The Ashes

[kevshat]

The big one is nearly upon us. Will get the thread going now because England's warm up game with Essex is live on Sky on Sunday, as all the test matches are when the series starts on July 10. Judging by the adverts on Sky, they are going big on the series so there should be tons of betting markets to go at in what should be another excellent Ashes series (especially if you are of English descent ;)). Schedule: [TABLE=width: 630]

[TR=class: FixOtr] [TD=width: 25%]Tue Jul 2 - Fri Jul 5 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] Worcestershire v Australians County Ground, New Road, Worcester [/TD] [TD=width: 20%] 14 - 19° C [/TD] [TD=width: 5%, align: right] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 630, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, colspan: 4][/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: FixOdi] [TD=width: 25%] Wed Jul 10 - Sun Jul 14 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] 1st Test - England v Australia Trent Bridge, Nottingham [/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 Jul 18 - Mon Jul 22 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] 2nd Test - England v Australia Lord's, London [/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 Jul 26 - Sun Jul 28 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] Sussex v Australians County Ground, Hove [/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 1 - Mon Aug 5 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] 3rd Test - England v Australia Old Trafford, Manchester [/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%] Fri Aug 9 - Tue Aug 13 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] 4th Test - England v Australia Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street [/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 16 - Sat Aug 17 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] Northamptonshire v Australians (If Northamptonshire reach the Friends Life t20 Final, England Lions will host Australia at County Ground, Northampton) County Ground, Northampton [/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%] Wed Aug 21 - Sun Aug 25 10:00 GMT | 11:00 local 11:00 BST [/TD] [TD=width: 50%] 5th Test - England v Australia Kennington Oval, London [/TD] [TD=width: 20%] N/A [/TD] [TD=width: 5%, align: right] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes England warm up match preview: 2pts K.Pietersen Top England Batsman (1st Inns) 4/1 William Hill Clearly it will be a major upset if England don’t win this match, not to mention a massive set back ahead of the Ashes series. I don’t think it will happen. Essex have been pretty ordinary with the bat in the Championship this season so this should be a routine warm up for Alastair Cook’s side. You won’t get rich backing them so instead the best bet looks to be Kevin Pietersen to top score at 4/1. He toyed with a decent Yorkshire attack last week and his flamboyance can shine through again here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/essex-vs-england-betting-kevin-pietersen-can-warm-up-for-the-aussies-with-a-big-knock-at-chelmsford-20130629

[Primevil]

Re: The Ashes OK here we go Wednesday.......Not putting anything up until I know if it is Finn or Bresnan,,,,,has been a swing bowlers n traditional bowlers heaven in the past TB...but this season,,,Mega amount of runs being scored,,,not much swing.....They relayed the surface....so that must have something to do with it...A point to keep in mind..CMON ENGLAND

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes Series preview: 4pts England Over 2.5 wins 5/6 Boylesports I think England will win the series but I don’t think they are any great value to win it. The best bet I can find in terms of the series or test wins is for England to win more than 2.5 tests. I don’t see there being too many draws in this series purely because for my money neither batting line up is as good as it could be and both bowling attacks are very good. I don’t expect many five day wickets either, particularly if the rain stays away and the recent heatwave remains. I think England just about have the better batting line up and in Kevin Pietersen they have the series X-factor and I think England have the edge with the ball although there really isn’t too much difference in the two seam attacks. Assuming we get five results I’m confident England will have picked up three of them. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/the-ashes-betting-england-can-win-the-series-with-three-or-more-wins-20130709

