England vs South Africa - Test Series

[kevshat]

The heavyweight series of the 'summer' begins on Thursday as the top two sides in the world meet in a 3 match test series. It should be a fantastic series and it's all live on Sky in the UK as always. There will be plenty of betting opportunities so here's to a good month of making some serious dosh. Schedule: [TABLE=width: 630]

[TR=class: FixOdi] [TD=width: 25%]Thu Jul 19 - Mon Jul 23 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] 1st Test - England v South Africa Kennington Oval, London [/TD] [TD=width: 20%] 13 - 18° C [/TD] [TD=width: 5%, align: right] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 630, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, colspan: 4][/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: FixOtr] [TD=width: 25%] Fri Jul 27 - Sat Jul 28 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] Worcestershire v South Africans County Ground, New Road, Worcester [/TD] [TD=width: 20%] N/A [/TD] [TD=width: 5%, align: right] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 630, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, colspan: 4][/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: FixOdi] [TD=width: 25%] Thu Aug 2 - Mon Aug 6 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] 2nd Test - England v South Africa Headingley, Leeds [/TD] [TD=width: 20%] N/A [/TD] [TD=width: 5%, align: right] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 630, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, colspan: 4][/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: FixOtr] [TD=width: 25%] Fri Aug 10 - Sat Aug 11 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] Derbyshire v South Africans County Ground, Derby [/TD] [TD=width: 20%] N/A [/TD] [TD=width: 5%, align: right] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 630, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, colspan: 4][/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: FixOdi] [TD=width: 25%] Thu Aug 16 - Mon Aug 20 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] 3rd Test - England v South Africa Lord's, London [/TD] [TD=width: 20%] N/A [/TD] [TD=width: 5%, align: right] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

[kevshat]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series Series preview: 4pts England to win Test Series 11/10 Ladbrokes

South Africa’s overseas record is pretty incredible, particularly in this day of lack of warm up matches and even more so when they’ve been to the sub-continent and not lost. However there is no getting away from the fact they haven’t had a lot of outdoor cricket since they landed and they are facing a side who are red hot at the minute. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-test-series-betting-england-can-edge-out-slightly-undercooked-south-africans-in-test-series

[whoisthatman]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series This may sound like bravado but I think this is one of the great cricket sides. A brilliant captain, a class opening pair, then trotty, then kp and the best England bowling attack of all time. England 12/1 to win 3-0. Get on it. The only thing that can stop it was the weather. Barmy Army!! 4pts England to win Test Series 11/10 Ladbrokes

South Africa’s overseas record is pretty incredible, particularly in this day of lack of warm up matches and even more so when they’ve been to the sub-continent and not lost. However there is no getting away from the fact they haven’t had a lot of outdoor cricket since they landed and they are facing a side who are red hot at the minute. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-test-series-betting-england-can-edge-out-slightly-undercooked-south-africans-in-test-series

[kevshat]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series Couple of outright market previews: 2pts K.Pietersen Top England Series Batsman 4/1 Ladbrokes

Whenever KP is in the news he tends to go out and shut his critics up with a bag load of runs and he’ll be wanting to go well in this series anyway as he is playing against the country of his birth. We saw last week when he hit a double hundred for Surrey that he’s in good form and with a point to prove I think we’ll see the best of Pietersen over these three matches. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-test-series-betting-kevin-pietersen-can-thrive-against-the-country-of-his-birth 2pts H.Amla Top South Africa Series Batsman 7/2 Ladbrokes

Amla has already scored a few runs on this tour and like many of his peers he has played county cricket too so knows conditions and will have played on most of the grounds being used. Technically Amla is proficient enough to get himself in and then he can go on and build big innings. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-test-series-betting-hashim-amla-can-use-his-knowledge-of-english-conditions-to-full-effect

[kevshat]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series First test preview: 3pts England to win 1st Test 7/4 Ladbrokes

