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England v West Indies: 2nd Test Preview

Timothy Masters — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:57:27 +0000

The test at Lords went pretty much to form, with England winning the match by five wickets, and with the century for beleaguered captain Andrew Strauss adding an extra positive sheen to the overall experience England will be well pleased with how their first proper taste of long-format cricket went this summer. Looking forward to the remainder of the series, the management team lead by Andy Flower will feel good about their options and prospects for the present and in more challenging circumstances.

Another positive from that match was the fact both Jonathon Trott and Alastair Cook both managed a half-century, and Ian Bell two of them, showing that the home team have multiple threats when batting. Stuart Broad’s bowling performance has taken a degree of pressure of Jimmy Anderson at the same time as taking key West Indian wickets and stalling the momentum of the visiting side, so things are looking rosy going to Trent Bridge.

With the result at Lords taken into account, even the recall of Timo Best hasn’t swung the odds much in the favour of the Windies and England are 4/11 favourites with BlueSquare, while Bet365 have 10/1 on an away win at Trent Bridge, and 9/2 on a draw. While Andrew Strauss batted well, Ian Bell is on at 6/1 with BetFred as top England batsman, although he may be stymied in his search for more runs by the West Indian batters failing to score, as he is a number six these days.

Trent Bridge normally suits the swing bowlers and the England team will reflect that with Tim Bresnan, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad all in the side, and the lush outfield will see the ball last longer than at Lords. Coral have 9/4 on Anderson being top wicket-taker for the home team, with Broad at 11/4, and it is likely that Graeme Swann, 4/1 with PaddyPower for the same award, will need to work very hard for any reward with the conditions as is.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

England v West Indies: 2nd Test Preview

England v West Indies, First Test

Timothy Masters — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:01:27 +0000

Although it may not be such an explosive and exciting event as in years gone by a West Indian tour of England will always stir cricket fans into a state of some expectation. The Windies team coming to these shores has certainly taken a rather rocky route, and the exclusion of Chris Gayle is (in some respects at least) a sign of the continuing malaise at the heart Caribbean cricket. A tour victory would obviously heal a lot of wounds whilst convincing the fans the board are correct in their decision-making, but more realistic is a good performance showing promise for the future.

There are some interesting selections in the home squad, with the injury to Ravi Bopara meaning a call-up for Jonny Bairstow, the Yorkshire wicketkeeper-batsman, and Samit Patel being left out after featuring in Sri Lanka. As always the form of James Anderson at Lords will be crucial to the overall success of the squad but the decision to drop Patel is indicative of the change in emphasis from turn to swing as they play under potentially heavy English skies, and the West Indian batsmen were limited in their preparation time due to bad weather in Hove.

Obdurate veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul sustained a minor blow to the hand in that game but will be fit to play at Lords, according to the team management, and the likes of Shiv, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy will need to be at the top of their game to guide some of the less experience players through a difficult set of tests. Disruption in their build-up caused by the IPL has meant Marlon Samuels was late joining the squad, but if they can get it together and Fidel Edwards continues to recover well from his back injury there is every chance Lords will be an interesting contest.

The bookies don’t seem as optimistic that it will be close, though, with England 3/5 with BWin to win the test, compared to Ladbrokes offering 8’s on the Windies and Bet365’s best price of 5/2 on a draw. In terms of who might fill their boots with the potentially easy West Indian bowling on offer, StanJames offer Jonathan Trott as 7/2 favourite to be the top English batsman, with Ladbrokes having 3/1 on Chanderpaul leading the way for the tourists. Hopefully the poor preparation of the visitors won’t have as big an effect on the outcome as is expected, but if England do romp home to an easy victory at least the fans will be delighted.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

England v West Indies, First Test

England to call on Ben Stokes?

Bet123 — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:00:51 +0000

England could turn to Ben Stokes this summer if they are after an all-rounder to bat at No.6 in Test matches, according to former captain Alec Stewart.

Andrew Strauss’ men often adopt a four bowler approach in England, meaning that the final batting position is up for grabs.

Those assessing betting offers note how Ravi Bopara, Eoin Morgan and Samit Patel have all had a go at it in recent months, although none of them have made the position their own and there is no doubt that it is up for grabs for the West Indies series next month.

There is of course the option for Matt Prior to bat at No.6, allowing England an extra bowler, but another option is to select Durham’s Stokes who can give the team a nice balance according to Stewart.

The former wicket-keeper told BBC Sport: “If England are looking for an all-rounder, which coach Andy Flower suggested after the Sri Lanka series, then young Ben Stokes at Durham is someone I would certainly be keeping my eye on.”

