by ben
14. December 2010 10:36
There's an easy option available to punters for the rest of this test series: back England. Back them to score more runs, take more wickets and win matches. For some inexplicable reason they are only just favourites for the 3rd test at the WACA (2.64 to Australia's 2.66 at CricketBetLive). England are the superior side in every single department of the game and whilst they're likely to stumble at some point they shouldn't be the same price as the hapless Aussies.
The Perth pitch was revealed today and is expected to be juicier than the lifeless surfaces which characterised the first two tests, afterall, Australia need results. I like Australia under 349.5 in the first innings which is currently 2.25 but you may be able to pick it up closer to the 2.45 I nabbed it at if you keep an eye out for CBL's periodic happy hours which they flag to their twitter followers.
In the last test my man Ian Bell was cruelly robbed of a beautiful spread-covering 70 by Strauss' declaration with him stranded on 68. Cruel fate indeed but I'm not turning my back on the oiled up little cover-driver just because his captain was a dick. Over 64.5 is a steal, especially given he is probably England's best bat in difficult conditions.
If the thrill of gambling isn't enough and you're looking for that bit more you could spark up a personal battle with a member of the Sofa. Our very own Sophia will undoubtedly be backing Steve Smith (whoops, not that one, this one) over 66.5 since she seems to think he is the greatest leg spinner to walk the earth as well as being a batsman to compete with Gooch or King Viv. Let's have a look at his stats:
- A side destroying 41 first class wickets in 20 matches at 44.8
- An awe-inspiring 221 runs in 8 first class innings this season
- Most importantly of all, he has a whopping 62 Facebook likes on his Cricinfo profile
Is Smith going to get over 66.5? Pigs might fly. In the spirit of friendly competition I will be whacking a huge wedge on the under at CBL and am looking forward to taunting Sophia all the way to the bank.
Good luck.
* 20 points per wicket, 1/run, 10/catch, 25/stumping.
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