South Africa still look a little undercooked going into this match and England look up for this one as you would expect. They have the better bowling attack for me and all round I like their batting line up more. The weather has sorted itself out by the looks of it so we shouldn’t get too many delays and that makes the 7/4 on an England win too attractive to miss out on. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-1st-test-betting-england-can-take-advantage-of-slightly-undercooked-south-africa-in-first-test

[kevshat]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series

Series preview: 4pts England to win Test Series 11/10 Ladbrokes

South Africa’s overseas record is pretty incredible, particularly in this day of lack of warm up matches and even more so when they’ve been to the sub-continent and not lost. However there is no getting away from the fact they haven’t had a lot of outdoor cricket since they landed and they are facing a side who are red hot at the minute. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-test-series-betting-england-can-edge-out-slightly-undercooked-south-africans-in-test-series

Couple of outright market previews: 2pts K.Pietersen Top England Series Batsman 4/1 Ladbrokes

Whenever KP is in the news he tends to go out and shut his critics up with a bag load of runs and he’ll be wanting to go well in this series anyway as he is playing against the country of his birth. We saw last week when he hit a double hundred for Surrey that he’s in good form and with a point to prove I think we’ll see the best of Pietersen over these three matches. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-test-series-betting-kevin-pietersen-can-thrive-against-the-country-of-his-birth 2pts H.Amla Top South Africa Series Batsman 7/2 Ladbrokes

Amla has already scored a few runs on this tour and like many of his peers he has played county cricket too so knows conditions and will have played on most of the grounds being used. Technically Amla is proficient enough to get himself in and then he can go on and build big innings. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-test-series-betting-hashim-amla-can-use-his-knowledge-of-english-conditions-to-full-effect

As well as the above three outrights I'm going with a few others. 1pt England to win Test Series 2-0 11/2 Ladbrokes This looks a big price to me given that England have only lost one home test in the last three years let alone a series. That test was two years ago against Pakistan but even then they won the series and they will probably feel they should have won the test they lost anyway. I really think England will show their class in this series. I think South Africa come into the series a little underdone which can assist England in getting a fast start and if they then secure the series at Headingley I'm not so sure either side will be pushing like crazy at Lords on what is usually a flat deck with the World T20 approaching faster and faster. There's always the chance the rain will mess up with the plan of three results so rather than take 2-1 or 3-0 I think the 2-0 looks a more than fair bet at 11/2 here. 1pt L.Tsotsobe Top South Africa Series Bowler 14/1 BetVictor Admittedly Lonwabo Tsotsobe isn't guaranteed to play one test let alone all three but if he does play the first test and should the rumours about Steyn be true then he very much could play, he could force his way into the side for the rest of the series. With Rudolph and Duminy in the side, Imran Tahir's place in the side isn't secure as South Africa could easily play four out and out seamers and Kallis and have Duminy and Rudolph turning their arms over should the need arise. Certainly if Tsotsobe can get in the side going to Headingley then the swinging conditions will suit him and England have had problems with left arm swing bowlers in the recent past with the likes of Mohammad Amir and Zaheer Khan both causing plenty of problems. There's no doubt this is a long shot but if Steyn is injured and Tsotsobe is his replacement the 14/1 will automatically be value and well worth a point to see where it goes from there. 4pts A.Strauss' Series Runs - Over 190.5 runs 5/6 Bodog This line looks very low considering the form England's captain comes into this series with. He knocked two wonderful tons in against the Windies earlier in the summer and scored another one against a very good Nottinghamshire attack for Middlesex last week so the middle of Strauss' bat has had a good workout in recent weeks. Strauss appreciates the status of this series and he'll want to continue to lead his side with a heavy weight of runs. I can't see these matches being won by an innings so Strauss should get 6 innings and if he does he needs to average less than 32 to cover this line. His test match average is 41.74 runs per innings and against South Africa that is 43.73 an innings so he is more than adept of putting this attack away so with the form he is in this line looks very low. 3pts J.Rudolph's Series Runs - Over 140.5 runs 5/6 Bodog This line isn't a lot better than the Strauss one. Jacques Rudolph has been a run machine in England for the last 2-3 years in his time with Yorkshire and he won't be someone who is alien to the conditions. At some point in his Yorkshire career he will have faced all of these bowlers so there will be no surprise element in Rudolph's batting in this series. Although he wasn't at his best when he was with Surrey earlier in the season it must be remembered that there were some shocking wickets around in tough batting conditions. You don't get shocking wickets in test criggit so that won't be a problem. Again assuming Rudolph gets 6 innings in the series which must have every chance he needs to average a little over 23. That's a ridiculous ask for a quality batsman, and Rudolph is a quality batsman. I'll take the overs here but to not quite as big a stake purely because he bats at 6 so isn't guaranteed the innings that Strauss would be as an opener. 4pts V.Philander's Series Wickets - Over 10.5 wickets 5/6 Bet365 Vernon Philander has been a revelation in South Africa colours so far in his career and I see no reason why he won't continue to be in this series. He's had his taste of English conditions in his time with Middlesex in the past and Somerset earlier in the season so he knows what to expect and really an ask of averaging less than two wickets per innings looks very comfortable to me. Philander finds out flaws in techniques and exposes them and one or two English batsmen do still have technical flaws. He doesn't do a lot with the ball but what is does do is mighty effective and I expect him to take a few wickets in this series, particularly at Lords where that slope could have him near as damn it unplayable if there's a bit in the wicket too. I really can't see him ending this series with less than 11 wickets so I'm happy to take this one.

