Victor Chandler

England suffered a crushing defeat in the first of three tests and now Pakistan v England cricket betting odds have taken a huge momentum shift. Can Andrew Strauss lead a fight back and prove their status as the best Test side in the world? England went down limply in a 10 wicked defeat, in which their batsmen failed to deliver. Getting bowled out for under two hundred in both innings, Andrew Strauss could only watch in dismay as his side fell apart in the second innings, apparently not learning anything from the first. England’s batsmen simply never adapted to the conditions and again showed huge weakness in facing quality spin bowling. Off spinner Saeed Ajmal with his 7-55 in the first innings really led the charge for Pakistan in Dubai left England reeling, and now they muster a response. Andrew Strauss insists that England won’t panic after that defeat in the batting ranks. It certainly won’t be a great change of personnel for the second test, but the batsmen who have proved themselves so well over the past couple of years just need to pay more attention and focus on what they are doing. Surprisingly the England bowlers did a pretty good job of putting the squeeze on Pakistan when they were under pressure, so the entire focus is on the batting, especially after putting in a sixth batsmen as they played two spinners. Can England pull out back to back wins over Pakistan? Well, naturally there is a pretty great price on them, 7/1 with SportingBet in fact to pull out a series win. Pakistan are in the driving seat at 8/15 with SportingBet to take the series, while a draw secures odds of 3/1 at Bet Victor.

Online bookmaker Bet Victor have a good Top Batsman Special running for Pakistan v England cricket betting. If you place a pre match Top Batsman Bet for the second test, if your selection fails to top score, but his captain does knock off the highest total, then Bet Victor will refund your lost stake a free bet, with coverage on the Money Back Special up to £50. Online bookmaker Bet Victor, which has just under gone it’s re-branding launch, offers a free £25 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new account, up to the maximum value of £25 with a free bet.

Online bookmaker BetVictor (the re-branded face of Victor Chandler) have a great Game of the Day football betting promotion running for the next few days of action. BetVictor have this promotion running up to, and including January 22nd, for their select matches. When you place a Correct Score bet on any of the BetVictor Game Of The Day options, if your selection loses but there is a red card in that match, then you will get your lost stake refunded as a free bet. This applies to singles only, and it is a great way to get a little bit of extra coverage on these select football matches. Which matches are we looking at? Well there, is the Valencia v Levante match up on Thursday 19th, Borussia M’gladbach v Bayern Munich on Friday 20th, Real Betis v Seville on Saturday 21 and the final match up is the big Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium of Sunday 22nd, which is Arsenal v Man Utd. That really is the head line Game of the Day in this BetVictor Correct Score football promotion.

The Red Devils head to the Emirates looking to keep up the pressure on rivals Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, and for Arsenal, they will be out looking for revenge for the 8-2 humiliation which they suffered at Old Trafford at the start of the season. Arsenal have improved their form immensely since then and we can always expect drama when Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson come together. So have a Correct Score bet on the Arsenal v Man Utd match and if you bet there loses, you will be covered if there happens to be a red card in the match. A 1-0 win for either side in the Correct Score market for Arsenal v Man Utd betting fetches 8/1, while a 1-1 draw is trading at 11/2 with the bookie.

BetVictor offer a free £25 bet for new customers registering an account with them. The bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new account with a free bet, up to the maximum value of £25 in their generous welcome bonus.

Online bookmaker Victor Chandler have re-launched themselves with a new brand, called BetVictor. While the brand has changed, the great levels of service and sports betting promotions remains the same.Victor Chandler have re-branded to BetVictor so that they can further their expansion to international customers, and it will allow them to have a familiar and strong identity as an online bookmaker when branching out. Along with the re-branding has of course, come some changes and upgrades to the Victor Chandler website. The overall theme of the website is still familiar but it has been cleaned up to provide a more efficient and concise betting portal for your sports wagers. Navigation around BetVictor has been made more efficient because the improvement of navigation and functionality has been a positive way in which they can push forward. A visit to the new look Victor Chandler website and you can automatically see how driven the bookie has become to sharpen up the image and streamline the betting experience when landing on the home page. All of the services that Victor Chandler customers enjoyed before are still there, and the bookie stresses their continuation support and development of a great betting portal for their customers, and they certainly have struck a good chord of sleek and efficient sports betting.

