England selectors must be pragmatic

England rightly head downunder with high expectations. This confidence is not entirely due to their own form, as Australia’s limitations provide nearly as much encouragement. The Baggy Greens have just lost three successive Tests for the first time since 1988, which suggests England should be less daunted ahead of an away Ashes series than they have been for some time.

Many cricket betting observers suggest recent results should not have too much emphasis placed upon them. This is partially true â€" England’s regular batting collapses have not been reflected by their results against South Africa and Pakistan this year, just as losing in India is no disgrace for any visiting team â€" but the recent form of players cannot be ignored.

Both teams are keen to give the incumbents as much time as possible to return to form. There are plenty of batsmen living off past records and whilst Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen in particular deserve the chance to rediscover the form that served them well downunder in 2006/07, the selectors cannot afford to place blind faith in them.

Jonathan Trott, Matt Prior and Ian Bell are the only batsmen to have good figures behind them over the last few months, although Andrew Strauss is playing well without proper reward. The captain remains the most important batsmen in the team according to the latest cricket odds.

Eoin Morgan’s runs dried up after a dazzling century in his third Test, but if he, the only batting reserve, is thought to be a better prospect for runs than Pietersen, Collingwood or Alastair Cook, then he must be selected promptly.

It might seem harsh to discard a batsman after twin failures at Brisbane, but England so often start slowly downunder that that they must be proactive this time around. Similarly, an out-of-form bowler cannot be carried through the series.
Chris Tremlett has been recalled to pose a different threat and it should not be ignored until it is too late, especially as three proper warm-up matches prevent the excuse of lack of preparation being used.

Can Graeme Swann make the difference?

Graeme Swann is making the most of a second chance at international level, and he has a key role to play in Australia.

The 31-year-old made his international debut against South Africa all the way back in 1999 after being called up - but not selected - for the Test series with New Zealand the previous summer.

However, his cheeky-chappy persona was perceived by some as over confidence and even arrogance. The selectors were not impressed with Swann's attitude and he was dropped from the international squad the following summer.

It was five years later that his form began to pick up. After leaving Northamptonshire for Nottinghamshire he became a key member of the side that won the 2005 County Championship. His domestic form eventually earned him a recall to the England one day squad in 2007's tour of Sri Lanka and he soon made his Test debut the same winter against India in Chennai.

To say Swann has never looked back is an understatement. He found consistent bounce and turn, regularly taking key wickets that saw him quickly become England's first choice spinner in all forms of the game. During the 2009 Ashes series he grabbed four crucial wickets in England's two victories - including the famous removal of Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting's middle stump. His batting lower down the order also adds crucial runs to England's tally. The best Ashes odds make England strong favourites, and he will have to be at his very best.

His recent performances in South Africa and at the T20 World Cup - where he was England's leading wicket taker - has sent him up to number three bowler in the world and for the first time in decades England have the better spinner going into a series against Australia and the Ashes betting offers reflect this.

Swann remains a joker and often likes to have a laugh, but unlike in 1999 he now also has the ability to perform when it matters.

The shadow of Shane Warne looms large over Australian cricket and they may miss him just a little bit more when they see Swann line up against them this winter.

Ponting still the right man

Ricky Ponting has come under pressure this week from an two Aussie legends. The Australia captain has been criticised by Shane Warne and Geoff Lawson, after India beat the Aussies by seven wickets, to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series 2-0.

The loss maintained Ponting’s record of never captaining a series winning side in India.

Warne’s main point of contempt was with the Aussie’s field positions whenever Nathan Hauritz’s was bowling. The off-spinner was spanked to all parts of the Bangalore ground and wasn’t helped by the baffling field positions. Ponting has come out saying Hauritz himself was responsible for setting the field, as well as attempting to play down Warne’s comments. While Hauritz may have set his field, as captain, Ponting should have taken control when it was clear things weren’t working out as planned.

Former paceman Lawson has gone further with his comments, claiming Ponting should step down from skippering the team and hand over power to Michael Clarke before next month’s Ashes series starts. Lawson’s criticism come during Australia’s worst losing streak in 22 years. The fact the it’s been a three test losing streak, shows the dominance of Australia in world cricket for that 22 years.

The result of the loss in India, was that Australia’s ICC world ranking dropped down to fifth, ironically elevating England up a place into fourth. The ranking is Australia’s lowest since 1988, coincidently a year after England had won the Ashes on Aussie soil.

Those looking at Ashes cricket odds note how England will be looking at the Aussie’s situation with a wry smile on their faces. This is surely England’s best chance of winning their first series in Australia in 24 years. Australia’s loss against India, highlighted a host of weaknesses that the English will be hoping to exploit when the Brisbane Test starts on the 25th of November.

Although the Aussie batting line-up is far from the intimidating force of a few years ago, it shouldn’t be underestimated. Ponting is still one of the best batsmen in the world and Marcus North’s century in the Bangalore Test proved he’s back to his best.

Clarke has proved to be a thorn in English sides on more than one occasion will be keen for the battles to start. England’s best chance is to take advantage of their opponents suspect bowling attack. Hauritz isn’t enjoying the best spell in his career and the Aussie’s don’t currently have a fast bowler who those placing a cricket bet would back to consistently perform at a high level.

Ashes player preview - Andrew Strauss

Andrew Strauss is hoping to do what no England captain has done for over 20 years - retain the Ashes down under.

The 33-year-old is not only burdened with that particular statistic, but also the lingering memory of 2007 when England suffered a humiliating 5-0 whitewash at the hands of the Aussies, meaning they lost their short grip on the urn won in such style in 2005. The best Ashes odds suggest England will be in for a tough time again.

