Michael Vaughan: Straussy decision no surprise

The cricket world has united in praise of Andrew Strauss after he today announced his retirement from all forms of the game. It was a decision that did not surprise former England captain, and now Betfair ambassador, Michael Vaughan

I'm not surprised by the news. I've realised this decision has been coming for a few weeks now, just from the way Straussy has been carrying himself. I know from my own experience that once you've decided to go, you become a bit 'too cool for school' and are enjoying your batting instead of the intense focus you'd normally have as captain.

We know he has been struggling to get runs so this, tied in with losing to South Africa and the KP affair, would have tipped him over the edge.

I'm also not surprised at all he's retiring from all forms of cricket. He doesn't just want to hang around scoring a few runs for Middlesex; he's got a good family around him and plenty of other interests - he's not just about cricket.

The highlight for me when you're talking about playing with Straussy is of course the 2005 Ashes and, in particular, the century he got on the first day at the Oval. Everyone talks about KP's ton, but that 100 set the tone for the match and was vitally important.

Of course, winning the Ashes in Australia is the ultimate achievement for any captain, so that will undoubtedly be remembered as the main highlight for Andrew - as he said himself today.

Alastair Cook takes over now and he is a very capable leader. As I know myself, give it three months and they'll be saying 'Andrew who?'!

It's the toughest of starts for Cook with a tour to India; the hardest place to captain a team.

My gut feeling is that Jonathan Trott will move up the order to open with Ian Bell at three and Eoin Morgan or Ravi Bopara at four. It will mean an inexperience middle order, with the likes of Taylor and Bairstow vying for places, but given that England were hammered with an experience side last year, Cook goes out there with no pressure really. It will all be about New Zealand and then Australia.

Of course, the Kevin Pietersen issue remains. It might be easier to settle with Strauss' departure, but Kevin's beef appears to be with the ECB so we might be talking some time. If I was Alastair Cook, I'd be looking to sit down with Pietersen at some point and having a chat.

I'll be back tomorrow to preview Friday's ODI.

***

Thanks to @BetfairSports followers @pradph, @84_mb, @Sambowers1991 and @DanMclean who tweeted in questions for @VaughanCricket

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Michael Vaughan: Pair of former Major winners to adapt well to the conditions

"Graeme McDowell (38.0) and Padraig Harrington (21.0) have similar assets going for them. Both good putters on their day, experienced links players and resourceful guys around the greens. They’re both major winners of course and that will help them if they’re in contention and both offer good back-to-lay material."

Michael Vaughan explains why this year's Open course is not one for the faint-hearted and which skills are required to master it. Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell could be lively runners over the next four days.

Straight hitting, a cute game around the greens, an ability to handle the conditions and plenty of patience will be required this week at The Open.

Step forward Lee Westwood, who has all of the above in spades. He's an absolute class player as his position in the rankings, the number of tournaments he's won and his Ryder Cup performances prove.

That said, with each major that goes by golf fans will wonder more and more whether it will ever happen for him. And with that comes pressure. He, more than anyone else, will be aware that the top golfers are judged on majors won once they've packed it up and he'll be desperate to get the monkey off his back. Of course, you need a bit of luck with the conditions, especially at The Open where being out on the course in the best of the weather can radically affect the sort of scores you're shooting. But Lee has been incredibly consistent over the past few years, always there or thereabouts come Sunday. At 17.016/1 he's a slightly sorter price than what I'd want about him winning the whole thing but the 2.881/1 on him finishing in the Top 10 looks a pretty fair price.

I think this year's Open will be won by a European. This is links golf at its hardest with rain, wind and thick grass throwing all sorts of challenges at the world's elite. You don't just rock up after playing on the manicured fairways of the PGA Tour and find it easy to play good golf on a course like this. It takes experience and superb course management. It's one of those places where sometimes a bogey isn't the worst thing in the world on certain holes and you just have to take your medicine. Graeme McDowell (38.0) and Padraig Harrington (21.0) have similar assets going for them. Both good putters on their day, experienced links players and resourceful guys around the greens. They're both major winners of course and that will help them if they're in contention and both offer good back-to-lay material.

One player I think won't like this course though is Luke Donald. You've got to make the Par 5s count on a course as hard as this and I'm not sure he's long enough off the tee to reach the greens in two. He's a straight hitter, we know that much, but he just hasn't really performed in majors recently and he's probably a guy who views a US Open or even the USPGA as his best chance of winning a big one. I wish him all the best of course but 3.32/1 looks short on him finishing in the Top 10 so that looks worth laying.

Recommended Bets

Back Lee Westwood for a Top 10 finish @ 2.881/1
Back-to-lay Padraig Harrington @ 21.020/1
Back-to-lay Graeme McDowell @ 38.037/1
Lay Luke Donald for a Top 10 finish @ 3.32/1

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Michael Vaughan: Spin, Swann, Bell to toll for South Africa

"But it’s England who are the pre-match bet because of the run they’re in and because they’re at home; at 2.71/1 they offer the potential as a back-to-lay at worst."

