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England v Bangladesh 1st Test. England could have front line bowler problems for the First of two test matches against Bangladesh. Pace bowler Graham Onions, along with Ryan Sidebottom, have flown back to England due to injury, and there is some doubt over whether Stuart Broad, the most experienced Test bowler in the England squad, will be fit enough to play. England are already missing Jimmy Anderson, who did not travel on the tour due to injury, and if Broad, who would have been starting with the new ball, cannot start, England will have to bank on some relative inexperience.

Conditions in Bangladesh favour spin bowling, and without Broad, stand in Captain Alastair Cook will have a big decision to take, along with the selectors. They have the option of drafting in a straight replacement, probably Tim Bresnan, or simply going with four bowlers instead of five. England are not short of bowlers on the tour, they are short of experienced bowlers though. Youngster Steve Finn made an impressive debut in a warm up match, as did spinner James Tredwell, who took six wickets in the Bangladesh first innings. Ajmal Shahzad is also in line, after some steady bowling. But it is the dynamics of Broad which would be missed most, the pace and fire he can deliver, even though he has the tendency to be expensive.

Onions played with great consistency in the recent tour of South Africa, and his departure is a blow to England. With the level of opposition in Bangladesh, not being the sternest test England will face this year, the England hierarchy may not want to risk Stuart Broad, even though he has been practicing in the nets for the past couple of days. There is a long year ahead for England, and this tour has seen the rise of some of the players from the England Lions, in reaching the full squad. Batsman Craig Kieswetter hit a maiden ton in the successful ODI series for England, and batsman Michael Carberry is looking to take his big chance, with Andrew Strauss missing the tour. There are places up for grabs at the top of the batting order, especially with Kevin Pietersen still searching for form.

Pietersen, since getting back into action in the tour of South Africa, has not managed any score of note, which is a worrying sight for English cricket fans. The big hitting maverick is often the hero of the England batting, but he looks extremely short of confidence at time at the crease. After failing in the ODI’s and the warm up test match against Bangladesh A, this could be an important stage of Pietersen’s international career. But there are plenty of positives to take from this tour, and England should be able to comfortably keep their unbeaten record against Bangladesh going. The late call on Stuart Broad’s fitness, will determine the shape and balance of the England team in the first test, but whether four or five bowlers, whether it is two spinners or not, and English victory is expected.

England to win: 4/11 at Bet365
Draw: 4/1 at BetFred
Bangladesh to win: 8/1 at William Hill

Series Betting (Two Tests)
England: 1/4 at ExtraBet
Drawn series: 6/1 at  Stan James
Bangladesh: 12/1 at Totesport

Ireland v Wales. Irish stalwart Brian O’Driscoll will step out to earn the 100th cap for his country on Saturday, as Ireland v Wales takes place at Croke Park. This is a crucial game for Ireland if they still have dreams of retaining their Six Nations title, which they won for the first time last year. After losing so heavily in Paris to France, the rails looked to have come off the Irish challenge for this year, but, despite being under the cosh for long period of the game against England at Twickenham, Ireland grabbed a dramatic win, thanks to two tries from Tommy Bowe, to keep them in the hunt. France top the group at the moment with three wins from three, with England and Ireland behind them on two wins each. Now Ireland need to win their last two games well, and hope that England do them a favour by beating France in the last round of fixtures.

Ireland dramatically won the Grand Slam last season at the Millennium Stadium, in a thrilling match, helped by Stephen Jones missing a last minute penalty for Wales. The Irish were pushed all of the way and could well have lost, and memories of that will be ringing around the Irish dressing room on Saturday. Ireland should remain unchanged from the starting fifteen which took on England so well at Twickenham. The Irish showed a lot of determination and resilience, despite not having much of the ball at all, but they possessed one thing that the English did not have. Clinical finishing. Ireland won the game 20-16, after being on the back foot for most of the game. Following a dour win against Italy in their opener, and then the crushing defeat to France, there were doubts over whether Ireland could replicate what they did last season. As good as team as they, they rode their luck then, but with the French side so powerful this season, any frailties exposed will be the thin line between them retaining the title and not. Two years ago the Welsh beat the Irish in Dublin.