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes Top England series batsman preview: 3pts K.Pietersen Top England Series Batsman 4/1 Skybet I wouldn’t put anyone off backing Jonathan Trott but big series bring out the best in big players and there’s still no bigger player for England than Kevin Pietersen. His ego comes out on these occasions and it shines, and it shines good too. There won’t be an England cricket fan who was alive in 2005 who doesn’t remember his magical innings at The Oval in that series. Then there was the double century in Adelaide in the last series. KP may not be from England and he may not have English blood but he knows the history between his adopted country and the Australians and it brings out the best in him. Pietersen toyed with a decent Yorkshire attack a couple of weeks ago and while he may or may not toy with the Australians I expect him to be the one who hurts them the most in this series. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/ashes-betting-kevin-pietersen-can-lead-the-english-run-scoring-in-the-series-20130709

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes Top England series bowler preview: 8pts G.Swann Top England Series Bowler 11/4 Coral As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t matter which three seamers are picked or which batsmen they are bowling to because my strongest bet of this series is for Graeme Swann to be England’s top wicket taker in it. These wickets are going to be dry as a bone. That’s no surprise. England will have seen how useless Australia were against the spin of India in the winter and so the wickets in this series will turn and I think they’ll turn early too. We’ve seen ourselves with Swann against Australia back at The Oval in 2009 the damage he can do to them and they were a much better batting line up back then than they have now. Australia have plenty of left handers in their line up which is perfect for Swann and I’ve no doubt the wickets will suit him perfectly – we even produced a Bunsen for the Champions Trophy final against India! Everywhere I’ve been this summer the buzzwords have been dry wicket. It’s no surprise and it is how England will win the series and when they have, Swann will have the most wickets of the English bowlers. If he was 100% injury free and no problems of recent times this would be a maximum bet. As it is the 1-2% doubt remains so it is just a strong bet instead. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/ashes-betting-graeme-swann-looks-the-bet-of-the-series-to-be-england-s-top-bowler-20130709

[Primevil]

Re: The Ashes Both Sides had 5 hours at TB on Monday, Aus morning, Eng Afternoon, The whispers are the ball was swinging everywere on the strips made available on the square.....especially from Big Jim Anderson....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Primevil]

Re: The Ashes I was shopping around for some prices on horses today...and low and behold...WILLIAM HILL offering EVENS for ENGLAND TO WIN THE ASHES....£20 max per customer...So got a few faces to put some on...£140 total....easy trade at 2/5...Well done WH...offer is still there till 2pm I believe ...

[ani_lfc]

Re: The Ashes Really cant wait for this series to start. Will bet on a couple of outrights all with the same idea so will only have one write up. Even though Kevshat mentioned that neither batting line up is at its best and both bowling attacks are very decent I still think due to the weather (well fingers crossed there’s no rain!) we will see some high innings scores and hopefully the likes of Watson, Clarke, Cook, Trott, Pieterson etc filling they’re boots and getting big scores. 5 points Any player to score a double century in Ashes Series @ 2.3 Bet365 2 points Any player to score a triple century in Ashes Series @ 11 William Hill 3 points Over 30 6s to be hit in Ashes Series @ 2.8 Sporting 6 points S.Watson to score a century @ 1.91 Boylesports

[Fader]

Re: The Ashes 3pts Ashes Series - Ground with Most runs [Trent Bridge 5.00 Bet365] Rumours of a dry, flat wicket and lots of sunshine should mean alot of runs. We have seen plenty of centuries here in county cricket and it wouldn't surprise me with the pure adrenaline and perhaps alittle nervousness in the field if we see the most runs here.

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes Top Australia series batsman preview: 1pt ew B.Haddin Top Australia Series Batsman 12/1 Ladbrokes (1/5 1-3) I believe Watson will go well but perhaps there is more value on Brad Haddin to be the top scorer in this series. Brad Haddin was the third highest scorer for Australia in the last Ashes series behind Watson and Michael Hussey. Obviously there’s no Hussey in this series and unlike a lot of this Australian batting line up, Haddin has played test cricket in England before and knows what to expect. Haddin is a good player of spin and he’s right handed so he should be better equipped than most to deal with England’s attack and at 12/1 the Aussie keeper looks good value to be their top scorer in the series. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/ashes-betting-brad-haddin-could-be-value-down-the-order-in-the-top-aussie-batsman-market-20130709

