Cricket: England vs India Test Series

[kevshat]

England play India in a 3 match test series which begins at Lords on Thursday.

Best odds/All odds
England	1.9	1.9	2.1	1.83	1.9	2	2.05	2	2	1.75	2	1.83	1.9	1.9	1.9
Draw	3.4	3.25	3.25	3.75	3.25	3.25	3.35	3	3.4	3.75	3	3.4	3.5	3.25	3.65
India	3.75	3.5	3	3.25	3.5	3.25	3.4	3.5	3.25	3.75	3.75	3.75	3.5	3.5	4

July 2007

Thu 19 - Mon 23	1st Test - England v India Lord's, London
Fri 27 - Tue 31	2nd Test - England v India Trent Bridge, Nottingham

August 2007

Thu 9 - Mon 13

3rd Test - England v India Kennington Oval, London

Various side markets for the series are about too but I'll start with the series outright. 4pts Drawn Series 11/4 Betfred England in July. A sunny, warm and colourful environment. Not this time. The weather has been awful for the last 4 or 5 weeks and it's set to continue for at least another 2. That means we may well struggle to get enough time in for results to be sorted out in these test matches. If we forget for the moment that India are traditionally poor travellers, we see 2 squads which I believe are evenly matched. Both sides have top 6's that are full of runs while they also both have pretty indifferent bowling attacks. That said, India don't travel well and that has to be a worry to anyone looking to take England on in this series. In fact of the 45 test matches they've played in England, India have won only 4. 18 have been drawn and 23 lost. However India backers will be buoyed by the fact that India held England to a 1-1 draw when last on these shores. There's enough inclement weather around at the minute to wreak havoc with the test matches and with the final test match being at The Oval, a game India can very much win, I think a drawn series is the correct play. And now on to the side markets. 1pt D.Karthik Top India Series Bat 10/1 Bet365 Dinesh Karthik seems to have taken to English conditions like a house on fire. So far on tour Karthik has made 76, 33, 5 and 51. Since he won his test position back in South Africa in the winter he's made scores of 63, 38*, 56, 22 and 129 with all but one of those coming as an opener where he'll play in this series. Naturally Karthik's more illustrious colleagues notably Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly are at the head of this market but the bookies could be a bit guilty of focusing solely on those 3 and missing the in form Karthik. At 10/1, Karthik is worth a small punt for India's series top scorer. 6pts A.Kumble Top India Series Bowler 5/2 Boylesports Last time Anil Kumble toured England with this Indian side he ended up as the top wicket taker for his side with 14 wickets from the 3 matches he played in that series. Those 14 wickets came at an average of 36 which isn't too bad for a spinner. Kumble's still a threat too and in a young and inexperienced bowling lineup against a side who still have real difficulties facing spin, Anil Kumble is the logical choice for the top bowler for the Indians. 3pts R.Sidebottom Top England Series Bowler 4/1 Totesport Ryan Sidebottom burst back onto the international stage with a real bang against the West Indies. He took 16 wickets in the 3 matches he played and bowled superbly all series. With the recent weather conditions we've experienced in this country a swing bowler simply has to benefit and with many of India's batsmen right handers who won't appreciate the left arm over swinging the ball into them I'm happy to back the long haired one to be among the wickets again in this series, particularly as the 2nd match is on his home patch at Trent Bridge.

[Punto83]

Re: Cricket: England vs India Test Series Good call with Sidebottom Kev especially with Harmy seemingly ruled out for the series. I'm quite tempted backing India to win the series to be honest, their batting line up is very strong and up there with the very best whilst England's bowling attack could be a lot better. India should have a fair amount of fans in the grounds too. I'm thinking of laying England :)