Landing on the home page of BetVictor you can instantly see the great services such as Live and In-Play betting across a wide range of sports. You can’t miss the latest action from the sporting world as all of the latest betting opportunities are there on the home page for you. There is great coverage and variety in the BetVictor sports books, as well as options to dip into Politics and Financials betting as well. Victor Chandler also offer a great Tote Betting service which is well worth looking into for your horse racing betting. The live betting portal is superb with full coverage across sports and BetVictor are a great option for looking at Asian Handicap betting if that is your fancy as well. As well as their sports betting, BetVictor continue to provide great extras on their website through a Casino, Poker, Slots and more and of one of the great reasons why Victor Chandler have built such a good name for themselves, is because of their superb Sports Betting Promotions. All of that is still in place, with the sleek new look of the BetVictor re-branding.

For new customers heading to BetVictor to check out their wide range of services, there is a free £25 bet available. This is a great sign up welcome bonus offer from the highly popular bookie, as they will match the value of your first stake on a new account with a free bet, up to the maximum value of £25. So the switch to BetVictor is now complete as the online bookmaker continues to go from strength to strength.

England take on Pakistan in a Test Match series and you can enhance your cricket betting options with a couple of good promotions which are around at the moment. England have received a boost with the news that some of their injury concerns have been lifted, with Stuart Broad and Ian Bell both getting the green light for action. England may well go with a couple of spinners to try and take the bold approach to making things happen on the slow and lifeless tracks which are forecast, and that puts Monty Panesar, who has been impressive in the warm up to the Test Series, fully in contention to get back in the Test side for the first time since 2009. Pakistan’s conduct in the Test Series is as much on the line as their cricketing reputations. Pakistan have been at the centre of the cricket spot-fixing scandal of course, against England back in 2010. It resulted in Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif all being thrown in prison, and now the Pakistan cricket authorities are talking of zero tolerance policy and a positive change coming from them. This Test series, which is being played out in the United Arab Emirates is a change for them to be positive about their image for the future. Hopefully the past actions of the few won’t throw too much of a negative on this Test Series, and after coming in on the back of trips to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Pakistan were praised for their conduct. But naturally there is going to be more spice against England, one of the best Test sides in the world. England sound pretty focus, with captain Andrew Strauss saying that there is not going to be any distractions, and that they are going to be competitively aggressive. Good to hear and here is hoping that a good contest is to follow. If you are looking for some Pakistan v England cricket betting options, then here are some good promotions offering some insurance on your betting.

Online bookmaker BetFred are running a Batsmen Bonus for cricket betting. If Imran Far hut (from Pakistan) or Ian Bell (England) finish as top scorer for their respective sides, then popular online bookmaker BetFred will generously refund any losing bets placed on their side’s top batsmen markets. So a nice bit of coverage from BetFred on the market, and what are we looking at in there as way of prices? Top England batsmen has Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen at 9/2 for example, while on the Pakistan side Younis Khan can be taken at 3/1. Online bookmaker BetFred offer a free £50 bet for new customers registering an account with them. The bookie will match the first bet on a new account (of £5 or greater) with a free bet up to the maximum value of £50. So a great way to get started with some free betting cash on your new BetFred Account.

Ladbrokes are also running a batsman promotion for their Pakistan v England cricket betting coverage. The popular bookie are going with Andrew Strauss as their target man in this promotion, and if the England captain is the top scorer for his country during their first innings, then Ladbrokes will refund any losing First Test match bets. So pretty good coverage riding on this Ladbrokes cricket betting promotion where England are 7/4 to take the First Test, while Pakistan are at 3/1 and the favourite market option is the draw at 6/5. Ladbrokes offer new customers registering an account the chance to get up to £50 in free bets on their new account. The bookie will match the value of your first bet on a new account with a free bet up to the maximum value of £50. So with their cricket betting promotion for England taking on Pakistan, Ladbrokes are offering great coverage.

