Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series

[kevshat]

Pakistan host England in a three match test series which begins on the 17th January. With the problems in Pakistan this series will be staged in the UAE and all three matches are live on Sky in the UK. With the issues that occured the last time these two met I'm sure it will be a spicy series but there should be lots of betting potential for us to get stuck into. Schedule:

Tue Jan 17 - Sat Jan 21 06:00 GMT | 10:00 local 06:00 GMT	1st Test - Pakistan v England Dubai International Cricket Stadium	N/A
Wed Jan 25 - Sun Jan 29 06:00 GMT | 10:00 local 06:00 GMT	2nd Test - Pakistan v England Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi	N/A
Fri Feb 3 - Tue Feb 7 06:00 GMT | 10:00 local 06:00 GMT	3rd Test - Pakistan v England Dubai International Cricket Stadium	N/A

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series The series is just under a week away but I'm going to hit my first outright now because I don't think the price will be around for too much longer. 3pts A.Cook Top England Series Batsman 4/1 Betfred Alastair Cook looks a big price to top score to me in this series. As an opening batsman he will get to bat on these road like wickets at the best times and we saw last year how he can get stuck into good wickets away from home. We've seen it in the warm up matches too and to be fair Cook's the only one who's looked anything like in good nick on the tour so far. Playing spin will be an important part of this series and Eoin Morgan aside none of the English batsmen are particularly proficient in that department other than Ian Bell but the problem with those two are they bat at numbers 5 and 6 in the order. Cook will face an awful lot of seam bowling and we saw in Bangladesh in 2010 he's not the worst against spin. These wickets will be like those Bangladesh ones which bodes well for those of us who take the Chef to top score in this series. Cook averages 54.44 on tour for England which is a fantastic record. He has scored 76, 26 and 133 in the warm up matches so far and with his teammates not looking so great yet and a couple of his main dangers having real concerns over playing spin I think the 4/1 on Cook being England's top scorer over the series is a very attractive price and one which is well worth a solid punt.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Time to put my two pence in. Outrights for now: - 2pts Top England Series Batsman: Alaistair Cook @ 7/2 [WillHill] I think the Top Series Batsman will go to one of the Top 3 for England. All this talk about these pitches in Dubai indicate how it will be a batsman's paradise and how these tracks are more like roads with true bounce and all the rest. For that reason I see runs early doors with the new ball. Obviously, Cook has to be in anyone's thoughts. The guy scores runs for fun in all countries and all conditions. A juicy hundred in the warm-up match the other day when everyone around him failed was also a nice bonus as he's been played into form. Part of me wanted to get on Strauss as well but I havent really got as much confidence in the skipper as I had before. - 1pt Top England Series Batsman: Jon Trott @ 9/2 [stanJames] - 4pts Batsman Series Runs: Jon Trott Over 240 @ 5/6 [bet365] It's for that reason I thought I had to side with Trott too . Trott will graft for runs wherever he goes and his discipline as a batsman is ridiuclously good. He, like Cook was played into form last week with a polished 93 run innings so he should have a measure of the conditions too. I went against Pietersen because at 4, he might not get enough of time in the middle and his weakness to left-arm spin will just fit right into Abdur Rehman's hands. They'll have a plan for him sorted there's no doubt about that. I'm also taking the runs lines for Trott. On these decks I definitely see a century somewhere along the lines, meaning he'll have four or five innings to score the rest of the runs needed. I fancy overs there. Alastair and John to do the scoring for me over the next month.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Few more: - 1pt Top England Series Bowler: James Anderson @ 4/1 [stanJames] - 4pts Total Series Wickets: James Anderson Over 11.5 @ 5/6 [bet365] I've been trying to get a measure of how the England Bowlers will fare in Dubai and every time I read up on the subject I'm drawn towards Anderson. The fear with this is the notion that twenty wickets wont fall for England on a regular basis which will limit the potential reward for Anderson. I'm not so convinced though. Whilst Pakistan aren't a bad side, I expect them to struggle to take 20 English wickets more than England will struggle to take 20 Pakistani wickets. The two tests that have been played here have been a relatively even keel for seamers and spinners. Last year 31 wickets fell when Sri Lanka came to town and it ended 12-19 in terms of spinners seamers. In 2010, South Africa played Pakistan here where twenty six wickets fell. They were split 12-14 in terms of seamers and spinners. Seamers should get a decent amount of joy here and with the absence of Bresnan I'd like to favour Anderson. Anything offered early up with the new cherry will see it being exploited by Jimmy. What I favour more to is the fact that barring Swann he is the only other bowler effectively guaranteed to play all three matches. Broad should be fit but has fitness issues ahead of tomorrow whilst if a Monty is needed for a two-pronged spin attack, I'd assume Tremlett will be the one to give way. I can definitely see Jimmy taking four of five wickets in an innings at least somewhere in the three tests so twelve wickets shouldn't be TOO much of an issue. If he stays injury free, I expect him to be there or there abouts at the top of the pile so I'll put my eggs in his basket for this series.