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes Top Australia series bowler preview: 2pts M.Starc Top Australia Series Bowler 4/1 Paddy Power Although I expect the wickets to be dry as a bone in this series I think an Australian seamer will be their top bowler because Nathan Lyon couldn’t bowl out my local club’s under 10 side! For me it is between Bird and Starc but the guarantee Starc will start the series and the fact he is a left armer, who both England openers will struggle against, makes him the more attractive bet. Alastair Cook is getting a hoodoo with left arm seamers and Joe Root wafts at too many balls for comfort. With Starc able to reverse the ball in later in the innings he looks the best value in the top Australian bowler market. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/ashes-betting-mitchell-starc-can-lead-the-australian-wicket-taking-in-the-series-20130709

[Marshland]

Re: The Ashes I too am looking forward to this hugely. Have a suspicion it might be closer than the bookies expect but we shall see over the next few weeks. A few bits and pieces i have taken: Top series runscorer - both teams - I J L Trott ( 13/2, bet365 ) 1.5/10. I reckon Trott could do well in this series with the bat. Was 2nd on the Champs Trophy overall runs list, 3rd in the NZ test series in England and 3rd in the NZ test series in NZ. Kev makes a good point about the batting records of the captains in these ashes series and I think this man with an average of 50.01 in test cricket could do ok. Top england bowler: G P Swann 11/4, coral. 3/10. Can't disagree with Kev's pick here. Although I am not quite as confident so will reign in the stake accordingly. Player to make the highest individual score - both teams: K P Pietersen ( 13/2, stan james ) 1.5/10. On balance I prefer Trott for most runs overall for his dogged consistency if nothing else, but I reckon KP is the man from either side who can find the individual innings of brilliance to land this. If you give him 10 chances he will hit the jackpot once, that's the theory at least. I think Clarke is the main danger here but I'll give KP a go. Player to score first series six - Australia - James Faulkner ( 20/1, betvictor ) 0.5/10. Novelty bet on Faulkner who can certainly hit a cricket ball and was the only Aussie to do so in a losing cause against England in the CT. If the top order are under instruction to preserve wickets then the first maximum may come from the lower order. Watto a more obvious choice perhaps and there there are no guarantees Faulkner will even play but I will chance a couple of buttons for sport. England man of the series - M J Prior ( 50/1, boylesports ). 0.25/10 Skybet and Paddy have got Prior at 25/1 for player of the series - both teams, so someone has got their prices wrong and I'll give a few coins to boylesports considering the number of times Prior has dug in with a knock when required recently ( final test in NZ for example ). and Top Australia series runscorer: C J L Rogers 12/1. 1/10 e/w ( 1/4, 1-3 ). Ladbrokes. Took this back in early April / May when his call up to the squad was announced, which roughly coincided with him hitting a double ton for Middx against Surrey. ( Sorry if it is bad forum etiquette to post an out-of-date price but the thread has only recently been opened so I couldn't do it before ). The theory was that you don't give a place to a 35 year old for him to sit on the bench. Has come in to 5s ( generally available ) since it was announced he would open in the first test but I would still take that for the win only. He is a calm man with huge experience in English conditions and a moving Duke, some of which against these bowlers. Watson and Clarke the dangers in my eyes but I reckon that, subject to retaining the opening gig ( and there is no reason to suppose he won't given the leadership role he seems to now have ), he will stand up and be counted. I also think the double / treble ton and Trent Bridge shouts above are good ones so good luck with those guys :) That's it, best of luck to all. Let battle commence...