The wicket at the Oval is likely to be a dry one so winning the toss and batting first will be the natural gameplan for both captains. But as a pre-toss selection it's England who hold most of the trump cards and should be backed, says Michael Vaughan.

First and foremost let's hope that this Series isn't spoilt by the weather. These are two really good teams up against each other and it would be a massive disappointment if we don't have enough play to establish who is the better of the two right now. Light showers are expected on Thursday and Friday but it's meant to be a lot better over the weekend.

The pitch at the Oval is normally a good one and the news is that it will be a dry track that will offer plenty for the spinners late on in the match. That means that whereas it would normally be an idea to bowl first if you win the toss, both captains will be thinking that chasing any sort of score to win the game will be hard work. So win the toss and bat is probably the wise choice. Graeme Swann and Imran Tahir will be major players in this contest but of the two it's Swann who is the more likely match-winner. Firstly because these are conditions that he knows better (even though Tahir has played plenty of county cricket) and secondly because he has bundles more experience of playing Test cricket. Other reasons why England may have the edge in this match are that South Africa are missing Mark Boucher and that they haven't had much of a chance to get much match practice because of the poor weather.

Either way, this will be far from straightforward for England. If it does something early on and SA are bowling then Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander can cause havoc. If they dismiss England's two left-handed openers early then Steyn can have a go at the right-handers who bat between positions three and eight inclusive. We've seen him rip through the best batting line-ups in the world over the years and he won't be feeling nervous about the challenge ahead. If the visitors bat and can make a good start, negating the new-ball threat of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, they can post a big total because theirs is a formidable line-up. You know who they are and the fact that JP Duminy will be coming in at seven is proof that they bat deep; even Philander at eight has first-class hundreds to his name.

As ever in a Test match the start will be crucial because it sets the tempo for the rest of the game and the first hour will give us a big clue as to who will be in the driving seat at the end of day one. The best sides in the world make the most of gaining the initiative and the way England and South Africa play the game, if you lose a session badly, you're half way there to losing the match.

But it's England who are the pre-match bet because of the run they're in and because they're at home; at 2.71/1 they offer the potential as a back-to-lay at worst.

Ravi Bopara will be recalled and bat at number six after Jonny Bairstow never really got going against the West Indies. Ravi will be nervous because he knows he has to perform in this Series but he comes into this game in good form after impressing in the ODI series against the Windies where he looked confident and composed. But the man to side with in terms of getting a score is Ian Bell. He'll be batting down at five after opening in the 50-over matches but that shouldn't bother him and he'll enjoy facing Tahir given that he's such a good player of spin. He's 2.61/1 to score fifty or more and that looks a bet.

For South Africa I like Jacques Kallis for top first innings batsman honours. A lot has been made of his indifferent record over in England but that's even more reason why he'll want to improve upon it on what is surely his last Tour over here. Write this man off at your peril but I certainly won't and he's my choice at 5.54/1.

Back England at 2.71/1
Back Ian Bell to score 50 or more @ 2.61/1
Back Jacques Kallis to be South Africa first innings top batsman @ 5.54/1

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Michael Vaughan: England in the driving seat but plenty of hard work still to come

Test previews / Michael Vaughan / 04 April 2012 / Leave a Comment

Strauss contratulates Swann after taking another wicket but the spinner will have to do it all over again

"A lead of over 100 could be priceless on this track because the wicket is going to get worse. But scoring 400 is only part of the job because all the hard work will be wasted if they allow Sri Lanka to post a decent total to chase."

England have started their first innings extremely well and are in a good position to level the series. But they will have to bowl extremely well the second time round because they won't want to chase many on this wicket, says Michael Vaughan.

England are in a prime position to win this match, simple as that.

I've never really had any concerns about the bowling; you'll have read me in this column saying England have the best Test bowling attack in the world. It's not often anyone scores more than 300 in a Test match against this bowling attack these days. The problem in recent months is that England have seldom come anywhere near to scoring that themselves!

This time it looks like it's going to be a very different story. Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook went out with a good game-plan concerning the sort of run rate they were targeting and what they considered to be their scoring areas. Strauss will have been disappointed to not have gone on and scored 100 but him and Cook have set up a good platform and the middle-order will come in with runs already on the board which will be good for their confidence. The openers have set the tone and shown the others how to play on this pitch without taking risks. I'd be very surprised if England don't post at least 400 in the second innings, currently available at [1.65].

A lead of over 100 could be priceless on this track because the wicket is going to get worse. If they are still batting at the close of play tomorrow they'll be in control of the game.