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Just lost what I think was my biggest ever write up on PL. I am now pissed off and I am short on time. To summarise, I don't really agree with the whole talk of the draw. Here goes: - 3pts England to win the 1st Test @ 2/1 [bet365] Everything you read is dead pitches this, English bowlers will struggle that. Whilst that may be true, I fancy a result to come out of this match. I was looking at the previous two matches here and it's the match being played here in October that fills me with some confidence. Sri Lanka were skittled out on Day 1 cheaply and Pakistan were able to get a result on Day 4! The previous match saw some painfully slow batting from both Pakistan and South Africa. That won't be the case here though, Pietersen, Bell, Morgan, Prior and Broad are all fairly quick scorers. On a pitch that is meant to be a "batsmans paradise" I see quick runs and a result, for the tourists favour. The price of 2/1 is high enough for me to snag. England ftw. - 3pts Both Teams to Bat on Day 1 @ 10/3 [sportingbet] - More than 4 wickets to Fall on Day 1 @ 1/2 [sportingbet] I wish I knew about Sportingbet's Specials and when they go up. Some of them are very silly. I mentioned above that I fancy a result to come out of this match and that should come about from wickets on Day 1. There should be something there early up. If there is, I expect Jimmy to exploit it for England and Gul and the impressive Wahab Riaz for Pakistan. The match here in October saw Pakistan restrict Sri Lanka to 78/5 at LUNCH on Day 1. They went on to be skittled out feebly for 240-odd with Pakistan able to bat out 9 overs before the end of play. Now England in unfamiliar conditions may not last all day and I rate the English bowl attack highly enough to trouble Pakistan. I can't remember the last time I watched a test match where five wickets didn't fall on Day 1. Even at 1/2 I think that's a decent bet. I genuinely can see 10 though and I am happy to play at 10/3 when it's usually 9/4 or somewhere thereabouts. Wickets for me. Five at least. - 1pt Top Pakistan Batsman (1st Innings Only): Younis Khan @ 7/2 [bet365] Great record here for Younis Khan. Three innings here has seen him score 55, 35 and 131* and I expect him to go well again here tomorrow. I don't really need to add too much to this. He's seen it all, done it all and will most definitely do it again. He is accustomed to the conditions and comes in at 4 where he can save his country or add a big innings to build his team around. He is the favourite amongst all Pakistani batsman, Only Azhar Ali has a better record here than him and he is interestingly priced at a best of 6.50 for these honours. However it's Khan I see for this one. #4 to prevail.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series 3 more outrights for me. Apologies for lack of notice. I'll allow First Capital Connect to take the blame for that :wall. Absolutely shattered so no huge write up's but it's fair to say I see this as a batsmen's series. 2pts England to win the series 1-0 9/2 Bet365 I don't envisage too many results. Well actually I only envisage one :lol and I think England will just have too much for Pakistan somewhere. This series will rattle along at a slow old pace with run rates in the 2.5 area for a lot of the time on slow, dry, turning wickets. It will be hard work for the bowlers but as the ball goes soft and the wicket gets slow it will be hard for the batsmen too. England have the longer batting line up and Swann can produce his magic somewhere so I'll take 1-0 England at what looks a fair enough 9/2. 3pts G.Swann Top England Series Bowler 2/1 Ladbrokes Really can't see any other England bowler featuring here. That is unless we abandon our policy and play 2 spinners. Broad comes in under an injury cloud and probably won't get the bounce he gets in England. Ditto Tremlett and Finn as far as the bounce is concerned and Anderson won't get too much swing. Bresnan is England's best reverse swinger and he's on the plane home. Swann will have to get through a lot of overs in this series and he'll get through a fair few wickets too. 2/1 is perfectly acceptable to me here. 2pts A.Ali Top Pakistan Series Batsman 11/2 Skybet Azhar Ali is a bit of a favourite of mine and there's no reason he can't go well against England for a second time. The lack of pace and bounce in the wickets will allow him to play his game. He doesn't give his wicket away cheaply and is technically proficient. He's the decent value call to Younis Khan particularly as he bats above him.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series 3 match bets. Unlike Tyler I very much see the draw in play here and will probably look to get on at some point. 4pts A Century to be scored on Day 1 Evs Sportingbet There's only been two tests on this ground. In the first Graeme Smith hit an opening day ton and Kumar Sangakkara was well on the way to one before he began to run out of partners in the second one. Pakistan have some quality in their top order while any of the England top 8 could ton up. Cook already has a ton on this tour and others have more than enough quality too. In 90 overs I think Evs is a fair price for someone to make 3 figures. 