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes 1st test preview: 5pts England to win 1st Test 5/6 Bet365 I think England will love the conditions in this match. They will get the reverse swing they like and then as the match wears on Graeme Swann will come into his own. We saw in the Champions Trophy, albeit in a different format, that the Aussie batsmen are still clueless against the reverse swing and they’ve always been clueless against spin with the exception of Clarke. England bat deep and with no rain expected over the five days and Trent Bridge being a result ground (two draws here since 2000) we can expect a result, a result which puts England 1-0 up in the series. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-australia-betting-england-can-finally-win-the-opening-test-of-an-ashes-series-20130709

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes Last few outrights for me. 1.5pts England to win series 4-1 12/1 Stan James 1pt England to win series 3-2 16/1 BetVictor I've already said I don't expect any draws in this series unless the weather takes a drastic turn for the worse. It will have to go very sour because these two batting line ups aren't strong enough to bat for five days against the bowling they'll be facing. With that in mind I'm going to try a couple of correct scores which have 5 results. I don't think England will win 5-0 so these two are the only other ones which have England winning the series in an all result series. I don't think the pitches will last five days and as I've said I don't think the batsmen will go for 5 days either. There will be a lot of scores in this series between 200-350 and that makes for results so these look big prices should there be 5 results. 3pts G.Swann to beat S.Broad (Batting match bet) 11/10 Bet365 Graeme Swann can wield the willow, that much we know and he should enjoy tucking into the seamers on show here. I don't know why it is but Stuart Broad's batting has gone down the gurgler in recent times. He produced that excellent blocking innings in Auckland and he has that huge ton against Pakistan at Lords in 2010 but aside from that his batting hasn't really done much for England for ages. Swann will probably only score in cameos but that should be enough. We know he's in good form with the bat because he almost scored a ton in England's warm up match so I don't see why Swann is odds against here just because he bats one place below Broad. 4pts P.Hughes Under 285 Series Runs 5/6 Bet365 Phil Hughes has been something of a cash cow of mine down the years and thanks to Bet365 he can continue being that again in this series. He has to play in three matches for this bet to be alive and that's probably the only danger to not getting paid out really. While Hughes dominates at domestic level, time and again he shows he hasn't got the technique to live at test level, certainly not against this England attack who eat left handers for breakfast. 285 runs looks an awful lot for Hughes to get even if he plays the whole five tests and I just don't see it happening.

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes Three more bets for the opening match. 4pts S.Watson's Performance Pts - Over 104.5 5/6 Paddy Power Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. This looks a low line for someone who will have three genuine scoring methods throughout this test match. Watson will probably go well with the bat and if he goes very well he could cover this line with the bat, especially if Australia bat twice like we would expect. He will contribute something with the ball too and he's capable of getting the ball just to duck in so there's points up for grabs for him there and he'll probably be somewhere in the slips as well so there are catching points which could come his way. All in all he has three very strong scoring methods and on a wicket which should suit him throughout this line looks a touch low for the man I think will be Australia's main man in the series. 3pts E.Cowan to beat D.Warner (1st Inns) 5/6 William Hill I've no idea if Dave Warner is going to play but if he does the general consensus is he'll bat at 6, three places below Cowan. That's a disadvantage in itself but Warner has another disadvantage and that is that Cowan has spent the first two months of the season batting on this wicket as his home ground for Nottinghamshire so he should know how the wicket plays more than anyone on the Australian side. I'm not altogether convinced it will take too many to beat Warner but however many it takes, if Warner plays, Cowan can get the necessary amount. 0.5pts ew M.Starc Top Australia Batsman (1st Inns) 66/1 Ladbrokes (1/5 1-3) Mitchell Starc looks overpriced here. If Australia get in a slump, which with an untested middle order they easily could, I'm not saying they will but they could, if they do then Starc could pick up the pieces down the order. We know he can bat. He showed that in India when he scored a couple of tasty knocks and heaved both the seamers and the spinners to all parts, on wickets which won't be too dissimilar to this one should Australia bat second. Those knocks in India should have done enough for him to come in above Pattinson if not Siddle so with men to come after him giving a bit longer at the crease there's no reason why Starc can't give us a run for our money at a price so big even a place will pay out nicely.