For Wales, this season has been all about thrilling entertainment, which, unfortunately for them, has resulted in just one win from their opening three matches. In all of their matches so far, Wales have found themselves behind in the early stages of the game, having to always play catch up. Against England, Scotland and France, they staged some thrilling second half comebacks, taking risks in running and throwing the ball around. In other words, doing what Wales do best. However, the Welsh defence has not been good at all, and their best defensive displays have come when they are attacking and recycling the ball at pace. The comeback strategy worked against Scotland, but failed against England and France.

There has been little continuity by Wales, which is what you would naturally associate them with. Their scrum has not looked as steady either, and they have their fair share of problems with injury in that area, losing the majority of their front line. Mr Consistency himself Martyn William will become Wales most capped forward when he leads his nation out on Saturday, just five short of the magical 100 mark. Wales haven’t managed to put a whole game plan together for 80 minutes yet, and that’s probably what they will need to do against Ireland, if they want to repeat their success of two year ago at Croke Park. It is hard to delineate whether Wales are as bad as their results have suggested. There have been passages of play which they look anything but a cohesive team. Other passages have shown how dangerous they can be when they put things together.

Wales try to employ the same blitz defence which the French do so well. This kind of living-on-the-edge defence can look frail when it doesn’t work, and there is not a great margin of error for it. The Irish should have the edge in the pack, although their scrimmaging has come under some scrutiny. Another area in which Ireland should be able to attack is in the line out. Pound for pound, Ireland should be the better team in all areas, especially in defence, as shown against England. They probably haven’t got the overall speed and fluidity of the Welsh backs, but they have power and players who can turn the game with a flash of ingenuity.

Ireland v Wales Betting Stats

Ireland: W46, D6, L62
Wales: W62, D6, L46

Ireland biggest winning margin: 54-10
Wales biggest winning margin: 29-0

Ireland average points v Wales: 10.43
Wales average points v Ireland: 11.55

Match Prices
Ireland to win: 3/10 at Stan James
Draw: 25/1 at Totesport
Wales to win: 7/2 at SportingBet

England will be looking to keep their 2010 RBS Six Nations hopes alive on Saturday, when they travel to Murrayfield to take on the Scots. England were dealt a blow two weeks ago, when Ireland triumphed over them at Twickenham, in a match where England dominated possession. Again though, England’s lack of cutting edge in all areas of the park, let them down, as the Irish, in a clinical fashion, showed England what they are missing. Every half chance was put away by the Irish, partly through speed and creativity, and partly through English defensive errors, whereas England squandered plenty of chances when they were in good attacking positions. We have yet to see the England that boss Martin Johnson had promised, a team which would run and play expansive rugby. That has not happened, with heavy criticism being aimed at Johnson, some of the senior players like Jonny Wilkinson, and the coaches.

Now it is onto the Calcutta Cup in their penultimate match. The Grand Slam chance has gone, but they can still take the championship down to the wire with a victory over the Scots. After winning their opening sequence of games against Wales and Italy, England failed to capitalise on the fact that France beat Ireland. Another defeat for the Irish would have put them out of contention, but now there is a three way race for Six Nations title, thanks to their victory at Twickenham. France of course, still dominate, and everything should go down to the wire on the final day, when England travel to Paris. England stuck with the same team that had laboured so badly against Italy, and there were not a lot of signs from the backs that things are improving. While the ball retention in the forwards was better, there were still to many mistakes at crucial times. Yes, there is an air of inexperience in the side, but players do not look to be taking on any responsibility for themselves. Whether that is down to coaching or individuals, or a mix of both is anyone’s guess at the moment.

Again, Johnson has refused to make wholesale changes to the starting fifteen. Johnson though, has called up Leicester’s young star scrum half, Ben Youngs, who will start the match at Murrayfield on the bench. This is the culmination of a rapid rise for Youngs, who was nominated for Premiership Young Player of the year last season. The scrum half position, is occupied by Danny Care at the moment, who has yet to really stamp his authority over any game. Johnson has only made one tactical change of personal to the side, with big Joe Worsley coming back into the pack, while Louis Deacon takes over from Simon Shaw who picked up an injury against the Irish. There were calls for the exciting talent of Ben Foden to start the match at full back, after making a great impact with his running instead of the kicking of Delon Armitage, but that hasn’t happened, as he start on the bench. The England camp are still looking for their finishing to be more clinical. The pressure which England have exerted over opponents during the tournament, has often looked a long way short of being translated into points.