Online bookmaker Victor Chandler are going with a batsman betting special for the Test Series of Pakistan v England as well. The route VC Bet are going down, is if the Captain of either side if their top scorer for their respective side, then the bookie will generously refund any pre match Top Batsmen bets placed on the game. So there is good coverage here also for your cricket betting with the highly rated Victor Chandler who are recommended for their money back specials throughout their sports book. In England Top Batsmen odds, there is Alastair Cook at 3/1, and Jonathan Trott at 4/1. For Pakistan Top Batsmen, Misbah-ul-Hay and Imran Farhat are both trading at 9/2. Victor Chandler offer a free £25 bet for new customers who register a new account for their services. A free bet up to the maximum value of £25 will be paid out in a matched first bet welcome bonus, where the bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new VC Bet account.

The 32Red Handicap Chase is likely to prove the biggest betting heat of the day on a competitive card at Sandown and it’s no surprise that several of the big national hunt yards are represented.

Nicky Henderson runs two with November’s Cheltenham winner Tanks For That heading the weights and available at 9/2 with Paddy Power. The choice of stable jockey Barry Geraghty, he has plenty in common with stablemate Dave’s Dream, however, as both departed at the fourth-last behind Astracad at Cheltenham last time. Dave’s Dream (10/1 with William Hill) has still to win in handicap company over fences and remains high enough in the weights, while King Edmond (8/1 with Paddy Power) was raised 7lb for winning at Ascot last month, though regular jockey Tom Cannon again takes off 5lb with his claim and his partner has been on good terms with himself in general since the autumn.

Hold Fast could also be interesting as he’s weighted to reverse running with Newbury winner Rileyev (5/1 with Paddy Power) on better terms. The eight-year-old was having his first run for Paul Nicholls that day so is likely to improve and can be backed at 11/2 with William Hill, though he can take the odd liberty with his fences which won’t aid his cause on the tricky Esher circuit. Nomcheki‘s comeback second at Chepstow seems a long time ago now and he’s worth opposing at William Hill‘s 25/1 while Darceys Dancer (16/1 with the same firm) may struggle at this level and Pret A Thou (9/1 with Victor Chandler and Paddy Power)  likes very soft ground, which he had when just touched off in the Castleford Chase at Wetherby over Christmas. That leaves All For Free.

This is undoubtedly a step up in grade for Martin Keighley‘s six-year-old but his chase career has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few weeks. He annihilated a field of novices at Ascot and also had plenty in hand when scoring under a penalty at Ludlow five days later. He’s possibly the only one of these still on an upward curve and looks well worth a bet to complete the hat-trick at William Hill’s 9/2.

The Lakeside in Frimley Green may have been eclipsed by Alexandra Palace in recent years but will always be the spiritual home of darts and stages its 27th world championships in 2012, albeit being the less high-profile BDO version of the crown. It’s traditionally a lot more open than the PDC World Championship but Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams has dominated recently and is bidding for a hat-trick of titles this year. Adams is a general 4/1 to retain his crown and looks to have been handed a favourable draw as most of his likely challengers have been placed in the bottom section of the line-up. ‘Wolfie’ begins a record 18th appearance in the BDO World Darts Championships against Scott Mitchell (100/1 with Boylesports and sportingbet) on the first afternoon afternoon as he bids for a fourth world title of his career and looks sure to give supporters a run for their money again this year but last year’s losing finalist Dean ‘Over The Top’ Winstanley will hope to go one better than last term.

‘Young’ pretender Winstanley was also beaten in the World Masters Final and the fact that he went so close in two major tournaments so early in his professional career suggests there will be a plenty of success in the coming years. The recent Czech Open winner can’t meet Adams until the final and Coral and Skybet have the 30-year-old from Doncaster at 6/1.

Winstanley‘s conqueror in the World Masters Final in September, Scott ‘Scotty 2 Hotty’ Waites, must also go on the short-list however. The Yorkshireman is only ranked seven in the BDO rankings but beat Adams in the semis of the Masters and has since gone on to win the British Open and WDF World Cup Singles, where he beat Adams 6-2 in the final. The one thing that goes against Waites, however, is a dismal record at the Lakeside. He went out at the quarter-final stage three times from 2008 to 2010 and was beaten in the second round last year.

You can never dismiss 2009 champion Ted ‘The Count’ Hankey at the Lakeside but he’s very difficult to predict nowadays and his general 14/1 quote is probably about right. I’d much rather have a punt on Tony O’Shea at similar odds. Adrian Lewis has already done this column’s darts fans a favour this year and O’Shea is fancied to make a mockery of his quote of 18/1 from Skybet for the BDO World Darts Championships.