“Having recovered from a serious finger injury he is now back playing regularly for Durham where, under the watchful eye of Geoff Cook, he is making impressive progress.”

“I certainly don’t want to start to comparing him to Andrew Flintoff, which is a mistake some people made when Ian Botham retired, but Stokes is a genuine batsman who bowls at decent pace and certainly has the potential to turn himself into a genuine all-rounder.”

It will certainly be interesting for anyone interested in betting terms to see whether England go with the 20-year-old if he scores some big runs between now and the squad being announced.

You do get the feeling that he would need to score a few big hundreds to get the nod though, with Bopara – who was on the tour to Sri Lanka – already showing good form for Essex.

There are then the likes of Nick Compton to consider as well as the more experienced Patel and Morgan. England certainly aren’t short of options.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

England to call on Ben Stokes?

IPL Odds, First Look

Timothy Masters — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:02:41 +0000

It’s circus time again for the cricketing world as the IPL is underway again, and the mix of old stagers and young chargers once again looks to be shaping up into a fantastically entertaining tournament. Most of the teams have played a three or four games by now, and with a quarter of the qualification process gone it seems high time to look at the runners and riders in the competition.

At the time of writing the Delhi Daredevils (10/3, WilliamHill) are leading the way in the table, although their fixtures haven’t been to most taxing, and that is partly down to the superb bowling of South African pace bowler Morne Morkel (19/10 with BetFair to finish as top bowler), but Rajasthan, Pune and Mumbai are all close on their heels and looking to put the pressure on as the competition hots up.

The defending champions are the Chennai Super Kings (34/5, BetFair), and having won the last two tournaments they must be considered as a strong contender for this one. Francois du Plessis is currently third in the race for top batsman and 67/10 with BetFair to win that award, but equally as important to their challenge will be the form of captain MS Dhoni and Doug ‘the rug’ Bollinger, a fantastically amusing character with an interesting hairpiece.

In terms of individuals to watch, the like of Lasith Malinga and Charl Langeveldt have already proven themselves excellent assets at this level, and the Sri Lankan can give everything when he plays knowing it is only a few overs of work, but Munaf Patel (71/50, BetFair) currently leads the way in the bowling stakes and is devastatingly effective in the right conditions, so the purple cap could go in any of a number of different directions depending on the draw and who makes it through to the latter stages.

For me, there is a chance the likes of Gilchrist and so on could get into this later on, after a slow start, and the same goes for the presently-injured Sachin Tendulkar, but it seems as though the young Indian chargers like Ajinkya Rahane (71/50) or Virat Kohli (21/2, both BetFair) best understand how to succeed in this sort of tournament, and would be equally as good a bet as a more established player. We’ll have another look toward the sharp end of the IPL, but for now just enjoy all the sixes, dancing girls and spectacular scenery that India can offer.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

IPL Odds, First Look

Durham hope Johnson can take them to Finals day

Sarah Connolly — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:48:17 +0000

Durham Dynamos have previous in the Friends Life T20 competition and their chances of success this time around have been massively boosted by the signing of Mitchell Johnson.

Back in 2007 the club won their first major trophy when beating Hampshire Hawks in the 2005 competition and Durham have also enjoyed County Championship success both in 2008 and 2009.

They are looking to impress in the 2012 Friends Life T20 competition that takes place during June and July, with the signature of Australian seamer Johnson really stating their intentions for the competition.

Johnson was ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2009 and brings a wealth of experience with 47 Test, 107 one day and 28 T20 international appearance for Australia. He will join Herschelle Gibbs as the overseas pairing for the Dynamos during the short-format competition and those two could give Durham a real edge on their rivals; this partnership should catch the eye of many pundits involved in England cricket betting.

Durham CCC chief executive David Harker is confident the fans in the north-east will give both Johnson and Gibbs a “very warm” welcome – and they could achieve legendary status at the Riverside if they held guide the Dynamos to victory at Finals day.

“Mitchell is an excellent addition to our squad and he will certainly be a force to be reckoned with,” he stated.

“One of our ambitions for 2012 is to get to T20 Finals Day and we have made the investment to bring in players that we feel will enhance our already talented squad to help us achieve that.”

Leicestershire Foxes will go into the 2012 Friends Life T20 tournament as the defending champions after beating Somerset in the final last season, and the 2012 finals will take place at the SWALEC stadium in Cardiff.