Scotland, about which much has been made of their strong midfield, have yet to win in the Six Nations so far. Coach Andy Robinson has suffered defeats against France, Wales and Italy, and will relish nothing more than finding a way to beat England. Robinson had an unsuccessful as England manager, but can be buoyed by the fact that Scotland have beaten England in the last two encounters at Murrayfield. If a repeat of that happens, it should pretty much hand the 2010 RBS Six Nations tournament on a plate to the French. The results for the Scots may not be as harsh as they, like England, have failed to turn bouts of pressure into points, lacking a clinical edge to them. Robinson has made changes for the Calcutta Cup because of injury, after losing Mike Blair and Alasdair Dickinson though injury. Robinson has drafted Nick De Luca into the starting three quarters, while moving out Max Evans, one of Scotland’s most potentially potent attacking players onto the wing.

Scotland have yet to pick up a point, despite running Wales close at the Millennium Stadium in their second game. They have only ran in two tries in their opening three games, the lowest joint total along with Italy. This will be a passionate clash of horns at Murrayfield, with both sides desperate for points, but England will be expected to edge it in a tight, slow match.

Scotland v England BETTING STATS

Scotland: W42, D17, L67
England: W67, D17, L42

Scotland biggest winning margin: 33-6
England biggest winning margin: 43-3

Scotland average points v England: 8.56
England average points v Scotland: 11.40

2009 Six Nations Result:
England 26, Scotland 12

Match Prices:
Scotland to win: 2/1 at SportingBet
Draw: 22/1 at Bwin
England to win: 8/15 at Stan James

Hockey World Cup. One of the greatest rivalries in the sporting world will get re-ignited again on Thursday, as the first semi final of the Hockey World Cup sees the match up of Germany v England. England have had a fairly impressive World Cup campaign, winning four of their five pool matches, including victory over the much fancied Australians. The path to the final of any world cup is seldom easy, and with just two games standing between England and gold, their semi final pits them against the number one ranked team in the world. It has been a tournament full of passion, grit and determination for the English, as they have had to deal with injuries to key players, and hostile, feisty atmospheres and highly charged games.

After stretching their legs at the top of Pool B, Spain put a blemish on their group record, running out 2-0 winners. That mean that Australia had the chance to leapfrog England at the top of the pool, and they took that chance with a 2-1 win over Pakistan, which gave them the goal difference they needed, as both they and England finished on 12 points. Australia’s only defeat came against England in their opening fixture, and they remain strong. The second semi final sees Australia go up against the Netherlands, who have looked impressive during the tournament. The Dutch finished one point behind the Germans, equal on points with Korea, but their superior goal difference saw them squeeze through at the death.

Germany are Ranked number one in the World, Australia second, the Netherlands fourth and England 6th. Spain (3rd) and Korea (5th). That is the strength of the competition left in the final four. With England being the lowest ranked team left in, an appearance in the final would be a major accomplishment. They were full of confidence going into the tournament, with their aim being able to get out of the pool. They have achieved that target with some aplomb, but will need to dig deep again in order to get the better of the Germans. Germany went undefeated through their pool matches, the only points being dropped by them, coming against the Netherlands. That match ended in a close 2-2 draw. Both of the semi final matches are played on Thursday, with the culmination of the tournament, held in India, coming on Saturday.

Germany to win: 13/10 at Paddy Power
Draw: 10/3 at Ladbrokes
England to win: 8/5 at Coral

Australia to win: 4/5 at Bet365
Draw: 7/2 at William Hill
Holland to win: 10/3 at Ladbrokes

WTA Indian Wells Tennis. Britain’s Elena Baltacha has won through her qualification matches, to reach the first round of the Main Draw of the BNP Paribas Open, at Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California. Baltacha beat 20th qualifying seed Ekaterina Bychkova 6-3 6-4 to reach the main draw, to continue her fine form this season. The British tennis star is ranked 64th in the world, and now she is up against Alex Glatch from the USA, who is a wild card entrant for the tournament. If she wins through that, then she will face 7th seed Li Na from China in the second round. Most of the seeded players have received byes through to the second, which is where the real action will start. The first round of the Indian Wells Tournament is the chance for a lot of the qualifiers and lower ranked players to have their day, trying to win through to get a big day against one of the world stars in the second round.

