Ashes Cricket Betting Fourth Test – Australia v England

Cricket Betting

Melbourne, December 26 – England head to Melbourne with confidence that the conditions will still be in their favour. There have been talk from the Australians of setting up the pitch to completely suit them. That’s not really anything out of the ordinary, as you would expect home sides to do just that. However, it is coming into play more in Melbourne, because the natural conditions, especially with some damper weather around, would have been ideally suited to the England swing bowlers. That is the English strength in attack, getting the ball to move around, and either way this should be a great test match. England are still undecided as to whether they are going to rest rookie Steve Finn though. The paceman is England’s top wicket taker (and tipped on these pages at the start of the Tour to be England’s top bowler) but during the second innings of the Third Test, he looked as if he was tiring, something picked up on by the Aussies. You can’t be in an Ashes Test Match really at less than 100%, as carrying a bowler in a four man attack is not going to pay off. England are already without their agitator Stuart Broad, but Chris Tremlett, a surprise selection for many, showed that he was ready to but fire into the seam attack in the Third Test. There’s no doubt that England will stick to their four man attack, even with the work load being extremely heavy. England coach Andy Flower must weigh up the pros and cons of throwing Tim Bresnan or Ajmal Shahzad into the attack in replace of Finn. That is half of England’s first choice attack, down. The main problem for England is there really is no genuine all rounder to pick up any slack.

The pressure though is on the batsman. The England bowlers, despite tiring, have generally done pretty well, really taking the game to Australia. However, the Batsmen, after some fine performances, really let themselves down in the third test, from a strong position in their first innings. Once Alastair Cook had gone, England collapsed and never recovered in the entire match. The old problem of losing quick wickets plagued them again, and there needs to be some resiliency shown from them. Paul Collingwood is the man under the greatest pressure in the side, as he just averaging in the teens for the entire series. It is highly unlikely that England will make any changes in the batting line up though, simply because Collingwood is one of those players that can save games. It is unusual for any Test side to have all eleven players firing on all cylinders, so they will just have to muddle through this one. Instead of a change, there may be a shuffle in the line up, with Ian Bell, who is quietly enjoying an impressive series, moving up the order. Someone needs to settle the side down from the off, and that duty should fall on the shoulders of captain Andrew Strauss, but he needs back up. The double century hitting Kevin Pietersen disappeared in the third test, and England can’t afford to be carrying two underperforming batsmen. However, there is enough in the side to suggest that they will be fine. They have had a good year, and they were always going to face a tough match at some point during the series. The heavy defeat has left them standing at 1-1 in the Series and they simply need to rediscover the composure of the second test.

The conditions in Melbourne should help them, and really a lot of focus has to switch back to Graeme Swann. One of the world’s top spin bowlers, Swann simply has not had the impact that his status projected. Mike Hussey really got on top of him from the word go in the Australian second innings of the Third Test, but the pitch in Perth really didn’t offer Swann any kind of bounce to work with. Swann really is England’s trump card, and that is why Australia are looking at preparing Melbourne to be unfriendly to Swann again. Take him out of the attack and that leaves a heavy burden for the three other front line bowlers. That is the dilemma which faces England, but coach Andy Flower won’t change the setup. England have a game plan and that is what they stick with. It is a rare occasion which will see the English change their setup, and it won’t be here. There really is no need to, as it is a system which works. The spin bowler is a huge part of this, but it has not been a series for the spin bowlers so far. You would expect them to show up sooner rather than later. The batsmen just needs to watch for the swing bowling that may be firing down the track at them from Mitchell Johnson. The very thing which caught them off guard in the Third Test and really was their downfall. England still are in the driving seat despite their heavy defeat in Perth. Two draws and they go back home with the Ashes. One win in Melbourne and they cannot be beaten in the series.

So, have the Australians suddenly raised their game? As a whole, not really. Their star performance, which has kept their Ashes series alive, was Mike Hussey with the bat. He is the big danger man and such a class act. On the bowling front, the Australians still don’t look settled. Peter Siddle showed a great flash of form, as did Mitchell Johnson, who looked all out of sorts in the first test. There is still a big question of settled consistency from the Australian bowling attack, but one thing which may have made a difference in Perth, was the fact that they were a little more aggressive. There was a bit more fight from Australia in the Third Test, a little more energy, and that of course had to happen. The Australians were not going to go through the entire series without putting up some kind of fight. It had to happen, but it should not have been anything which threw England off their track so easily. There is a feeling that that was Australia’s best, that they really don’t have another level to step up to at the moment. The signs are looking good that Ricky Ponting is going to play, and that could be a good thing for England. He is under pressure, and England have gotten at him, and there is nothing for a boost of confidence like dismissing the opposing captain. Adversely, England are better than the performance which they offered in the third test. There has to be more to come from them, and it will just be a matter of composure.

Fourth Test Top England Batsman

This is a match which crying out for a captain’s innings. Therefore Andrew Strauss needs to lead from the front, and it makes good sense that he will have a good knock. At a price of 4/1 at Totesport, the England captain is not a bat shout. None of the England batsmen really played well in the third test, so you can skip that one in terms of form. Pietersen, Trott and Collingwood looked out of sorts, and are better than what they showed. However, England need their captain, so its time to back him stepping up to the plate.

Fourth Test Top England Bowler

Still no real word of what is going to happen to the England attack on Boxing Day. Will Finn get rested? This could really be the test that sees James Anderson lead from the front. He has been tight with a strain in his side apparently, but still worth backing here. England’s most consistent performer, the cool head, and should be able to get more swing, and if he’s on fire, then England will be in a strong position. Worth taking at 5/2 at Bet365.

Fourth Test Outright Odds

Australia: 6/4 at Bet365
Draw: 23/10 at SkyBet
England: 2/1 at Bet365

Ashes Series Winner Odds

Australia: 13/8 at Bet365
Draw: 12/5 at Boylesports
England: 9/5 at BetFred

Ashes Series Correct Score

Australia 2-110/3 at Bet365
England 2-14/1 at SportingBet