4pts A.Cook's Performance Pts - 91&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Pretty much said all I needed to in the outright punt so I won't elaborate too much. Over two knocks I'd expect 91 out of the Chef but throw in a catch or two and we might not even need that many. He's began the tour in great form. He tours fantastically and on a road of a batting surface if he gets through the next ball he could go closer to 291 than 91. Overs for me. 3pts England 1st Inns Opening Partnership - Over 34.5 runs 5/6 Blue Square As with the above really. This will be a road to bat on initially and I see England scoring well when the quicks are on even taking into account how good Umar Gul is. His partner will be inexperienced and if it's Wahab Riaz he'll probably lob 35 wides down for us. Both England openers have runs under their belts on this tour and I expect a strong start to the series from them as a partnership here in Dubai.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series I couldn't have got that much more wrong if I'd tried :eyes. -7 for me after day 1. Great shout on the both teams to bat Tyler. I'll add another for this test. I still don't think there will be a result and at close to 1/2 I'm happy to lay Pakistan all day long here. 6pts (to risk 3ish) LAY Pakistan to win 1st Test 1.54 Betfair It's fair to say day one of this test match wasn't England's finest moment but I still don't think they are a 4/7 shot to lose here. The games move forward very slowly in the sub continent and this one has the potential to move really slowly. Having not picked Umar Akmal there isn't a Pakistan batsman who is going to score quickly in this match and take the game away from England. All of Pakistan's middle order are technically solid but they are plodders who occupy the crease rather than doing anything special. This wicket is going to get very slow over the next 2-3 days making batting a lot easier and regardless of what Pakistan achieve in their first innings there's no reason why England will bat badly a second time. It was only Saeed Ajmal who did the damage on the opening day and England handed him 5 wickets on a plate with daft sweeps and pulls which weren't necessary. He'll be watched over the next day or two and played a lot better I'm sure. The other thing we need to remember is Pakistan are still 150 runs behind in this match and even if they are to go on and take a commanding position they won't declare much before they lead by 350. With 2.5 runs an over a peak run rate from now on that will take over 2 days to come leaving England needing to bat for 5 or so sessions to save the game. England did that in Brisbane last year on their way to success so we know it can be done. That's the draw scenario but if Graeme Swann lights up for an hour at any time England will still be able to put the pressure on Pakistan on the final day. We've seen in their series against Sri Lanka recently that Pakistan aren't risk takers to win on a final day so there's more than enough mileage in England being able to avoid defeat in this one.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series England and Younus didn't exactly do the business for me but the two Sportingbet bets did. Had something to the tune of 20pts on the 2nd one leaving a healthy profit from the first match. Two horrible batting performances from England didn't do many favours for my outrights though. Pietersen is looking particularly shaky. Several issues to address ahead of wednesday.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series First Test was healthy. Outrights could be in better positions but we've got a long way to go. Second Test: - 3pts Batsman Matchbet: Mohammad Hafeez +0.5 runs vs. Andrew Strauss @ EVS [sportingbet] Tomorrow marks the 100th time Cook and Strauss have partnered each other together in Test Matches. Despite this landmark, I see another failure for Strauss. He has not been the same player that we know he can be for a while now and with only 281 runs in the last 12months (1 fifty, 0 centuries), I can see Hafeez doing him this week. Over the same time period, Hafeez has over 750 runs with 2 centuries and 3 fifties in there along the way. I can only assume he's getting some good pussy lately because his form over the past 18months to what it was before has been very on point. His 88 run innings last week was fluent and with a decent return here in October, I see the Pakistani coming out on top in the battle of the two openers. - 4pts Player Performance: Matt Prior Over 90 @ 5/6 [bet365] Matt Prior was the only England batsman that didn't really look in trouble in the 1st innings last week. His innings was attacking and he seemed to be the only one of the top 7 that looked to take the game to the opposition. I expect him to continue that form on the flat deck expected here in Dubai this week. Even if he doesn't bat twice I can see at least 50 points with the gloves for the wicketkeeper. He snagged 45 in the 1st Test in 1 innings last week and whether Onions or Panesar plays, I see a similar return. Panesar increases the chance of a stumping obviously, whilst Onions will draw the edges. Not many wickets fell in the previous two matches here before but when they did, they often fell to seamers. Again, that should bring edges. Overs for