[kevshat]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series

First test preview: 3pts England to win 1st Test 7/4 Ladbrokes

South Africa still look a little undercooked going into this match and England look up for this one as you would expect. They have the better bowling attack for me and all round I like their batting line up more. The weather has sorted itself out by the looks of it so we shouldn’t get too many delays and that makes the 7/4 on an England win too attractive to miss out on. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-1st-test-betting-england-can-take-advantage-of-slightly-undercooked-south-africa-in-first-test

As well as this one I'm going with four more. Steyn does play it would appear. 3pts J.Anderson's Performance Pts - Under 101pts 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Jimmy Anderson is a quality bowler these days but I just fancy this won't be his match. He has only taken more than five wickets in a test match on this ground once in 7 outings and that is no surprise to me because really and truly you are looking at one genuine innings where the quicks might have it there way. However this isn't really an Anderson wicket. This is one for the bouncier bowlers who bang it into the pitch. There won't be much swing around and Anderson isn't the best when it comes to seam movement and with the weather expected to improve a lot over the weekend I would imagine the second innings will be Swann dominated. Of course there are catches and runs to be had but even then I'm still not certain Anderson will cover 101pts in this match. 4pts V.Philander's Performance Pts - 98&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Vernon Philander is a bowler who I think will go well on this wicket. There will be something in it for the seamers first up because of all the rain that we've had and even in the second innings he's more in play than an Anderson because I sense Graeme Smith still isn't completely reliant on Imran Tahir to win a match in the second innings of a game. Philander's tight line and the movement he gets both ways make him a little bit like Glenn McGrath and nearly every Englishman alive suffered with him. As well as wickets, of which 5 isn't beyond him, he's a perfectly capable batsman especially on a wicket like this and catches are there to be had too. I wouldn't be surprised if he covers this with the ball but given that in two innings he can easily score 38 runs if needs be which means we only need him to take 3 wickets I'm happy to be on this line. 4pts A.Petersen (+6.5 runs) to beat A.Cook (1st Inns Only) 5/6 Ladbrokes I sense this isn't Alastair Cook's favour ground. In his last seven test innings here he has only gone past forty on two occasions which is very un-Alastair Cook like and he didn't have his greatest series against the West Indies either. Granted he played pretty well against Australia in the ODI's but this isn't an ODI and he's going to be under the pump from ball one. This will be the first time Alviro Petersen will have played a test match on this ground but I was at The Oval last year when he played here for Glamorgan and on the day I went he scored 178 and ended up scoring 210 in the innings as a whole, against a strong Surrey bowling attack which included the likes of Jade Dernbach, Tim Linley and Chris Jordan. That good memory will help him in this match and I think 6.5 runs is a very big handicap for the South African to be receiving. I'm happy to take Petersen in this first innings match. 1pt G.Swann Man of the Match 18/1 Bet365 With the bowling attacks on both sides this might just be a match where the batsmen don't dominate for once and if that is the case then a bowler will have every chance in the man of the match stakes. Graeme Swann has a decent record here and we've seen all season that the ball turns here and the longer the match goes on the more I expect it to turn. Swann will come right into the game in the second innings but he's a good bowler to left handers and South Africa have three of those in their top seven so he'll be in the game in the first innings too. I wouldn't be surprised were Swann to pick up 7 or 8 wickets in the match and with the odd cameo with the bat that could be enough to land a punt on the man of the match.