Baltacha is in the bottom half of the draw, and in her quarter, she could run into Maria Sharapova again, who beat the British players recently in the quarter finals at Memphis. Baltacha also has 18th seed Jie Zheng and Anabel Madina Garrigues (29th) in her quarter. Britain also has Anne Keothavong in the bottom half of the draw, and she goes up against Russian Anna Chakvetadze in the first round. Keothavong has been getting back into the swing of things after a big injury problem last year, and has reached the quarter final and semi final of her two tournaments in 2010. World Number 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova is the top seed for the tournament, with Caroline Wozniakci and Victoria Azarenka, second and third seeds respectively.

March 11th
Elena Baltacha to win: 4/1 at BetFred
Alexa Glatch to win: 12/5 at Bwin

Anna Chakvetadze to win: 4/7 at SkyBet
Anne Keothavong to win: 6/4 at Boylesports

WTA Indian Wells Outright
Justine Henin: 10/3 at Extrabet
Kim Clijsters: 9/2 at Ladbrokes
Victoria Azarenka: 9/2 at Ladbrokes
Elena Dementieva: 12/1 at Boylesports
Maria Sharapova: 14/1 at Boylesports

Isn’t it funny how, sometimes, you develop an affinity with a venue or an event without really knowing why. Take this week’s WGC – CA Championship in Doral, Florida. The scenery in Miami is pleasant enough and the tournament has always attracted the world’s best players since its inception in 1999. But I can’t for the life of me think why I look forward to it so much every year! Maybe I once backed the winner at big odds. If I did, a repeat would be very welcome this week as I try to top up my punting fund for Cheltenham. I’m going to throw a few names at you now because all of the following are high on my shortlist on the Blue Monster course this week. Phil Mickelson (a general 9-1) is the defending champion and a regular top 10 finisher at the Doral Resort. He will play alongside Rory McIlroy (a general 25-1) in the opening two rounds and will make his presence felt again, The Ulsterman is the same price at Englishman Ian Poulter, winner of the WGC Match Play Championship in Arizona last month and now ranked fifth in the world, just behind Lee Westwood (also 25-1 with sportingbet and extrabet) this week and just ahead of another Englishman Paul Casey (18-1 with bet365 and extrabet). Australian Geoff Ogilvy, already a winner on the US Tour this year and the champion here in 2008, is another 25-1 chance that makes plenty of appeal and one also has to respect Jim Furyk, also a general 25-1 shot. Furyk, third here 12 months ago tied for second behind Ogilvy in 2008 and clearly feels at home on the course. The 39-year-old has only contested three tournaments so far this year but has made the top 25 in two of those and can be expected to up his game from now on. I’ll be making him my main wager but will also be having a few quid on Kenny Perry (widely availabe at 66-1) who’s another that goes well in Miami, and last week’s Honda Classic winner Camillo Villegas. The young Colombian, a general 18-1 chance, is the pin-up of the US Tour but is now beginning to show he’s a pretty hot player as well and he was only just beaten by Tiger Woods when a rookie here in 2006. A fourth tournament success can’t be far away.

Britain’s Premier Tennis player on the Women’s circuit, Elena Baltacha, who is enjoying a fine year so far, came through a tough first qualifying match for the BNP Paribas Open in California. The tournament at Indian Wells Tennis Gardens, which is in a stunning location in the Southern Californian desert, is one of the tournaments which the majoirty of the World Stars turn out for. This is WTA Tour Premier event, which the best in the world participate in, regarded in standing as just behind the prestige of a Grand Slam event. The main draw, for both the men and women’s competitions will consist of 64 players, after qualification matches has whittled the draws down from 96. Elena Baltacha has to qualify for the main draw, and after a successful year so far, will be hoping to build upon her form.

Elena Baltacha to win: 1/2 at SkyBet
Ekaterina Bychkova: 7/4 at Paddy Power

Other British interest comes from Anne Keothavong, who is already in First Round of the Main draw:
Anna Chakvetadze to win: 8/1 5 at ExtraBet
Anne Keothavong to win: 9/5 at Boylesports

It took Baltacha three sets to get past American wildcard Julia Boserup, but winning is all that matters, and now she faces a one match shoot off to earn her place in the main draw. Ranked 65th in the World, Baltacha, forever smiling and looking as if she is having fun, put in some impressive performances at the Australian Open, and queen of tennis Maria Sharapova denied her a genuine title shot in Memphis recently. She now has to square off against Ekaterina Bychkova to reach the main draw. With the main draw itself having already been made, there is one stand out portion of the draw, which is going to draw a lot of fans and betting interest. The Indian Wells tennis tournament, appears to be all about Vera Zvonareva and Ana Ivanovic.