Prior. - 1pt Player to Take 4 Wickets in the 1st Innings: James Anderson @ 8/1 [bluesq] - 1pt Player to Take 4 Wickets in the 1st Innings: Umar Gul @ 8/1 [bluesq] I was looking at the previous tests to be played here and the bowling figures told me something. I mentioned before that the wickets that did fell, often fell to the seamers. In November 2010, Tanvir Ahmed took 6 six South African wickets in the 1st innings, whilst Dale Steyn followed up with 4 in the 2nd. In October, Junaid Khan took a five-for in the 1st Innings whilst Umar Gul took four in the 2nd innings for Pakistan. Welegedera also took 2 of the five Pakistani 1st innings wickets in that match. I see a benign track so not much offering for Swann/Ajmal. I guess the two main threats for either side are Anderson and Umar Gul again. At 8/1, I'll take it on.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Awful first test for me. Probably worse than that to be honest and I apologise to anyone who followed me on that. -16.24 with the 1-0 England gone so plenty of work to do in the last two tests. I'll take 4 here. 4pts 2nd Test - Draw 5/4 Paddy Power I really expect this match to be a draw. Pakistan looked quite at home against England's bowlers in the main in the first test with four of them getting starts and not going on with them. A lot of that though was concentration not being tip top because they were so far ahead so I'll give them that. Certainly they have a batting line up with the technique to go big on any wicket let alone this one which as we've seen in the two matches played on this ground is flatter than a witch's tit. England's batting has been crucified and quite rightly so but the coach has said we may have been underprepared and I think he's right. I expect to see a more patient England performance here and certainly the batting line up is good enough to be competitive. The last time England's batting failed was in Perth and it responded with two big scores and two innings wins. With the slow pace the matches in the sub continent are played at I don't foresee England winning this by an innings, I think both sides will have their batsmen dominating and I expect a relatively boring draw here. 3pts J.Trott's 1st Inns Runs - Over 35.5 5/6 Ladbrokes Jonathan Trott was one of the few England batsmen to show they knew what they were doing in the first test and he could've scored a lot more than he did but for the tickle down leg side. I'm a believer in that those dismissals are unlucky, especially in the first innings so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt there. We know Jonathan Trott is a run machine. There's nothing he likes more than batting and when he gets in he often bats for a very long time. He didn't look out of his comfort zone with the conditions in the first test and I don't expect him to have any problems here. It may not be a quick 36 from Trott but on this flat wicket I do expect him to get that far and hopefully from an England point of view a lot more besides it too. Trott still averages over 56 in test cricket so this isn't even an average innings that we need on a wicket which will be primed for batting. I'll take the Warwickshire man to hit 36 or more first time around here. 2pts England 1st Inns - 500 runs or more 5/2 Blue Square I think England have been written off completely but it's a bit too soon for that. This batting line up doesn't fail us very often but when it does it generally bounces back in a big way and with Swann scoring runs at number 9 then it's perfectly long enough to go beyond 500 here. Saeed Ajmal's last bowling innings on this wicket was 1/167 so it's not a ground he gets much assistance on and I expect England to have looked at a lot of videos of him and they should pick him a lot better in this test match. As far as the wicket goes there should be no problems. Both Pakistan and South Africa have a 500 batting in their first innings on this ground and Sri Lanka put up over 400 in their second innings on it so this is very much a wicket to get yourself in on and fill your boots. It only needs a couple of players to score big and the bits and pieces of the rest will take the score over 500. 2 of the four first innings on this ground have been over 500 and another was over 430 so this 5/2 looks a little too big with those statistics. 1pt K.Pietersen Man of the Match 16/1 Ladbrokes I find it hard to believe the MOM award will go to a bowler here so I think Kevin Pietersen is overpriced here. We saw in Adelaide last year that when KP gets questioned he brings a decent knock out of his locker and with the questions being asked now a top knock on a flat wicket will be the perfect way to shut those doubters up. He has two double centuries in the last 15 months so when he gets in he can go very big and there's no demons on this wicket to get rid of him. He'll know his 2nd innings dismissal in Dubai was pathetic and he will be out to put that right I'm sure. When he is in and on form he's still England's most destructive batsman and I expect him to go well here. If England don't go in with Monty, and I don't think we will, then KP might get to turn his arm over and rest the quicks and if he can take a couple of wickets or a key wicket that would do his MOM credentials no harm. Of all the England batsmen, perhaps Morgan aside, if they were all to get runs it would be KP who stands out the most so I'll chance my luck on the Surrey man scoring well and landing the prize.

