two unbeaten half-centuries in Bridgetown and Gros Islet.

Surrey vs Hampshire Hawks preview

Whenever Surrey and Hampshire meet in the T20 Blast, we can always be assured of seeing plenty of big names on show and this clash between the two sides will be no different.

Surrey began this Blast season with a five wicket defeat against Somerset in Taunton, but they bounced back by beating Glamorgan in Cardiff on Tuesday evening by the same margin when they were able to successfully defend a total of 149/8.

England 2019 World Cup winner Jason Roy and fellow international Sam Curran have been their standout performers so far. But there are a good number of other top class players in their line-up in the shape of Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Laurie Evans, Dan Worrall and Chris Jordan.

As for the Hawks, they are only one-game into this campaign, but it was a very successful one as they brushed aside Essex by a remarkable 106 run margin!

Last year was the first in four seasons where Hampshire had not reached ‘final’s day’ and last Friday’s performance showed that they are determined to return in 2025.

FIRST’s top tip for Surrey vs Hampshire Hawks

Pick: Jason Roy to be top batter - 5/1 (Highbet)

After recording a pair (two ducks) in Surrey’s County Championship draw against Essex at the end of last month, Jason Roy has shown where his strengths lie with two brilliant white-ball batting performances in the T20 Blast, finishing as the top match batter both times.

He hit 92 runs from 54 balls, including six fours and seven sixes, against Somerset before making 69 runs from 47 balls against Glamorgan.

On their own, those two are impressive knocks, but the innings in Cardiff particularly stood out as Surrey’s team total was only 149/8 and the next highest score in the match was just 31!

Extra tips

Alzarri Joseph to be West Indies’ top bowler - 15/8 (Highbet)

It has been a miserable tour of Ireland and England for the West Indies so far, but pace-bowler Alzarri Joseph has maintained his high-standards throughout.

He took seven wickets across the ODI series, including dismissing Joe Root on Tuesday, and has a strike-rate of 15.5 in T20Is.

Dewald Brevis to be Hampshire Hawks’ top batter - 3/1 (Highbet)

The 22 year old South African is part of a fine Hampshire top three but is in exceptional form after making 68 runs from 32 balls in the win over Essex. This followed scores of 52, 42 and 57 in his last three IPL innings for Chennai Super Kings!

Odds correct at the time of writing.