Daily tips for June 8

Cricket (Champions Trophy) for June 8

Group A: England v Australia, Edgbaston, Birmingham, Saturday, June 8, 7.45pm

Australia’s summer of cricket in England kicks-off in earnest tonight with the opening game of their Champions Trophy campaign. This is the final edition of this once prestigious tournament, but that hasn’t stopped the ICC tweaking with the rules. Two new balls, which can pose a wicket-taking threat at the beginning of an innings, only remain harder and more hittable towards the end, when only four men can now mark the fence.

Sides may opt to shelve some of their aggression at the top, and man the middle order with attacking batsmen. High-quality strike bowlers may be at an even higher premium, and the Powerplay – now routinely taken at 35 overs – has the potential to define matches, as momentum earned by the batting side in those five overs might be difficult to arrest in the last 10, given the limited options available to the fielding captain.

Meanwhile to this game, where England will be out to continue an impressive run of 13 wins in 15 starts when they take on fellow Group A favourites Australia. We’ll be watching with interest, but suggest a bet on the in-form Jonathan Trott to be the top scorer in this game, and the tournament overall. He’s in solid form coming off scores of 37 (top team score), 109 (top team score) and 37.

Trott averages 52.29 in ODIs (putting him in the top five batsman in the world), 88.50 in 2013, 57.78 against Australia (including two centuries, one at Edgbaston) and 48.82 in England. As England should make the Final, they should play the maximum number of games strengthening the case for Trott.

Suggested bet: Most runs for England v Australia – Jonathan Trott (one unit @ $4.25) LOSE; most tournament runs – Jonathan Trott (0.25 units @ $25)

Racing for June 8

Horse racing: Flemington (Vic), Randwick (NSW), Eagle Farm (Qld), Morphettville (SA), Belmont (WA), Swan Hill (Vic), Gold Coast (Qld), Kembla Grange (NSW), Tamworth (NSW), Rockhampton (Qld), Toowoomba (Qld), Darwin (NT). Harness racing: Bathurst (NSW), Menangle (NSW), Albion Park (Qld), Bendigo (Vic), Globe Derby (SA), Dubbo (NSW), Bunbury (WA). Greyhound racing: The Gardens (NSW), Traralgon (Vic), Richmond (NSW), The Meadows (Vic), Wentworth Park (NSW), Cannington (WA).

After a chilly morning, it looks set to be a fine and mild winter’s day in Melbourne as the Queen’s Birthday long weekend kicks-off with a big 10-race program at Flemington. #1 General Truce was one of the first best bets of the day we posted back in April when this blog started, and we’re back on the 5yo gelding for the fifth heat of the All-Victorian Sprint Series (race 7). A track specialist, especially on the famous Flemington straight six, he rates well here despite hauling 62kg (down to 60kg thanks to Thomas Sadler’s claim). Despite finishing ninth in the G1 Goodwood at Morphettville four weeks ago, he was just 2.2L behind Platelet, which reads solid form for this. The each-way quote of $6 looks mighty tasty.

• It’s the final day of G1 racing for the season with the running of the JJ Atkins (1600m), Queensland Derby (2400m) and the Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm. Our best of the day at Eagle Farm is R2 #3 Transporter.

Suggested bet: Flemington R7 #1 General Truce E/W 1x4 (two units) LOSE (U/P)

Other tips

Flemington R3 #13 Cooldini (E/W) 1st ($3.00/$1.70)

Flemington R5 #5 Vain Attraction (E/W) LOSE (U/P)

Flemington R6 #14 Star Rolling (E/W) 1st ($6.60/$2.60)

Flemington R8 #6 That’s The One (win) 1st ($2.60)

Randwick R2 #2 Trick Shot (E/W) LOSE (U/P)

Randwick R3 #9 Smart Moochi (E/W) LOSE (U/P)

Randwick R6 #1 Neeson (E/W) 2nd ($5.00)

Randwick R8 #5 Pipette (win) LOSE (U/P)

Eagle Farm R2 #3 Transporter (E/W) 2nd ($1.70)

Eagle Farm R3 #1 Academus (win) 1st ($2.75)
Eagle Farm R5 #12 Fire Up Fifi (E/W) LOSE (4th)

Morphettville R1 #4-#1 Exacta WIN ($1.90)
Morphettville R3 #1 Road Warrior (win) LOSE (4th)

Morphettville R4 #5 Golden Dane (E/W) 1st ($3.60/$1.60)

Harness racing tip: Globe Derby R8 #2 Classic Chaos (win) 1st ($1.20)

Greyhound racing tip: The Meadows R5 #1 Blaster (win) 1st ($1.60)

AFL (R11) for June 8

Greater Western Sydney v Geelong, Skoda Stadium, Saturday, June 8, 1.40pm

Tested for the first half in last week’s historic first game under lights at Simmonds Stadium, the Cats were still able to steady and run out 52-point winners over Gold Coast. Despite resting Harry Taylor, the Cats have James Podsiadly back for the trip to Sydney where they’ve won four of their past five (including a stunning upset of Sydney in round four). With the Giants showing few signs of reversing their disappointing form, the line of 83.5 looks a soda for the Cats, while the score should also sail over the total on offer.

• For a special, consider a small play on GWS not to win a game this season, which is being offered by our sports betting partner Centrebet. Their clash against Melbourne looks the only realistic hope of victory, and the Giants will still be outsiders in that game. With $2.60 on offer for GWS to go winless in 2013, it’s worth a unit at least.