[Lancey]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Insomnia has kicked in again - something to do with knowing there is cricket being played across the globe, live on TV perhaps? In any event, it's prompted me to post up my bets for the first time. :hope 4pts win Cook top England 1st innings runscorer Quite simply the man has been a run machine for England in the last two years, having sorted his feet and head out after a difficult start to the home series against Pakistan in 2010. He's finished fourth (2010) and fifth (2011) in the annual list of highest runscorers in consecutive years, and will want to get his 2012 going after a poor start in the first test. Of the 22 tests England have played in the last 2 years, Cook has top scored in the first innings on only two occasions, but has scored consistently heavily and has finished second on a further 5 (I think it's 5 - possibly one less or one more), in circumstances where a ton (or indeed a daddy ton) has been beaten by a double ton (Bell, Trott and Pietersen have all done this). Of England's likely top order, Prior and, arguably, Trott apart, none of them looked especially in form in the first test, but I feel Cook has a less fragile mental state than Pietersen (does his ego need a big crowd and a pressure cooker situation to perform?), Bell (looked very vulnerable against Ajmal's doosra with minimal turn and I think, whatever has been said to the contrary, he's in Bell's head) and Morgan (constantly under pressure to prove his worth as a test batsman). Strauss has been poor for 12 months now, as has been identified elsewhere in this thread and I think is in decline. Trott and Prior are clear dangers, but after a week with his guru Gooch and under Flower's daily tutelage, I'll take 4/1 for Cook's mental strength and self belief to help him score big runs here. Pakistan highest opening partnership 6 pts @ Evs Blue Square & VC Bet I think this is a huge price. I've already nailed my colours to the Strauss in decline mast and believe the rest of this series will provide further evidence this is the case. He's clearly been a superb leader for England and a much underrated batsman. However, opening stands of 10 & 6; 75;186; 7 & 6; 19 & 23; 4; 5 & 1 and 46 in the last 8 tests (most recent first) does not make for good reading, especially when you consider the two partnerships of substance came in the third and fourth tests against a demoralised Indian side. Contrast those numbers with Taufeeq Umar and Mohammed Hafeez 114; 23 & 7; 164; 8 & 20; 63 & 17 and 118 and, at first glance, there's not too much difference. However, Pakistan's pair is a burgeoning partnership between two players who appear established and settled at international level. Additionally, they will have find memories of the last test they played at this venue against Sri Lanka, where they scored 75 (Hafeez) and 236 (Umar) respectively. 5 pts Pakistan Opening Partnership over 32.5 runs 5/6 Paddy Power I think this line is low for reasons outlined above. England looked worryingly unthreatening with the new ball(s) in the first test and with this wicket set to be flatter, I suspect what wickets there are for England will come when the shine has gone from the ball. Which leads me to.... 2pts Onions top England bowler 4/1 Sportingbet & Stan James With stakes returned if he isn't selected (haven't seen team news as yet), I think this is worth a punt. Tyler has already pointed out the record of medium fast bowlers here and, listening to Michael Vaughan on Radio 5 yesterday evening, there was a belief that Onions may be picked to replace Tremlett ahead of Finn and Panesar. He's a wicket to wicket bowler; has a proven record of taking wickets with an old ball in both county cricket and in test cricket (less evidence, of course) and is an exponent of reverse swing. A little movement off a dead pitch when bowling straight could be invaluable and is a similar type of bowler to Gul (full and straight) who has performed well here and did so in the first test and Cheema who, whilst not taking the wickets he arguably deserved, bowled well an created pressure in the first test as well. I'm happy to take the 4/1 on a bowler who may have sneaked a little under the radar in this market