[kevshat]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series 2nd test preview: 4pts M.Prior's Performance Pts - 88&Over 5/6 Bet365

I’m led to believe there is a lot more grass on this Headingley wicket than the one which South Africa dominated on at The Oval. That should mean there are catches behind the wicket which given how well he is batting at the minute should benefit Matt Prior enough for him to bring his performance line in. The line is 88pts which he covered with the bat alone at The Oval. With catches in play here too I think he’ll cover the line again. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-2nd-test-betting-matt-prior-can-back-up-his-good-first-test-with-another-at-headingley

[kevshat]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series Going with a few in the second test. This one....

2nd test preview: 4pts M.Prior's Performance Pts - 88&Over 5/6 Bet365

I’m led to believe there is a lot more grass on this Headingley wicket than the one which South Africa dominated on at The Oval. That should mean there are catches behind the wicket which given how well he is batting at the minute should benefit Matt Prior enough for him to bring his performance line in. The line is 88pts which he covered with the bat alone at The Oval. With catches in play here too I think he’ll cover the line again. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-2nd-test-betting-matt-prior-can-back-up-his-good-first-test-with-another-at-headingley

And...... 3pts M.Morkel's Performance Pts - 95&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Morne Morkel was a bit wayward at times in the first test but when he got it right he really got it right and that can be tough for a batsman. You think he's a ****heap lobbing pie after pie down and then suddenly he gives you a jaffa of a nut and you are gone and left wondering what happened. I don't think Morkel will be as wayward in this test match anyway. I think the pace and bounce that will be in this Headingley wicket will interest him greatly and with him seemingly having the wood over our left handed openers a couple of cheap wickets might well come his way. Although he's not the most gifted with the bat he can use it so we may well only need 4 wickets here and that's well within his reach. 3pts H.Amla (+0.5 runs) to beat J.Trott (1st Inns Only) 5/6 Ladbrokes Not really sure how Hashim Amla is getting the tie on his side here after he's just eased his way to 300 at The Oval. I'm not suggesting he'll score 300 again but he's clearly in some excellent form and will be confident of another score. Jonathan Trott is a very good batsman. He has shown that throughout his test career but he is also an lbw candidate early doors and I think the South African's will know that. I see Trott as more likely to get out early than Amla but even if both get in Amla can still outscore him so I'll take the bearded wonder in this first innings. 1pt ew J.Taylor Top England Batsman 10/1 Ladbrokes (1st Inns Only) (1/5 1-3) No idea what this price is all about. Taylor's batting at six in this match not eight or nine and he's a very quality batsman. He comes into this match in good nick after an excellent ton for Nottinghamshire last week and I think he will be the one to nail down this number six birth. His call up has been 2 years in the waiting and now he has it I think he'll latch on to it and keep it. There might be a few early nerves there but once he gets himself in I expect Taylor to score well in this test match and show all his class. He will bat and not only will he bat but there's at least one batsman after him in Prior to partner him to a decent score and Broad and Swann can hang around with him so I expect a decent score first up from the talented diminutive Englishman. 2pts S.Finn Top England Bowler (1st Inns Only) 7/2 William Hill Why Steven Finn never played the first test of the series will remain a mystery for the remainder of the summer but England won't make that mistake again. Right now I think Finn is the best bowler in the country and I expect him to go very well especially if this Headingley wicket is as quick as the T20 one was last week. Finn is the quickest bowler in England by some way and as they say on the roads speed kills. Not only is he quick but he can move it both ways. I expect Anderson to be better in this test in conditions which suit him a lot more but the one I think will go the best is Steven Finn who has that extra pace as well as super line and length about him.