[Primevil]

Re: The Ashes OK....We know the weather is fine....for all the test at TB....We know it was swinging all over the place the other day.....We also know England batsmen have scored big on this track.........Australia will struggle from start to finish,,,,They wont be able to Bat England away...Im sorry they are rubbish after number 4....The wont be able to do anything in the bowling department.........................WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS SOMETHING YOU WONT EVER GET AGAIN IN THIS SERIES....1.92 BETFAIR...4/5-5/6 Most firms....Bank empty time boys n girls.....ENGLAND WIN THIS BY SATURDAY NIGHT....no problem........GET ON GET PAID.....In my very honest opinion...There is more chance of a TSUNAMI coming up the river trent, than England not winning this first test. The easiest (almost) double up you will ever ever see in your life. No need for the exotic bets, this will pay all day.:cow

[Sm0k3rZ]

Re: The Ashes hope ur right primeevil!! lumped on big gl all:ok

[Fader]

Re: The Ashes Series bets : 5pts England to win 1st test AND series 2.00 >Bet365 I fancy England in the first test and for me it's a shoe-in that they will win the series so the evens price seems decent. England with Cook, Root, Pieterson, Trott and Bell are very strong at the bat and also have the likes of Prior who can also bat well. They also have a better bowling attack too with Anderson, Finn & Swann and for me they should win this comfortably. 2pts M.Starc (top Australian bowler) 4.00 >Bet365 Tends to do well against England. Has taken 4 wickets in the last 2 matches against England he has played. He always gives Cook problems and even Cook admits that. Any quick left-arm's are going to cause him problems, it's a weakness for him. If others follow suit we could have a few problems. 1st test preview : 3pts J.Anderson (top England bowler) 3.00 >Bet365 Although the ground will be very dry, I don't think Swann is going to find too much SPIN out there. In-fact look at his quote ""I know Trent Bridge like the back of my hand and it doesn't >SPIN here," he said. "It could be dry for four months before you get here and it wouldn't really be a turning pitch." It would lead me to think the only other bowler who will get alot of wickets here is Jimmy and I'm going to take the 2/1 available here.

[eliasinmelb]

Re: The Ashes Betfair are offering their Aussie customers a promo whereby they give you a bonus on net winnings on any 1st Ashes test market. 50% if the match finishes on day 3, 25% on day 4, and 10% on day 5. So what did I logically do? Placed a bet on the "test match end" market for "days 1, 2, and 3". My bet is currently unmatched, as their odds on that market at the moment are very poor. Not a lot of liquidity. Will need to see what happens in an hour or two, as the match prepares to kick off.

[thespecial1]

Re: The Ashes

The Australian top order continually fail to post competitive totals, and will be the difference between the two rivals this series. However, Warners enforced rest for the swing at Joe Root may have been exactly what he needed. His looking fit, and I'm backing him to top score for the Aussies @ 5/1 with Paddy Power. Also to share the love, just saw an Ashes competition to back the highest run scorer and highest wicket taker for the first test. Worth a crack for free!

Thanks for the heads up TWP! Just entered this competition and backed: - Watson first innings top scorer for Australia @ 4/1 Paddy Power - Trott first innings top scorer for England @ 10/3 Paddy Power - England to win @ 8/11 with Paddy Power

[kevshat]

The first one was out. Anyone with two working eyes can see that. Benefit of doubt doesn't come into the second one because it was given not out originally so he needed to have conclusive evidence to overturn it. He didn't have that evidence so he shouldn't have overturned the decision so he got both wrong. Two more for me today. 3pts England 2nd Inns Runs - Under 357.5 runs 10/11 BetVictor England begin day 3 on 80/2 so with the scoring rates in this match they'll have to bat into tomorrow morning to score more than this. The wicket is just starting to keep a bit low and is turning and with the sun making down on it, it isn't going to get easier to bat on. The next three in all have question marks about them and then Australia are into the tail so another 278 runs looks a long way off if an early wicket falls this morning. 3pts G.Swann Top England 2nd Inns Bowler 6/4 BetVictor Covered most of Swann's impact on this series in the outright bet but we've seen a ball turn dramatically for a wicket already. With Starc bowling more overs today the rough outside the right handers off stump will get worse and there's plenty outside the left handers stumps. I'm still not convinced Australia play spin well so I expect Swann into the attack nice and early and bowling plenty of overs and he'll be England's main man in the final innings. Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using PL Forum