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Great stuff Lancey. Good to have a new face in the cricket threads. Excellent start with the Pakistan opening partnership. Good luck with the rest of your bets :ok

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Great write up Lancey. Hope Insomnia strikes you more often! With yourself added to Kevshat, Tyler and others we are blessed with some real insightful Cricket posters on here.

[Lancey]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series

Great write up Lancey. Hope Insomnia strikes you more often! With yourself added to Kevshat, Tyler and others we are blessed with some real insightful Cricket posters on here.

Thanks Perry - just hope the 'insight' proves profitable!! Kevshat - I followed your immense success on the BDO thread and felt inspired to have a go on a sport I follow. Hope I can be half as successful.

[ilikemoney]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series England 1st innings runs - Under 321.5 @ 1.83 with Ladbrokes Bit of a gut instinct bet, not much reasoning. England still need another 115 runs for this bet to lose and if Ajmal is on his game tomorrow, he could restrict the tourists to under 300 on his own easily. :hope

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series This is outrageous. England's performance in this last our has been appalling. Strauss failed as expected but unfortunately Prior didn't bring the goodies. Was on the right lines with the seamers but Broad was the one who took four, not Anderson. Great start Lancey, hope to see you more round here :ok

[Mirage]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Awful, awful performance with the bat from our boys. The bowlers have put in the hard work these past 2 tests but the batsmen have lacked the concentration and technique. Hopefully this test will be the wake-up call needed and we can put on a good show when facing Sri Lanka. Some good calls in here, well done to all with winners!

[Lancey]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Pakistan to win 3rd test - 4 points win 7/4 Ladbrokes, Tote, Blue Square & Betfred I'm going to take this early as I can't see the price lasting, which I think is too big. Pakistan are clearly on a role and are a superior side in these conditions to England. The long running fraileties of English batsmen against quality spin bowling continue and the entire line up, with the possible exceptions of Cook, Trott and Prior seem like rabbits in headlights. They don't seem to have a plan how to score runs and the fourth innings of the second test was painful watching. Bringing in a leaden-footed Bopara for Morgan won't necessarily strengthen the batting for the final test and he has already struggled at the highest level. There's no reason at all to think that the pattern established in the first two tests will change for the third and Pakistan will want to complete a 3-0 whitewash - their understated coach, Moshin Khan, has challenged his players to become the number one team in the world and with such ambitions will be sure to keep his charges highly motivated to win the final test at a venue they seem to enjoy playing at. The 10 wicket win in the first test was preceded by an equally impressive 9 wicket demolition of Sri Lanka in October. I fully expect another impressive showing from an improving side and will be backing them to win again.

[Lancey]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Pakistan to win 3rd test - 2 additional points win 7/4 Tote & Betfred I'm surprised the 7/4 is still available with Tote and Betfred, although good luck getting on with the latter! I'm still allowed to put a reasonable stake on with Tote on one of my accounts, so I'm going to top up the original bet by a further 2 points. I just cannot see anything other than another convincing Pakistan win against a demoralised England. Small amounts available on Betfair at around this mark, before commission is taken into account, of course.