‘Silverback’ O’Shea beat Gary Anderson in the semi-finals in 2009 before losing narrowly in the final to Hankey but was a shock first-round loser last year when heading the seedings. He has the unenviable record of having reached all four finals of the BDO‘s grand slam of darts but yet to win any of them. A switch to the PDC is rumoured to be imminent so this may well be his final BDO tournament and it would be fitting if he ended with a well-deserved success. On paper, only the champion appears to stand between O’Shea and his hopes of reaching the final so those current odds look inflated.

Incidentally, if you have a match bet with Victor Chandler in the BDO World Darts Championships and your selection records a 170 checkout and loses, you will still be paid as if he had won.

The new season of tennis betting is underway this week, as the world’s stars gear up for their assaults on the 2012 Grand Slams. Who will prevail this year? Can anyone outside of the big four in the men’s game break the dominance of Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray this season, not only on Tour but in the Slams? The Women’s game is much more wide open, with a fantastic crop of young players coming through. But will Caroline Wozniacki claim her first Grand Slam this year, or will the returns of Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams keep her waiting? Will we see more first time Slam winners this year in the women’s draws? If you enjoy some tennis betting throughout the season, then you will want to look for a bit of tennis betting insurance of course.

Online bookmaker Victor Chandler provides great coverage on your tennis betting for you. Just get a match bet down in the main draw of any ATP or WTA event, and if your selection loses the match in a final set Tie Break, then the popular bookie will refund your lost stake as a free bet! Great tennis betting coverage there for you.

Victor Chandler offer a free £25 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new account with a free bet, up to the maximum value of £25.

Plenty of usual suspects face the starter in the latest of what is fast becoming a pre-requisite handicap chase over 2m5f at every Cheltenham meeting. This one is sponsored by Victor Chandler and champion trainer Paul Nicholls once again provides the top weight in The Nightingale (a general 14/1) and a fancied runner further down the weights in the shape of Ghizao.

Ruby Walsh rides the latter so it’s fair to presume he is the stable selection. Bookmakers and punters certainly think so and the eight-year-old, who beat subsequent Arkle Chase winner Captain Chris twice as a novice, is only a general 6/1. He hasn’t run badly in either start this season but never really jumped with any fluency behind Quantitiveeasing over C&D last time and has ground to make up on Calgary Bay on that run.

Henrietta Knight‘s gelding usually runs well at Cheltenham but hasn’t won for a while. But that could all change in this New Year feature if he can lie up with the pace as he’ll be reeling in the front-runners up the hill. At 8/1 with most layers, Calgary Bay looks a cast-iron each-way bet and Duke Of Lucca should also be in the firing-line. Novices don’t have a great recent record in this contest but Philip Hobbs’ charge could be the exception that proves the rule. A very decent hurdler over this sort of distance, he spread-eagled an ordinary field at Wincanton after a couple of sighters and, though his jumping will be put under pressure by these experienced handicappers, it would be no surprise to see him go close at Boylesports and Stan James‘ 6/1.

Crescent Island (14/1 with Boylesports) and Hector’s Choice (20/1 with Victor Chandler) look closely matched on Newbury running behind Chance Du Roy and are capable of making their presence felt but it would need a giant leap of faith to support Cape Tribulation (21/1 on betfair) after he was pulled up early on at Haydock two weeks ago and the bottom six on the racecard are all carrying more than their allotted weight. The best of those may be Havingotascoobydo, who has been placed twice over shorter trips at Cheltenham recently. He can be backed at 7/1 with Skybet and William Hill, though his jumping can still be a little novicey at times. Hell’s Bay won a big prize last season but was pulled up when favourite on his reappearance at Ascot, hence his 14/1 quote from Betfred, Boylesports and totesport. Calgary Bay is taken to land the spoils with Duke Of Lucca to chase him home.