Those looking to partake in Betfair cricket betting would be advised take note of the developments of this story.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

Durham hope Johnson can take them to Finals day

England v Sri Lanka odds

Timothy Masters — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:30:46 +0000

We’ve already seen a few interesting points come out of the test in Columbo over the past few days, and the first play saw no let-up in the excitement levels. Coming into the test match England skipper Andrew Strauss was under pressure, and speculation that he may resign was rife, even tempting former greats like Ricky Ponting into speaking up on the subject. Of course the idea that the man who has led England to number one in the rankings should step down after one wobble is absurd, but if you will invite the Mail, Mirror and Sun to the press conference…

Sri Lanka approached 240 for the loss of six wickets on the first day of the test, with James Anderson underlining his immense value to the team with three wickets, including that of the mercurial Dilshan. Jayawardene made his century before finally being winkled out with a Swann lbw late in the day, and the situation looks good for a home side looking to use their geographical advantage to win this test convincingly.

The likes of BetFred seem to think that’s on, installing the Sri Lankans as 11/8 favourites, but they are offering English victory at 7/4, so it’s clear nobody is properly certain. With the pressure on some England batters there is an element of competition to the team, Cook being a 7/2 favourite to be top runscorer, with his captain and KP being at 9/2 (all SkyBet). BetFair have 1/5 on SL to win the series, but it’s a bit early for all that, I’d say.

Other interesting markets are for the top English batsmen and bowlers through the series, and the battle between the spinners and seamers will provide an interesting subtext to what is already an intriguing contest. Trott and Bell are the men fancied to score the runs, while the bookies seem to think the contest for most wickets will be reduced to a style-defining fight between seam and spin, Jimmy and Swann. I’d back Trott and Anderson personally, as Swann is fading now and Bell can think himself out of, as well as into, a good score. Whoever wins, this will be a top series.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

England v Sri Lanka odds

Sachin Tendulkar, now and next

Timothy Masters — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:43:55 +0000

A momentous, much-anticipated achievement can build its own pressure, and that had certainly been the case for the man still known as the ‘Little Master’ by a billion Indian cricket fanatics. For months Sachin Tendulkar had toiled against the weight of expectation, his own slightly faded form and the excellence of test bowlers in search of the elusive hundredth hundred, but now it is his.

Firstly, I should congratulate a man who most likely will never read what I have written about him on being as good as anyone he has played with or against. The fact that 49 centuries came in ODI’s and 51 in tests is also testament to the fact he is one of very few men to genuinely master both the shorter forms of the game as well as the test arena, and the length of his career is proof of his astonishing mental strength.

He has surpassed Gavaskar, Bradman, Lara et al along the way, partly due to an incredible determination and also in no small part due to playing with the likes of Dravid and Laxman, Dravid in particular being the perfect foil for any batting maverick, and enough of those runs have come on flat tracks against bad teams that many feel he is the greatest flat-track bully ever, if not quite on the level of Lara or Bradman for pure skill and chutzpah.

This century was part of his Asian Cup effort (India 8/11 as tournament winners) for his nation, but interestingly BetFair still have Virat Kohli (12/25) as favourite to finish the tournament as top batsmen. The next test of Tendulkar could either come in his trip to Australia at the end of the year, or the World Twenty20, starting on the 1^st June. India are 4/1 as winners (SkyBet) and that would be a suitably post-modern way for the greatest batsman of the modern era to finish his tournament career, with proof he can adapt and destroy any challenger.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

Sachin Tendulkar, now and next

No related posts.

Chris Woakes raring to go

Bet123 — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:11:21 +0000

England seamer Chris Woakes has spoken about how keen he is to get back into action after recovering from the injury which cut short his tour of India earlier this year.

Before the One Day International series began, those looking at in play betting note how Woakes suffered a muscle tear and ended up flying home before being able to make an impact in England colours.

He is now fit and fresh again though and ready for 2012 to be a big year for him. He may well have been left out of the most recent England test squad, but he is ambitious and wants to get back involved as soon as possible.

Referring to his injury and the next step for him as a player, Woakes said: “I just got a grade one muscle tear which was not serious but meant 10-14 days out and as it was such a short tour that was that.”

“It was probably an injury waiting to happen after all that bowling throughout the previous year and winter before. It caught up with me.”

“I did think I would be getting a break but when the England selectors come calling you can’t turn it down, can you? I was excited to go because India is a great place to play cricket but, after playing in both warm-up games in Hyderabad without a problem, in the training session before the first one-dayer I picked up an annoying niggle.”

“But getting home and having a break has given me that hunger back. I was back in training last week and am looking forward to getting back to work at Edgbaston after Christmas.”

“I am not in the Test team but might go somewhere with the Lions or the Performance Programme.”

Woakes also confirmed about how close he is to signing a new contract with Warwickshire, outlining his intention to remain at the Country for many years to come.

