There are few things cricket fans relish more than the Ashes. Granted, to the uninitiated it might seem like a load of unnecessary hoo-ha for the chance to win a tiny terracotta urn, but the series represents one of the oldest rivalries in cricket and any sport for that matter. As England make the trip to Australia for the five-match test series, we take a look at some of the early-bird odds for the Ashes 2017.
Who will win the series?
With the first match scheduled to take place on November 23rd, there is still plenty of time to get your bets in for the outright markets of who will win the Ashes. However, if you were to read and listen to the words of some of the British media, you would think that it was already over, with many predicting a 5-0 whitewash in Australia’s favour.
Such pessimism isn’t undue. Let’s face it, despite winning test series against South Africa and West Indies at home in the summer, England weren’t exactly in the best of nick. The top of the batting order remains a dilemma for the ECB selectors, with no trustworthy opening partner to accompany Alistair Cook and no feasible fourth or fifth place batsmen who you can trust to stop a complete collapse. All too often in the summer it came down to the likes of middle order batsmen Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes to save the day – and England will be without one of their key all-rounders for well-publicised reasons.
England will also miss the option of putting the ball into Ben Stoke’s hand. While not being the most prolific of wicket-takers, Stokes has the pure pace and dogged aggression that is needed to unsettle batsmen, particularly in conditions that don’t tend to favour swing bowling.
But while commentators at home have been playing down the tourists’ chances in the upcoming Ashes series, many have failed to focus on the home side. Most notably, the fact that Australia aren’t the same fearsome side that they once were in the past decade or so. If we’re going by ICC Test rankings, England pip the Aussies and they are equal on points in the ODI rankings. And in terms of personnel, there are no figures in the same mould as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath or Ricky Ponting who can strike fear into the heart of England’s players.
With this in mind, it is not too surprising to see England to win the Ashes outright at 3/1, relatively low odds when you consider that everyone has seemingly written off the visitors before the first ball has been bowled. On the flip side, odds of 1/2 for Australia to win the series is a tempting proposition given the fact that they have the home advantage. The odds for a draw over the series is 8/1.
Get the Score Right
At this early stage, there aren’t many big margins to be found in the outright winner markets. So, if you’re after longer odds, then you would be wise to look at the Series Correct Score betting odds for the Ashes. This market asks bettors to guess the final score of the series after all five tests have been played, remembering that a drawn test will not count towards either team’s score. The most likely series score in the eyes of the bookmakers is a 3-1 win to Australia (meaning that one test will be a draw) at odds of 6/1.
A series draw of 2-2 is also on the cards at odds of 7/1, which is heartening for England fans. That is until you see the odds on an Australian clean sweep of 5-0 at just 9/1. If you are convinced that England have what it takes to beat Australia and you have a good idea of how they will do it, then you can take on odds of 16/1 for a 3-1 England victory, with 3-2 at 20/1 and 4-1 at 33/1. If you’re particularly optimistic then you can back England to record their first ever series whitewash over Australia at odds of 100/1.
The First Day/Night Ashes Test
There have been 70 Ashes series, but the 2017 tour will be see something completely new for the England v Australia rivalry. That is because it will be the two teams facing each other in a day/night test in Adelaide on the 2nd to 6th of December, posing a fresh challenge for both teams, not to mention all sorts of new possibilities for punters.
It’s safe to say that Australia will have the advantage over England having played in three day/night tests, all of which were at home and two of which were at the Adelaide Oval. The home side won all three of their day/night games against stern opposition while England have only had one go playing with the pink ball when they battered West Indies at Edgbaston – hardly a tough contest to prepare for an Ashes match under the lights.
That said, as we’ve seen in other day/night tests, anything can happen in that twilight zone as the light begins to fade and the temperature begins to drop, and a shrewd bettor will have their finger on the live in-play betting buttons to capitalise on this period of uncertainty.
Pick Your Player of the Series
Both England and Australia will be looking to win the series and pull ahead on the overall win statistics (they are currently tied on 32 wins each). But while the teams battle it out for bragging rights, there will be plenty for individual players to prove – whether it is to secure their place in their respective test sides or purely to satisfy their egos.
David Warner has been ramping up the rhetoric in the build up to this Ashes series, promising ‘hatred’ and ‘war’ on the crease. If you think that the incendiary batsman can do the talking with his bat then you’ll be find him with odds of 19/10 to be the top Australian batsman of the series, closely followed by the current number 1 batsman in the world, Steve Smith, on 2/1. As for visitor’s top order, captain Joe Root has the most favourable odds to be the top England batsman on 15/8 with Alistair Cook on 11/4.
At the other end of the wicket, there will be plenty of bowlers who will be keen to inflict some damage to either team’s batting order. For Australia, their volatile talisman, Mitchell Starc, is set to return from injury and with odds of 7/4 to get the best figures, his presence could be vital to Australia’s success. After Starc, the best wicket-taking hopes for the home team is in the form of Josh Hazlewood on 43/20, Pat Cummins at 4/1 and Nathan Lyon at 13/2.
Jimmy Anderson continues to be a stalwart in the England bowling attack and this could well be his last chance to win an Ashes series down under. The swing bowler deadly wicket-taking prowess puts him on odds of 9/5 to be the top England bowler while Stuart Broad is also pipped to do well with odds of 11/4. If you think that it’s time for another England player to shine with the ball, then you can back Chris Woakes at 5/1 or Moeen Ali on 6/1.