But scoring 400 is only part of the job because all the hard work will be wasted if they allow Sri Lanka to post a decent total to chase. I'm not entirely sure how many England would want to chase because we can't be sure how the pitch will play on days four and five so England's bowling attack will have to bear that in mind and make the most of the chances that come their way.

Tim Bresnan bowled well, Graeme Swann got it to spin a lot and James Anderson was at his brilliant best once again. A repeat of that performance and they should have no excuses for winning this Test and squaring the series. Strauss will have to be mindful about not being overly cautious because this is a match they need to win, a draw is no good whatsoever. But unless there's heavy rain I can't see that we won't get a result and all things considered England are actually a big price at [1.85] given they're very much in the driving seat just now.

2 pts Back England to score more than 400 in the first innings @ [1.65]
1 pt Back England to win @ [1.85]

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Michael Vaughan: Lay the draw on another tough wicket

Test previews / Michael Vaughan / 01 April 2012 / Leave a Comment

Jonathan Trott hit a magnificent century in the First Test but he failed to finish the job

"Sri Lankan wickets have a reputation for being flat and lifeless but they do get worse as the match goes on and with quality spinners on show, in particular Rangana Herath and Graeme Swann, wickets can fall pretty quickly later on in the game, especially with DRS in use."

Sri Lanka are 1-0 up and have already shown what a tough a side they are in their own conditions. Winning the toss will be crucial and puts the team batting first in pole position but the bet is that we'll end up getting a result, says Michael Vaughan.

England will ring the changes ahead of the Second Test, a match they need to win to level the Series and stop the rot. The first is an enforced one with Steve Finn the natural replacement for the injured Stuart Broad. Finn did well in the ODI matches against Pakistan, which were played on a similar sort of wicket to the one he'll find at Galle so there's no reason why he can't be successful again here. I'm also expecting Monty Panesar to give way with Tim Bresnan coming in for him. With all due respect to Monty, Bresnan is the far better fielder and batsman and will take Broad's place at eight with Finn probably batting down at eleven. Unlike in Colombo, there won't be a breeze in Galle so bowling quickly will be even more hard work than it was last week - a three-man pace attack looks a good move to me.

Samit Patel will keep his place in the team and will probably have to get through more overs than he did last week as the second spinner but I'll be interested to see whether he carries on batting at seven, or is promoted to come in at six. For me the obvious thing to have done in the First Test would have been for him to bat above Matt Prior rather than change a settled batting line-up; the move may have somewhat dented Patel's confidence whereas I'm not sure Prior would have cared either way where he batted. Something for Andrew Strauss to think about.

Winning the toss will be crucial again because days one and two will be by far the best time to bat and the wicket will most likely deteriorate on days four and five, just as it did in Colombo. The price of whoever wins the toss and bats first will come in on the back of that, no doubt about that. But because we obviously don't know who that will be, the smart bet is to lay the draw. Sri Lankan wickets have a reputation for being flat and lifeless but they do get worse as the match goes on and with quality spinners on show, in particular Rangana Herath and Graeme Swann, wickets can fall pretty quickly later on in the game, especially with DRS in use .That price of [2.9] has to go out at some stage and we'll surely be able to re-back it at 5.0 at some point in the game.

If the England batsmen want to have an idea of how to compile a century in sub-continental conditions then they should look at how Jonathan Trott did it in the second innings. It came off 250-odd balls and he needed to be at the crease for six or seven hours to get it . That's the sort of hard work you need to put in to get a tonne over here. You can't expect to score 100 off 150 balls by playing aggressively all the time like you can on some harder, quicker wickets. The sort you get in Australia for example. Trott is one of those players who gets a feel for a certain type of pitch and proceeds to cash in, just like he did last week. He now knows what his scoring areas are and when to play on the front or back foot. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he gets another big score and is the obvious, but smart, choice to be England first innings top batsman at around [4.0].

Mahela Jayawardene is another guy who is in a rich vein of form, himself a centurion in the First Test. He made it all look pretty easy whilst others appeared to be playing on a minefield. The skipper is the man to side ([4.5]) with as far as Sri Lanka are concerned.

A final word on Andrew Strauss. I'm really not sure what this nonsense is about with suggestions he should walk away from his job as England captain. Yes, he hasn't made a big score in a while and England have lost four Tests on the trot but these things happen to everyone and he hasn't become a bad batsman or captain overnight. If he feels it's the right thing to do to give someone else a chance, he will. But it's up to him to decide when that may be, no-one else.

3 pts Lay the draw @ [2.9]
1 pt Back Jonathan Trott to be England first innings top batsman @ [4.0]
1 pt Back Mahela Jayawardene to be Sri Lanka first innings top batsman @ [4.5]

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Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene was, not for the first time, the thorn in England's side as the hosts moved on to 289/8. It will mostly be trial by spin when England bat tomorrow but how will they cope?...

