Amla to be top batsman looks very long at 12s, but he starts the tournament in a more difficult group, so there is that to factor in.
However, Amla averages 63 in the 12 ODIs he's played in England, and even if South Africa weren't to progress out of the group it's not beyond the realms of fantasy that he might have already scored enough runs to pick up that accolade.
Bumrah to be best bowler at 16s is very interesting to me. Very quick, very accurate seam bowler coming off the back of a stellar IPL tournament. Unproven in England, hence the price but if India get out of the group he's going to have a real chance where the spinners may not on early season English tracks.
South Africa are the team to beat for me, despite their 'bottlers' tag. Amla looks in wonderful nick, De Villiers is one of the best batsmen of his generation and seemed to find some form in the warm ups, De Kock just keeps getting better and better and Rabada is obviously a wonderful bowler. Du Plessis adds stability in the middle; he can give it a whack but often plays a steady hand if needed and the likes of Chris Morris and David Miller can up the run rate when needed or chase down big scores (although they suitably failed to get home from an easy position of a run a ball with about 10 balls left last weekend).
England are favourites, partly due to being at home but also due to the new approach to the game which has been a revelation for them. Roy looks out of touch though, and Bairstow amazingly wont start unless injuries allow him to. Joe Root averages almost 48 in ODI cricket so this will sound stupid to some, but he can often be a disappointment. He gets starts but perhaps doesn't have the explosive power to accelerate when needed. However, if he can play a decent run a ball knock while Stokes, Morgan, Hales and Buttler play more aggressively then its a moot point. England's bowling is not the greatest and will likely be a stumbling block, I think.
From bad bowling to good bowling, the Aussies have a really good pace attack. They might not have the batting prowess of England, South Africa, or India but their bowling might make up for it with the likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood. India can never be discounted, in a weird way they are going under the radar but with many of their players coming from the IPL with little time to adjust, you do wonder if they might be either undercooked with lack of preparation or perhaps a little fatigued.
Should be a good tournament, I wont have any money on a winner but if I did South Africa at a best priced 9/2 appeal to me.