[Mirage]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series 3rd Test 4/10pts South Africa to win 3rd test - 15/8 with BlueSquare With the way England have batted in this series I can't see how they will win this game and I favour the tourists for a win rather than a draw. England will probably go with the 4 man attack as usual so that means Bairstow should slot straight in to the batting order but he has massive boots to fill. In the series against West Indies he showed his weakness against the short ball and the likes of Steyn and Morkel will love watching replays of that. I also keep reading and hearing from commentators that he has always had that weakness to his game so that makes me believe that the struggles against West Indies won't be a one-off. Losing Pietersen means that there are now 2 inexperienced test players in that batting order because Taylor is in there too. I liked how he played with Pietersen at Headingley but he was just playing a supporting role - it remains to be seen how he will do when there is more pressure on him to help build a partnership. I really rate the lad but I can't get away from his lack of experience. Add those two to others struggling for form and the batting looks weak. Strauss hasn't convinced me in this series that he will find form here whilst Bell and Trott showed in the last test that they feel the pressure too against this attack. It remains to be seen what the bowling attack is but I feel that if they go for Bresnan he doesn't offer as much with the ball as Finn or Onions but the latter 2 would weaken an already weaker batting line-up. Also, Broad is too much of a loose cannon with wood in hand to be relied on to play sensibly. He doesn't seem to understand the phrase 'get in' and instead tries to thrash straight away. He's better than that but must have a screw loose somewhere to not realise it. This South African attack will pile the pressure on with the ball and I think that will be too much for our line-up. They have enough men in form with the bat to score good totals. My heart hopes I am wrong but the head can't see it. 1/10pts Each-Way M. Prior top England 1st innings batsman - 12/1 with Coral (1/5 odds 1-3) For me, Matt Prior is our most in-form batsman and scores of 60, 40 and 68 so far this series are good reading. England will need to score at a decent rate if they want to win and that plays right in to Prior's hands. I don't buy the suggestion he will play a bit more conservatively because of Bairstow and Taylor but even if he does he's still good enough to hang around and pick his moments. He's full of confidence and I think he is the only guy in the line-up that the South Africans will be a bit more defensive than usual against. He's priced up at 9's elsewhere and I think that is a bit more realistic. 3/10pts S. Broad performance points 107 and over - 5/6 with Bet365 Run - 1pt Catch - 10pts Wicket - 20pts Stuart Broad found some rhythm and form with the ball at Headingley and got England a small opportunity to press for the victory. We saw last summer that once he found that form he was a completely different animal and, despite this being better opposition in terms of form, I think that could be the case here. If we are to win this test match the bowlers will need to be at their best and last week Broad showed signs of that. I mentioned earlier how Broad doesn't stay at the crease for long enough with the bat but even a small amount of runs could mean we only need 5 wickets for this to come in. I think that is a big possibility. If he does bat with common sense then he is more than capable of covering a big chunk of this without ball in hand.

[kevshat]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series 3rd test preview: 4pts M.Prior's Performance Pts - 91&Over 5/6 Bet365 In the previous test Prior served us well when he scored 120pts chasing a target of 88pts. In the first test he scored 100pts so he has covered this 91pt target in both matches in the series. Prior averages 55.16 with the bat at Lords so this is a ground he goes well at and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets the required 91pts all with the bat. I’m pretty certain he will get catches coming in way as keepers do at Lords so I think the 91pts is well within his range. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-3rd-test-betting-matt-prior-can-impress-once-again-in-the-final-match-of-the-series

[kevshat]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series Not been a good series for me so far with a lot of near misses or silly bits of bad luck costing me some good priced returns. Just as it looks like the outrights were going to bail me out England go and drop Kevin Pietersen :wall:wall:wall. 4 for me in the final test. Hopefully some luck lands my way :hope. This one....