Strauss was merely a squad member back then, albeit one that opened the innings with Alastair Cook. He endured a miserable series however, making only one notable score - 50 at Melbourne in the Boxing Day Test, though he will be remembered more for becoming Shane Warne's 700th test victim in that game.

Strauss was eventually dropped from the test squad the following year after an extended dip in form but he returned refreshed and revived for the 2007 visit of New Zealand and South Africa.

A rift between then captain Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores saw Strauss take the captaincy in early 2009. With the Ashes on the horizon Strauss and new coach Andy Flower had a job on their hands to unite the squad in time for the series - a poor early performance in the West Indies didn't help.

Thankfully for England the team and Strauss were much improved by the time Ricky Ponting and co arrived in England in May. Two tense draws sandwiched a historic win at Lord's, where Strauss claimed the highest individual score of the series - 161.

With the series tied at 1-1 going into the final game at the Oval a convincing 197 run victory meant the Ashes returned into England's grasp and Strauss was named man of the series by Australia coach Tim Neilsen. Anyone who wants to bet on top English batsman this time around should bear him in mind.

Australia may not be the all conquering team they once were, but on the hard pitches of their home grounds they are a formidable team, and wounded by the events of 2009, they will be as determined as ever to reclaim the urn. For Strauss, the hard work starts here.

McCullem shifts focus

Brendon McCullem is probably the best wicket-keeper/batsmen since Adam Gilchrist. The New Zealander has now decided to hang up his gloves and focus on his batting. This is a brave call from McCullem, who won’t be guaranteed a place in the side on his batting alone. The Kiwi knows the risk he is taking stating "You go from being one of the major certainties in the team to now being in the mix and being relatively unproven. It's a huge challenge and hopefully it'll be the right decision."

Luckily for the 28 year old has proved his quality over the years and should keep his place. The hard hitting batsman was just awarded his country’s best ODI batting prize along with the best all-rounder award but will still need to perform to keep his place.

While McCullem will carry on behind the stumps during the shorter forms of the game, he will give up the gloves for Test matches. The main reason is that as a keeper, Online Cricket Betting pundits note how McCullem very rarely gets the chance to bat higher than number seven in the Test side.

His current average of 35 indicates he could do a good job for the Kiwi’s further up the order. Giving up the extra pressure of keeping should extend McCullem’s career with his national side.

While New Zealand will miss McCullem’s glove work behind the stumps, Gareth Hopkins will be a very capable replacement who should maintain the team’s Cricket odds in matches.With McCullem further up the order in their Test side, they will go into future matches knowing their batting line up has been significantly strengthened.

Magnificent seventh would be welcome distraction from off-field dramas

England's seamless transition from Test cricket to T20 was achieved with only the minimum of fuss on Sunday as they lived up to their mantle of T20 World Champions with an ultimately comfortable win over Pakistan in Cardiff.

It wasn't a totally straightforward victory though - a mid-innings wobble saw them reduced to 62-5, with Luke Wright failing with the bat again, before Michael Yardy and Eoin Morgan dug England out of a hole. The Three Lions weren't totally convincing in the field either and the two dropped catches were a disappointment. However, there was some good work out on the boundary and the bowling of Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann stood out.

It was the sides sixth consecutive T20 win and a seventh would secure a 2-0 series victory to go with their Test series triumph, the England cricket odds suggest they should wrap up the win.

It is a shame that the series will be tainted by the ongoing spot fixing controversy, and also hasn't been helped by the Twitter outbursts of first Kevin Pietersen and Dimitri Mascarenhas, who have both subsequently been fined.

But the fact England have stayed focused and adapted to the short form of the game so quickly is testament to the players and the coaching staff.

All they can do is go out and try to win matches and try to put off-field distractions to one side. Pakistan are understandably coping worse with the scandal. They are no strangers to chaotic off-field preparations though, and the rumoured recall of Younus Khan as test captain - despite the lifetime ban he received in March - is symptomatic of their inconsistent management.

With a one-day series still to come there is plenty of cricket left in this tour, but given what is going on between games, I get the impression both sides just want it over and done with.

Meanwhile, the Ashes cricket betting suggests England are in for another tough series Downunder.

They will have to iron out several problems in their game if they are to retain the urn.

Sri Lanka destroy India

Sri Lanka have secured their place in the final of the triangular series, which features themselves, India and New Zealand.

The hosts booked their place thanks to a convincing eight wicket victory over India in Dambulla and now wait to see who they will face â€" keep checking the latest cricket betting for odds on the match.

Thisara Perera’s career best of 5-28 helped restrict India to a meagre 103 all out. Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara also got involved with two wickets apiece as India were skittled out in a disappointing 33.4 overs.

Yuvaj Singh was the only Indian batsmen to put up any real resistance with his 38 from 64 balls, which featured five fours and a six. He had little help from his colleagues though, with Virender Sehwag’s 12 the second highest score until he was trapped lbw by Kulasekara.

India never settled into their stride after they lost their opening wicket for 20. 21 year old Thisara Perera completed his first international five wicket haul by clean bowling number 11 Ishant Sharma to end the Indian innings.

Sri Lanka exploded out of the traps as they looked to knock off 104 with minimum fuss. Openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene put on 50 inside the opening six overs but Sharma got both of them in consecutive balls with the score on 75. It was therefore left to captain Kumar Sangakkara and Upul Tharanga to see their side home in the 15th over to secure the emphatic win.

India will have another chance to reach the final when they go head to head with New Zealand in the remaining match of the tournament but for those who bet on cricket match outcomes, you will wonder whether a smarting India can bounce back.