[owenclass]

Re: The Ashes Graeme Swann top england wicket taker in 2nd inns 11/8 skybet well the pitch will definitely spin more in the 2nd inns so that will play into his hands and with the conditions favouring the batsmen the other england bowlers will struggle especially with the heat and the pitch getting flatter also with Broad still carrying an injury Swann will be bowling more overs than usual and the way he likes to bowl to left handers then he has got a great chance of getting quite a few wickets

[Primevil]

Re: The Ashes Best Odds For 2nd Test....Starting Thursday...evens England....Australia 100/30.....Draw...5/2......I will wait for the toss....Whoever bats first, will have the advantage IMO, The winner of the toss, I expect them to bat.;)

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes Second test preview: 4pts England to win 2nd Test 10/11 Coral I expect this match to go much the same way as the first Test. The wicket should be similar and it will be hard work for the quick bowlers, especially in the second half of the match. The Lords wicket never breaks up so there will be no hard luck stories here, the best team will win and by virtue of a much more stable and more reliable batting line up I think that side is England and they can pick up a 50th win at Lords this week. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-australia-betting-england-can-all-but-secure-the-series-at-lords-20130717

[Primevil]

Re: The Ashes

Second test preview: 4pts England to win 2nd Test 10/11 Coral I expect this match to go much the same way as the first Test. The wicket should be similar and it will be hard work for the quick bowlers, especially in the second half of the match. The Lords wicket never breaks up so there will be no hard luck stories here, the best team will win and by virtue of a much more stable and more reliable batting line up I think that side is England and they can pick up a 50th win at Lords this week. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/england-vs-australia-betting-england-can-all-but-secure-the-series-at-lords-20130717

Gl with that, im waiting for the toss..:ok

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes Cheers. Thought I'd get in at a decent price. Don't see the point in waiting for the toss and risking a worse price because the Lords wicket stays flat for 5 days. Best team will win and that should be us.

[Primevil]

Re: The Ashes

Cheers. Thought I'd get in at a decent price. Don't see the point in waiting for the toss and risking a worse price because the Lords wicket stays flat for 5 days. Best team will win and that should be us.

I agree about the pitch..If England bat they wont Lose..Im confident of that,,,Im sure they will bat if they win the toss, However if Australia bat first....?????????

[Fader]

Re: The Ashes 2nd test preview : 5.5pts England to win 1.90 Bet365 I fancy England to win the 2nd test too. Aus got some very good luck in the Agar incident and then the Trott incident too and must be quite deflated after coming so close. Much the same as the first test I expect England to come through. 3pts J.Anderson [top england bowler] 3.00 SkyBet I again think the difference between the two will be Jimmy Anderson. He was immense in the first test and took 10 wickets and I expect him to take a good portion of them this time too.

[kevshat]

Re: The Ashes

I agree about the pitch..If England bat they wont Lose..Im confident of that' date=',,Im sure they will bat if they win the toss, However if Australia bat first....?????????[/quote'] Still expect England to win, it will just take a bit longer. Australia haven't got a spinner to bowl us out in the fourth innings. I'm not Australian, but if I was I'd be massively worried that the best time to catch England is at the start of a series as we never start series well. They didn't and assuming we improve like we usually do I just don't see how they can win on a flat wicket. They only got within 200 at Trent Bridge because of two freak 10th wicket partnerships and a very questionable stumping non decision.