Russian Zvonareva has picked up a tour title already this year, winning in Thailand. It was she who beat Ivanovic in the final at Indian Wells last year, taking the crown from the defending champion. Now Ivanovic, who’s best performance this season came in reaching the semi finals in Brisbane, has a lot of work to do, with Zvonareva probably being the better of the two at the moment. The young Serbian, who made headlines recently with her Swimsuit Illustrated shoot, has not done much since to suggest that she can make an impact at the event. Yes, you guessed it, these two are on a collision course again this year, but it won’t be in the final, it will be in the third round, if everything goes to plan.

In the same half of the draw, is the likes of feisty favourite Victoria Azarenka, Daniela Hantuchova (who has won at Indian Wells twice before, and just lost the final in Monterrey, so is in good form) and the always dangerous Yanina Wickmayer. The other half of the draw has Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin (who both continue their comebacks), Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova, along with a good outside bet in Serbian Jelena Jankovic. Top seed for the draw is Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who has lost twice in the final at Indian Wells. It is difficult to see her, from a betting point of view, get back the wealth of talent in her half of the draw. For now, we shall see if Britain’s Elena Baltacha can make her way into the main draw, and over the next two weeks, there will be match previews and tennis betting opportunities to explore here.

WTA Indian Wells Outright
Justine Henin: 10/3 at ExtraBet
Kim Clijsters: 9/2 at ExtraBet
Elena Dementieva: 12/1 at Expekt
Maria Sharapova: 12/1 at Bet365
Victoria Azarenka: 14/1 at Expekt

The Men’s tournament at Indian Wells is also in the qualification stage, with the players hoping to join the world’s elite in the main draw. Yes, everyone is there. World Number one Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Britain’s Andy Murray. Spaniard Nadal beat Andy Murray in the final at Indian Wells Garden last year, and after reaching the final of the Australian Open, Murray will be hoping to go one better. There is still the matter of three times champions Roger Federer to deal with though. There is an awesome amount of Tennis to come over the next fortnight, and we will be brining you the highlights of the competition right here, along with betting advice and tips.

Live from Indian Wells with Bet365. Yes, the online bookmaker will be providing free streamin of live tennis from Indian Wells Garden over the next couple of weeks. You can catch all the action there, and enjoy a great Live In-Play betting service as well from this leading bookmaker. There is also an incredibly generous welcome bonus of up to £200 in match bets worth investigating as well. With such a fantastic fortnight of tennis to come, take the opporuntiy to have a highly recommended bookmaker at your disposal, for all of your tennis betting.

I must admit, I’m still basking a little in the glory of picking out Jenson Button and Brawn GP for success in last year’s Formula One Championship. Alas, I can’t promise you 9-1 and 8-1 winners in the Drivers’ and Constructors’ title races this season but I still think there’s a bit of value to be had in the ante-post markets ahead of this week’s opening GP in Bahrain. For once, there’s been plenty to capture the imagination during the close season, not least Michael Schumacher’s return to the cockpit. The German rightly demands iconic status having won more Grand Prix and F1 World Championships than any other driver in history. One does have to question, however, how much hunger he still has after three years spent testing motorbikes and acting as an advisior for Ferrari. Considering his close relationship with the Italian giants it is also strange that he’s making his comeback with Mercedes. The fact that the innovative Ross Brawn is now chief designer at Mercedes will have heavily influenced Schumacher’s decision to return but I fear the physical strain of a long GP season may be too much for the 41-year-old and would willingly lay boylesports, extrabet and sportingbet’s 13-2 about him making a fairytale comeback to the Drivers’ Championship. Then, of course, there’s the battle of the Britons at McLaren. If Lewis Hamilton is feeling any signs of insecurity about having the current world champion join him at Woking, he certainly isn’t showing it. For the second year in a row, McLaren will have the number one driver in their ranks but, no matter how much practice he’s undergone, it’s going to take a few hours race time for Jenson Button to get the feel of his new car and that’s where Hamilton may hold the edge over his compatriot. The 2008 champion finished last season with a flourish and can carry that momentum forward to this campaign so bwin’s 9-2 is sure to attract support as oppose to Button’s widely available 14-1 quote for back-to-back titles. As always, of course, Ferrari will be competitive. Fernando Alonso is the ante-post favourite (a best 11-4) to bring home the title in his first season in the famous red car but it remains to be seen how the confidence of Felipe Massa (9-1 with bet365, skybet and sportingbet) has been affected by his horrific crash last year and Ferrari are worth opposing in the Constructors’ Championship (2-1 with Paddy Power and Ladbrokes) on that score. How about a punt on Red Bull in that market? There have been early signs this year that Renault have finally developed an engine to match Ferrari and McLaren and new regulations, which have effectively slowed down the cars, may well play into their hands this season. Australian Mark Webber (20-1 on betfair) broke his duck in F1 in Germany last year and is sure to make his presence felt again this time around but their number one driver looks to be rising star Sebastian Vettel, who pushed Button all the way last year and must surely go close again in 2010 with a stronger start. My money will be on the young German at 5-1 with boylesports. His team are priced at 10-3 with the same firm to win the Constructors’ Championship.