Suggested bets: Game total +208.5 WIN, Geelong -83.5 LOSE (98-157)

Adelaide v Sydney, AAMI Stadium, Saturday, June 8, 4.40pm

The Crows’ 5-5 record isn’t indicative of their competitiveness this season, evidenced again by last week’s narrow loss to Fremantle. It doesn’t get any easier for Brenton Sanderson’s side here as they host a red-hot Sydney chasing a seventh win at this venue in just 10 games. In trying conditions at the SCG last Saturday night, the Swans were sublime at times as they cast aside Essendon’s challenge with ease. Matches between these sides have certainly trended towards the ‘under’ game total and we're entering a specific phase of the season where defensive structures start to catch up with the opposition attack. Adelaide’s best chance here is to keep the score low, and that's where we’ll be directing our betting dollar.

Suggested bets: Game total -174.5 LOSE, Adelaide +9.5 LOSE (50-127)

Gold Coast v Nth Melbourne, Metricon Stadium, Saturday, June 8, 7.40pm

Gold Coast went within seven points of a stunning upset in this fixture last year and will fancy their chances of going one better when they host the Kangaroos to Metricon Stadium in Saturday night’s only game. Both sides may hold a 4-6 record and have clear deficiencies compared to the competition’s elite but it’s hard to go past North here. Gold Coast were gallant against the Cats last week but were easily dispatched in the final quarter to end up losing by nine goals. Meanwhile the Roos exorcised the demons of four narrow losses with a pummelling of St Kilda last week and should have too many forward weapons for the Suns defence to counter but we have a lean to the home side covering here.

Suggested bets: Game total -174.5 WIN, Gold Coast +19.5 WIN (66-51)

MLB for June 8

Houston Astros (22-39, 12-16 away) @ Kansas City Royals (25-32, 12-15 home), Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MS, Saturday, June 8, 10.10am

We thought the books had made a mistake when they put up KC as a $1.44 ML favourite against the Astros but we’ll take it! Jordan Lyles has been one of the most reliable current starters for Houston and will try to lead the Astros to their longest road-winning streak in 12 seasons (stretching back to June-July 2001) when they open a three-game series against the Royals here.

The Astros (22-39), who just dropped two of three at home to Baltimore, swept a six-game trip through Colorado and Anaheim before that set. Lyles (3-1, 4.30 ERA) has posted a 2-0 record and 1.90 ERA in his past four starts. The right-hander has also pitched well versus the Royals (25-32), allowing three runs over 13 innings while splitting two career starts against them.

Since losing a team-worst 11 straight at home, Kansas City has won two in a row there. They had averaged 2.2 runs over their previous 14 games before breaking through with 11 hits in a 7-3 victory over Minnesota on Thursday. Their starter James Shields (2-6, 2.83) has gone 0-4 in his last six starts despite a 2.66 ERA, receiving nine runs of support over that span. Shields allowed two runs over seven innings against Houston on May 22 but was outpitched by Lyles, who yielded one run over six for a 3-1 victory.

Suggested bet: Astros +1.5 (two units @ $1.87) LOSE, game total -7.5 (two units @ $1.83) WIN (2-4)

Other tips

Rangers @ Blue Jays WIN WIN (1-6)

Angels @ Red Sox -1.5 POSTPONED

Cardinals @ Reds WIN LOSE (9-2)

Orioles @ Rays +8.5 LOSE (1-2)

Marlins +1.5 @ Mets POSTPONED

Athletics @ White Sox -7.5 WIN (4-3)

Phillies WIN @ Brewers LOSE (4-5)

Padres @ Rockies +9.5 WIN (9-10)

Yankees WIN @ Mariners LOSE (1-4)

Braves @ Dodgers WIN WIN (1-2)

NHL playoffs for June 8

Eastern Conference finals, game 4: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Boston Bruins, TD Garden, Boston, MA, Saturday, June 8, 10.10am (Bruins lead 3-0)

The Penguins are improving at putting more shots on net. They just need to put more into the net. And they’re running out of time. Pittsburgh forced Boston goalie Tuukka Rask to make 53 saves, but the Bruins won 2-1 in double overtime on Wednesday night for a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

It would be a shocking end to a season in which the Penguins led the NHL in scoring, and averaged 4.27 goals per game in their first two playoff series, but have been outscored 11-2 in the three losses to the Bruins. Only three teams have overcome 3-0 playoff deficits. The last team to lose a series after going up 3-0 was the Bruins in the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Flyers in 2010.

This year, Boston led Toronto 3-1 in the first round then lost the next two games and trailed 4-1 with 11 minutes left in the third period of Game 7 before winning 5-4 in overtime. In the next round, the Bruins led the New York Rangers 3-0, lost Game 4, then won Game 5. And the Bruins don’t want to go back to Pittsburgh for Game 5 on Monday.

The Penguins have been scoreless on the power play in the series. One of the Bruins’ top penalty killers, center Gregory Campbell, is sidelined for the playoffs after breaking his right leg when he dove and blocked a shot by Malkin in the second period on Thursday. However, we think it’s a case of too little, too late for the Pens as the Bruins complete the sweep here.

Suggested bet: Bruins WIN (two units @ $1.87) WIN, game total -5.5 (two units @ $1.74) WIN (0-1)

Note: Game 2 of the NBA Finals will be played on Monday (AEST)

* Prices with thanks to Centrebet, correct at time of publication