Cricket Betting – Aussie Team Of 2009 Not Yet A Classic Vintage

There’s some logic to the formula that suggests if you can’t find a favourite for a three-horse race, the only bet is what the bookmakers have deemed is the outsider. That may be a simplistic view to adopt but it could be the way to make a profit out of the forthcoming Ashes series and, at the moment, that means backing England to regain that precious urn. Coral are currently offering 5-2 against Andrew Strauss‘ men winning the series, with Australia a best 15-8 with sportingbet and the draw available at 13-8 with a number of layers. Of course, cricket lovers would be delighted if this series turned out to be as rivetting as that of 2005 – but is that expecting too much? Since whitewashing England to regain the Ashes in 2006, Australia have lost the likes of Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Haydn, while the form of spinner Nathan Hauritz suggests Shane Warne will be missed more keenly than anyone else. Add to that the injury problems surrounding strike bowlers Brett Lee and Stuart Clark and how easily the England Lions worked over inexperienced opener Phil Hughes and you realise how many problems Ricky Ponting has as he tries to pick a team ahead of the First Test in Cardiff this week. There are plusses for the Aussies, of course, with Simon Katich, Mike Hussey and Marcus North all among the runs in their final warm-up match and Mitchell Johnson proving himself with bat and ball. But it must be remembered that the first two named, along with skipper Ponting, are all in the veteran stage now and will do well to last the course in a long Ashes tour. On top of all that, the tourists have had a far from perfect preparation for the Test series. A disastrous Twenty20 World Cup campaign left them kicking their heels for a fortnight and they’ve looked ring-rusty since. Yes, Australia‘s series win in South Africa was a terrific result for a team in transition but quite a few of Ponting‘s squad haven’t really experienced English conditions before and the home side believe they can capitalise on that fact. Andrew Strauss still has a way to go before emulating Michael Vaughan‘s achievements as skipper but the early signs are promising. Mistakes were made in the Caribbean over the winter, but those deficiences were addressed when the West Indies made a return visit to England in the spring. He has the backing of senior players like Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen and, along with the rest of England’s front four, looks in good nick. True, those in the middle order have a little more to prove but there still looks to be plenty of runs in England‘s side overall and they have a bowling attack that is relatively settled, in contrast to the Aussies. Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad have both matured over the past 18 months, while Graeme Swann‘s emergence gives them a nice balance, providing Flintoff‘s fragile health holds up. If pitches are being prepared to tailor England‘s need, Swann could be a decent bet to be England‘s top wicket-taker (7-2 with bet365 and Stan James) while Mitchell Johnson is the obvious one for the Aussies (a general 6-4). I’ll steer clear of the top batsmen but a 2-1 series correct score in England’s favour looks feasible at a general 9-1 and should keep punters interested until the final Test.