A 3-2 win over India, saw England’s men book their place in the semi finals of the World Cup of Hockey. They maintained their 100% pool record, with just one game remaining against the Spaniards, who desperately need a win to keep their dreams alive. England, ranked 6th, but who are current European Champions, have been rocked by injury, but their form throughout the tournament has been impressive. The game against India was dominated by England, in a hostile atmosphere against the host nation, defeat for which, meant that India will not reach the semi finals.

England have beaten Australia, Pakistan, India and South Africa, and a win or a draw against Spain will see them top the group. They have Australia just behind them, who could top the group if England fail to pick up a point, and that could be crucial. The Netherlands and Germany are in a tight battle for the top spot in the other pool, with Korea still in with a chance of upsetting one of them by pinching a spot. Both Holland and Germany are unbeaten after drawing 2-2 in their group encounter, but England are the only ones who have won all four of the matches so far. Either one of them in the semi finals is going to be an extraordinarily tough task, with Germany being the world’s top ranked side.

Germany have to take on New Zealand in their final match, while Holland, who top Pool A at the moment, have a tougher make or break game against Korea. England’s next opponents Spain, were shut out in a 2-0 defeat to Australia, which put the Aussies in a strong position in second place behind England. Spain need to win this last match in order to stand any chance of sneaking into the semi finals, and hope that Pakistan can pull off a surprise victory over the Aussies. Not very likely to happen, but England have a chance to keep momentum going, and continue to be one of the surprise packages of the tournament.

England to win: 4/5 at Bwin
Draw: 7/2 at Stan James
Spain to win: 31/20 at Paddy Power

Holland to win: 3/10 at Bwin
Draw: 9/2 at Bwin
Korea Republic: 21/4 at Bwin

World Rankings
1. Germany
2. Australia
3. Spain
4. Netherlands
5. Korea
6. England
7. Pakistan
8. New Zealand
11. Canada
12. India
13. South Africa
14. Argentina

England’s World Cup Hockey players are still going strong at the World Cup in India. After running out 5-2 winners over Pakistan, England now face hosts India in the pool. The victory did cost England though, as key defender Richard Martell got seriously injured when defending a penalty corner. There were fears that in the accidental collision with a Pakistan attacker, the England player had broken his ankle as he was stretchered off. Subsequent scans showed that he had both dislocated and fractured his right ankle. Pakistan scored off that penalty corner, tying the game up at 2-2. But England dug deep and recovered extremely well from the injury blow, turning up the heat in the second half.

England are looking to keep up their 100% World Cup record in the tournament so far, with impressive wins over both South Africa and Australia, who are highly fancied to take the World Cup. But England have played their way into a strong position and now sit on the brink of semi final place. One more good victory over India should see them there, with only a sterner test in the group to come against Spain. England’s next opponent India, have only picked up one with out of their three games so far, with a victory over South Africa. They go into the match on the back of a heavy 5-2 defeat to Spain.

England, who are European champions, lead the group before heading into their next match on Saturday. The Australians and the Spaniards look to be left to battle it out for second place in the group if all goes well. Australia recorded a 12-0 victory over South Africa as they bounced back with some vigour from the defeat to England. England are in Pool B of the Hockey World Cup, and in Pool A there is a close race for the top spot between Holland, Germany and Korea. But England’s semi final fate is in their own hands, and a victory over India will take them there.

England to win: 6/11 at Expekt
Draw: 15/4 at Paddy Power
India to win: 15/4 at Bwin