• Calgary Bay to win the Bet With Your Mobile at Victor Chandler Chase at a general 8/1
• Duke Of Lucca to win the Bet With Your Mobile at Victor Chandler Chase at 6/1 with Boylesports and Stan James

It’s no surprise that number one seeds the Czech Republic are hot favourites to win the season-opening Hopman Cup 2012 at the Burswood Dome in Perth. The Czechs have a very powerful line-up on paper for the mixed doubles tournament with Wimbledon women’s singles champion Petra Kvitova teamed up with big-serving Tomas Berdych. Berdych won the China Open in 2011 and is ranked seven in the world. The Czech Republic are no bigger than Evens with Skybet and Stan James to come out on top in Perth but neither Kvitova nor Berdych have a doubles pedigree, which may just be their Achilles Heel, and at the odds I’d rather have a punt on France.

The French are in the second group alongside hosts Australia (a general 10/1), Spain (a general 9/1) and China (35/1 with Stan James). The latter include French Open champion Li Na but she’s teamed up with Wu Di, who struggles to maintain a place among the top 500 in the men’s game and is unlikely to contribute many points to the Chinese cause. France, on the other hand, have women’s world number nine Marion Bartoli and the experienced Richard Gasquet. Both are very capable singles players but, just as importantly, have won several doubles titles between them so should thrive in the Hopman Cup format. Victor Chandler are out on a limb in offering 5/1 about the French winning the tournament overall and Skybet‘s 5/4 about them coming out on top in Group B can cover potential level stake losses should they come up short in the final stages.

Considering their short price overall, Betfred‘s 8/13 about the Czech Republic winning Group A will be popular though this is probably the most competitive section of the two. World number one Caroline Wozniacki should give Denmark an edge in the women’s singles and the Danes are a general 20/1 to succeed overall, while the USA team features the fast-improving Mardy Fish who reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the last 16 at Flushing Meadow in 2011. Unfortunately, partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands may struggle to hold her end up and the Americans make little appeal at bet365 and totesport‘s 7/1.

A big weight isn’t necessarily a barrier to success in the Coral Welsh National. Many will remember the brilliant-but-flawed Carvill’s Hill blundering and bunny-hopping his way around Chepstow under a welter burden in 1991. Indeed Synchronised, under an inspired A P McCoy, defied 11st6lb 12 months ago and the six-year-old Halcon Genelardais carried 11st3lb to victory in 2006. But, generally speaking, it’s those with less than 11st to shoulder who have held the upper hand in this traditional stamina test in recent times and ante-post punters this year have latched on to Victor Dartnall‘s Giles Cross.

Available at a general 6/1, the nine-year-old undoubtedly has impeccable credentials. A dual course winner, he was just beaten by Synchronised in the race 12 months ago and comes here at the top of his game having ended a frustrating sequence of placed efforts with victory in the Southern National at Fontwell on his reappearance. Viking Blond is only 8/1 with most layers but doesn’t appear that well handicapped on his form over fences so far and more interesting is Le Beau Bai (10/1 with Betfred). Third in the Welsh National two years ago, he came back to form at the track earlier this month. Though he seems to have been around forever, Richard Lee‘s gelding is still only an eight-year-old though was pulled up behind Giles Cross at Fontwell.

Another interesting contender is Galaxy Rock, who represents last year’s successful trainer. Ahead of Ballyfitz (25/1 with Betfred and Coral), subsequent Newbury Hennessy victor Carruthers (10/1 with Boylesports, Victor Chandler and Coral) and recent Newcastle winner Hey Big Spender (18/1 with Victor Chandler) at Cheltenham on his latest start, Jonjo O’Neill‘s stayer still appears to be improving and should give supporters a run for their money at the general 10/1.

The penalised Cannington Brook (16/1 with Boylesports) isn’t certain to confirm Haydock running with runner-up Our Island, however, and Tim Vaughan‘s lightly-weighted novice could be a decent each-way bet here at Boylesports and Paddy Power‘s 25/1 but I’ll put up David Pipe‘s Master Overseer as the value bet. Very lightly-raced, he didn’t do himself justice behind Le Beau Bai at the track earlier this month but this slog through the mud will be right up his street and he normally jumps better than he did last time. At William Hill‘s 20/1, Master Overseer is probably a few points too big and makes more appeal than As De Fer (12/1 with bet365, Ladbrokes and Boylesports) in this grade.

• Master Overseer (Each-Way) in the Welsh National at 20/1 with William Hill
• Our Island (Each-Way) in the Welsh National at 25/1 with Boylesports and Paddy Power