3rd test preview: 4pts M.Prior's Performance Pts - 91&Over 5/6 Bet365 In the previous test Prior served us well when he scored 120pts chasing a target of 88pts. In the first test he scored 100pts so he has covered this 91pt target in both matches in the series. Prior averages 55.16 with the bat at Lords so this is a ground he goes well at and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets the required 91pts all with the bat. I’m pretty certain he will get catches coming in way as keepers do at Lords so I think the 91pts is well within his range. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-south-africa-3rd-test-betting-matt-prior-can-impress-once-again-in-the-final-match-of-the-series

and.... 4pts G.Swann's Performance Pts - Under 101 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Graeme Swann looks woefully out of form to me. There's been a lot of talk about a persistent elbow injury and even when he played for Nottinghamshire last week he never set the world alight. Lords traditionally isn't a good ground for him because for the most part the seamers do all of the work in the first innings so it is only the second innings that Swann can be effective with the ball. In saying that the South African's are playing him well and I think the 5 wickets in this match is beyond him. Of course he stands at slip so there's every chance with a couple of knocks with the bat that four wickets would be enough but I'm not even sure he'll take that many. Swann looks really out of touch at the minute and while his performance might lift, as I expect all of England's players performances to lift without KP, I'm not convinced it will be lifted enough to see him to 101pts here. 3pts D.Steyn Top South Africa Bowler (1st Inns Only) 9/4 Stan James Dale Steyn is the best bowler in the world and in conditions which should help him at Lords I expect him to show that. Steyn took 5 wickets in an innings at The Oval and he wouldn't have got the swing there that he can get here at Lords and he'll have the slope naturally helping him get more movement off the wicket so I expect the express pace man to be quite difficult to face here, especially in his first spell. The other two quick bowlers - Philander and Morkel, have largely disappointed so far so if the ball swings it could be that Kallis is the main danger to Steyn in the first innings. Kallis is a reluctant bowler though and he was injured in the last match at some point so he may not bowl perhaps as much as he should in this match which leaves me to thinking that actually the 9/4 on Steyn to take the most wickets first up is actually quite a good price given his exceptional quality and perhaps thin level of genuine opposition. 1pt ew J-P.Duminy Top South Africa Batsman (1st Inns Only) 10/1 Ladbrokes (1/5 1-3) JP Duminy was actually third highest scorer in South Africa's first innings at Headingley and although he was out first ball in the second innings he was just unfortunate to run into Broad when he was on one of his on fire spells that he has from time to time. Duminy is a quality batsman in his own right and with the bowlers likely to get a bit more assistance from the conditions at Lords I think the scores in this match will be slightly more balanced than we've seen so far in the series. The groundsman has had an archery field on the wicket for the last fortnight so the preparation of this wicket is sure to be behind which won't help the top order batsmen much. If Duminy comes in against an old ball he might well be able to get himself in and then get stuck in and push on to at least make the top three in the innings if not top score if nobody above him gets away. 10/1 for a genuine batsman - there's no 'can bat a bit' about Duminy, he's an out and out batsman - is a bit too big in an innings which has no time limit and it's big enough for me to have a dabble on.

[Mirage]

Re: England vs South Africa - Test Series

4/10pts South Africa to win 3rd test - 15/8 with BlueSquare 1/10pts Each-Way M. Prior top England 1st innings batsman - 12/1 with Coral (1/5 odds 1-3) 3/10pts S. Broad performance points 107 and over - 5/6 with Bet365

5pts profit for me from the final test. I would have been thrilled if the top one of these never came in, though. Nice to see plenty of winners in here throughout the series - well done all. I really fear for Strauss now as I can't see him doing much over the winter and the press will be all over him again if he doesn't. Maybe a change up the top of the order is what we need sooner rather than later. It will be interesting to see if he finds his form and what happens with Pietersen over the next couple of months.