He said: “I am a Warwickshire boy and I want us to win something next year. We want to go one better in the Championship and put things right in the one-day stuff where we have got a few new ideas and are keen to put them into practice.”

Elsewhere, Woakes has been left out of the England Lions squad, with James Taylor picked as the captain for the 16-man squad that tour Bangladesh in January.

ECB performance director David Parsons said: “We have selected a young squad for this tour.”

“This is in line with our strategy of looking ahead to the 2015 World Cup.”

“The squad spent the first part of the winter training at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough.”

“We are identifying and working with players who may be able to go on and play a role for England in the future.”

“These players have worked extremely hard over the last couple of months with a strong focus on limited-overs cricket.

“This tour presents a good opportunity for these players to continue to develop their skills in subcontinent conditions on what will no doubt be a challenging tour of Bangladesh, as well as push for selection for future England squads.”

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

Chris Woakes raring to go

Lions triumph in Northampton

Indian bowling player ratings v England

Bet123 — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 06:21:13 +0000

Praveen Kumar – 8 – Paid the price for a heavy workload by missing the fourth Test, a sign of how much India over-relied on the only man to trouble England’s batsmen. 15 wickets at 29.53 was an excellent return and a firm rebuttal to those who believe – Duncan Fletcher? – that he lacks the pace to prosper as a Test bowler. Online Betting sites might start to take more notice of him now.

Ishant Sharma – 5 – A mixed bag, veering from unplayable pace and hostility in spells at Lord’s and Trent Bridge to half-pitched filth at Edgbaston. He did not kick-on from success in the Caribbean, but will be persevered with.

Sreesanth – 2 – Many England fans wonder what the fuss is about this supposed match-winner, scepticism not disbanded by eight wickets at 61.62 (and economy rate of 4.44). Might have run out of chances.

Amit Mishra – 2 – A missed opportunity to challenge the under-fire Harbhajan. Perky lower order batting makes him an ideal replacement for the incumbent, but cynics will suggest his three wickets at 106.66 was taking the impersonation too far.

Harbhajan Singh – 1 – Two wickets from more than 69 overs of toil neatly represented his current malaise – or is it a terminal decline? Lacks confidence in variations and, if his swashbuckling batting when supposedly injured with a side strain is anything to go by, some guts to tough it out with the ball. It will be interesting to see how Sports betting online follows him in the future.

RP Singh – 1 – Slow and something of a liability, and that was just in the field. Out of practice and out of his depth after being parachuted in for the fourth Test, he embodied the shambolic planning of the management. Munaf Patel has enhanced his career by being drinks waiter.

Zaheer Khan – 2 – Showed what might have been with an incisive new ball burst at Lord’s, but his breakdown was not just bad luck. The player and management must take responsibility for the loss of the team’s spearhead. Suddenly look on borrowed time as a Test player.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

Indian bowling player ratings v England

Lions triumph in Northampton

Bet123 — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:57:27 +0000

A champion performance from Leicestershire’s James Taylor has handed the England Lions victory in their third tour match against Sir Lanka A, today. The result is especially important for the Lions, given that the side were trounced in their previous match with Sri Lanka A, at the weekend, losing by a 10-wicket margin.

The Lions began the one-day international series with a huge win over the visitors, at the end of last week. The youngster, Taylor, scored his first century as England captain in the game, from just under 120 balls. The Lions eventually put 310 up the Sri Lankans, with Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow contributing a half-ton each.

However, overconfidence, complacency, or just plain bad luck saw the Lions sink to a humiliating defeat in the second match at New Road, Worchester. Sri Lankan bowler, Seekkuge Prasanna, overwhelmed the England batsmen with a career-defining performance. The Lions lost five wickets in ten overs, before succumbing to defeat with 196 balls left to play. Those following the cricket betting tips would have been surprised by the size of the defeat.

Despite being soundly beaten, Lions all-rounder, Chris Woakes, was convinced that the squad could ‘turn the tide’ in the final match, and claim the tour series for the home team. Woakes’ confidence was rewarded, at Wantage Road, today, when Taylor claimed his second 100 in three games, to topple Sri Lanka A. Anyone following the Michael Vaughan cricket betting tips will be keeping an eye on Taylor’s progress.

The visitors won the toss, and put England in to bat. The Lions claimed 282 for 9 wickets, including 73 from Ben Stokes and 29 from James Harris. Sri Lanka’s innings was rather more sedate; three players were taken for ducks, as the South Asian team tried and failed to match England’s tally. Sri Lanka were all-out for 147, after just 29 overs.

Originally written by Bet123.net, an online Betting Guide

Lions triumph in Northampton