[Lancey]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Azhar Ali top Pakistan 1st innings scorer - 2.5 points win 5/1 Ladbrokes, Skybet, Tote, Betvictor, Blue Square I fancy Azhar to come good in this market following his knock in the second innings in the previous test. His partnership with Shafiq was a major factor in winning the match for Pakistan and he demonstrated real mental strength at a crucial time, to go with his undoubted talent. Coming off the back of such a crucial innings and playing at a venue where he scored his first - and to date only - test century against Sri Lanka, all the signs point to a big performance from an improving batsman. Saeed Ajmal man of the match 2pts win 13/2 Bet365 With spin highly likely to dominate again, I just have to go with this stand out performer. Building on his 50 wickets in 8 tests during 2011, he clearly has the wood on the majority of England's batsmen and is the leading wicket taker in this series with 17 (Rehman second with 12). Given I already strongly fancy Pakistan to win the final test and assert their authority over an England side at odds with the conditions and against a bowler who appears to be in the minds of the opposition, I'd expect Ajmal to play a major part in securing the win. He was man of the match in the first test at this venue, following up his award in the test against Sri Lanka in October 2011, where he took 8 wickets against a side much more familiar and competent in playing spin. He's 7/4 at best to be top Pakistan bowler in the first innings and at odds of 6/1, I'm prepared to back him in this market instead, taking a risk there's no major innings played on either side and that he'll out-bowl his colleagues and his opponents. Pakistan 1st innings opening partnership over 29.5 runs - 6pts win 5/6 William Hill Similar reasons for the same bet in the previous test, except this time, we can have three fewer runs for Taufeeq and Hafeez to beat the mark. Unless Hills know something I don't (always possible :)) I think this line is too low again. They put on 88 in the first innings in the first test here and would expect them to beat this mark. :hope

[citizen frank]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series hi lancey ime going for england at 7/4 victor chandler or should that be betvictor on the theory of the wounded animal thats my only reason for backing lack lustre england.bol. anyway

[Lancey]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Just seen Paddy Power have the line at 26.5 runs. Shame I'm on with Hills at 29.5 :cry

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series 50 of the 70 wickets this season have fallen to spin. Hasn't suited my outrights a great deal but minor. Onto this week: - 4pts Pakistan to win the 3rd Test @ 7/4 Not really too sure why Pakistan are this price to win. They've effectively destroyed England throughout January and I really see them gunning for that 3-0 series scoreline. England's batting has been a joke. Their middle order has scored 94 runs at an average of 7.38 over the two tests which, for the no. 1 test side in the world is silly amounts of embarrassment. They have not been able to cope with Ajmal and more discreetly Rehman. They haven't built partnerships and their bowling hasn't really been up to scratch. I can see a repeat performance of what we have seen so far and at this price, I suppose I have to get on board. Hosts for me. - 4pts Player Performance: Andrew Strauss Under 80 @ 5/6 I haveto continue to oppose Strauss here because his form has continued to be awful. Four innings in Dubai have produced 19, 6, 11 and 32 runs. That can't be the form of an opening captain. He hasn't looked at all comfortable against spin and to be honest, he hasn't been on song all year. England aren't going to win this series. Motivation can't be that great here for them and I think the Pakistani bowling attack will look to Strauss or early breakthroughs. Strauss stands at 1st slip which presents him with opportunities for cheap 10 points but I see 75% of the overs going to spin over the week so I'm cool with unders.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Great work in that last test Lancey :clap:clap. 4 for me in the final test. 4pts A Century to be scored on Day 1 5/4 Sportingbet I'm not sure how we've not seen a century in this series so far but we haven't. I expect that to change here though. England will bat better in this test I'm certain of that. We just got stuck in a rut in the final innings in Abu Dhabi and Abdur Rehman bowled the spell of his life else we would have won that test. Pakistan have been going fine with the bat in the series too. So far this series has been a series of batsmen getting in, going past 50 and then getting out before they make it to the ton but I suspect with this wicket being brand new that batting in the first innings will be quite easy in this match. It may start to turn a bit on days 4 and 5 but not on the opening day. It then becomes a test of concentration and the top 3 of both sides have two men fully concentrated at the crease in Taufeeq and Azhar for Pakistan and Cook and Trott for England. I'll say there's a better than 50% chance someone bats through the day here and so I'll take the 5/4 about a century on the opening day. 4pts G.Swann's Performance Pts - 120&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Graeme Swann has been one of the England players who can hold their head up high with their performances in the series so far and there's no reason why that won't change in this match. His spin will be good for a number of wickets, quite possibly the six wickets we need for him to cover this total but he's chipped in quite nicely with the bat in the series too which could shave anything for 20-50/60 runs off his total. Not much has carried to the slips in this series but he's in there when it does so he could easily chop 10 off the total with a catch or even two catches so he has 3 ways of scoring, a really solid chunky way with the ball, a reliable back up with the bat and as good a chance as any with catches so I think this 120 line is within the reach of England's premier off spinner. 3pts M.ul-Haq's Performance Pts - 75&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. I think this line is quite low for Misbah considering he's scored a 50 in the first innings of both matches and had he been required to bat second time around in the first test he will most likely have covered this total in both series. I don't think this match will be so one sided that Misbah only has to bat once. I think he will get two innings and I would expect him to notch 75 runs. Since he's had the captaincy he's played some really solid innings. Yes he can be criticised for being painfully slow or lightning quick in the same innings rather than regularly rotating the strike but once he's in he has bowling attacks in the palm of his hands. As skipper of Pakistan nobody is ever safe so Misbah will want another solid contribution to ensure he's still captain for the next series and I think we'll see 75 runs from him in this match. Any catches from him will be a bonus but I don't think they'll be needed to cover 75pts here. 1pt ew S.Broad Top England Batsman (1st Inns Only) 25/1 Ladbrokes (1/5 1,2,3) This looks a big price to me because Stuart Broad has top scored once and been places three times in his last seven innings for England. He's now a very reliable performer down at number 8 for England and he showed in Abu Dhabi that he's seeing the ball well and finding the middle of his bat. So many of the England middle order are really struggling and so Broad may not need many more than double figures to make it into a place in this first innings. If he does need more than that then we've seen him hit an unbeaten 58 first time round in the last test and he hit his highest career score against Pakistan at Lords last summer so it's an attack he's comfortable facing and at 25/1 his attacking style could easily see him land a place here if not the actual top score.

[Ben H]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Hi, first time I've posted in these parts, and just wanted to say thanks for all the high quality stuff posted in the cricket threads, one grateful reader here! Have been watching this test series and the action today, and was just minded to post about the match odds as they stand. England are priced at 1.62 to lay on Betfair and I think the price is a bit too low because of the prospect of a 'valuable' England first innings lead. I have been reading around some of the end of day reports on ESPN cricinfo and the like, and the general consensus seems to be that this is not a 16 wicket a day pitch, and its taken some hapazard batting to get to this situation. Even if England do eke out, say a 75 run lead (against fresh bowlers tomorrow morning), if the pitch is not the minefield it appears from reading the scorecard, then this may not be match turning, if a bigger volume of runs are scored in the second innings. And from my perspective, it is only the prospect of sneaking a lead in a low scoring match that is keeping England well below evens, in a series where they are two down, have badly stuggled with spinners in the conditions, and have staged a couple of spectacular collapses that would make chasing even 150 in the final innings a nervous prospect. From my personal perspective of not attaching so much significance to the amount of wickets on day one, and the potential England first innings lead, I definately wouldn't have England below evens against a team they have decisively collapsed to twice. 3 Points, Lay England, 1.62, Betfair

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series :welcome to PL Ben. Nice post too I have to agree with you. Best of luck :ok

[citizen frank]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series as the game stands pakistan are 14/2 yet they are odds on with most bookies,crazy

[Lahrio]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series Welcome to the PL Ben H! Excellent first post. :ok

[Ben H]

Re: Cricket: Pakistan vs England Test Series

:welcome to PL Ben. Nice post too I have to agree with you. Best of luck :ok

Welcome to the PL Ben H! Excellent first post. :ok

Thank you both very much!