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Michael Vaughan: Swann needs to take early wickets on day three

Test previews / Michael Vaughan / 27 March 2012 / Leave a Comment

Chin up. Graeme Swann has a smile after a good individual performance but there's plenty of work still to do.

"It may just be worth taking a chance on England at [3.7] with a view to laying off at [3.0]. This isn’t a pitch that’s easy to get used to and the two men currently at the crease –Dinesh Chandimal and Suraj Randiv - will have to start all over again. So a couple of early wickets could well be on the cards."

Michael Vaughan tells us just why England find themselves in such a precarious situation at the moment and how Graeme Swann needs to strike early when Sri Lanka resume their innings on the morning of day three.

First things first. I've got no problem with the way England went about picking their XI. They chose the side that they thought gave them the best chance of winning the match and Samit Patel bowled well, taking two wickets on Test debut, which is a decent return. He misjudged the flight of a good delivery when he was batting but didn't look out of his depth at any stage. He didn't fare any worse than most of the England's batting order.

England's problems lay elsewhere. Firstly they let Sri Lanka off the hook last night - Monty Panesar twice dropping Mahela Jayawardene, who cashed in after being given two lifelines. You wouldn't expect any less from a player of his calibre. We'll have to wait and see just how important those extra runs he scored will be but they could end up making all the difference.

Secondly, England made a right hash of batting on what looks a pretty decent wicket. The England of a year ago would have posted 350 and put pressure on Sri Lanka, who would then be playing catch-up. To not match Sri Lanka's total on a decent wicket against a bowling line-up that is conventional and solid but lacks any true world-class performers was nothing short of criminal. Rangana Herath is a good spinner who doesn't bowl too many bad deliveries but England have made him look like Muttiah Muralitharan if his figures of 6/74 are anything to go by.

Andrew Strauss' side looks mentally scarred from that series against Pakistan. And if they were guilty of being too defensive and focusing too much on just on not getting out in the UAE, this time they've gone the other way and batted too aggressively. Erratically at times. There's been something of a mental failure, no doubt about that.

The only positives to come out of today's proceedings as far as England are concerned were that Ian Bell looks in good touch and that Graeme Swann bowled beautifully. The only reason they're still in with a chance of winning this match at all is because the Notts spinner took the prize scalp of Mahela Jayawardene, as well as the wickets of Kumar Sangakarra, Lahiru Thrimanne and Thilan Samawareera. He'll need to take quite a few more and do so pretty early on in the proceedings if England are to limit the hosts to anything that they could realistically chase.

It may just be worth taking a chance on England at [3.7] with a view to laying off at [3.0]. This isn't a pitch that's easy to get used to and the two men currently at the crease -Dinesh Chandimal and Suraj Randiv - will have to start all over again. So a couple of early wickets could well be on the cards.

I see that a finish on day three is currently trading at odds-on and that may be worth laying. Sri Lanka may yet bat for another session and if someone like Alastair Cook or Jonathan Trott gets in they could hang around and just bat time, knowing that the longer they stay at the crease the more of a chance they have of chasing a total. Nothing silly, the runs will come naturally. We've seen those two play like that before and if they build a couple of good partnerships that may well be enough to take the game into day four.

Given the way the England top order (Bell excluded) managed to find ways to get out, I'm not sure any of them deserve my money behind them for second innings top bat honours! But Jonathan Trott rarely fails twice in the same match and if it's patience that is required to play a big innings here, then he's the man to side with.

1pt Back England at [3.7], lay off if they trade below [3.0]
1pt Lay Test Match end Days One, Two and Three @ [1.98]
1pt Back Jonathan Trott to be England second innings top batsman @ [5.0]

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Michael Vaughan: Sri Lanka's First Test price is too big

Test previews / Michael Vaughan / 23 March 2012 / Leave a Comment

Been there and done it. Mahela Jayawardene has been doing the business at the highest level for a decade and a half.

"Kumar Sangakarra and Mahela Jayawardene are as good as anyone in the game and have been for the last decade and a half. Other players in this Sri Lankan team have come and gone over that period but those two have been a constant presence in the side, piling on the runs against all-comers."

England can survive without Ravi Bopara as a bowler but they'll have their hands full trying to contain the devastating duo of Kumar Sangakarra and Mahela Jayawardene. Sri Lanka are unlikely to win but they offer a fine trading opportunity, says Michael Vaughan.

I'm not entirely sure what all this hysteria is about regarding Ravi Bopara's injury which will prevent him from bowling. Sure, he may have come in and bowled few overs to give the others a rest in draining conditions. He may even have grabbed a wicket with his medium-pacers. But that's a far cry from suggesting the Essex man is an integral part of this England bowling attack. He's a number six who bowls a bit; not the next Andrew Flintoff!

England's strategy of picking four front-line bowlers has served them well and in the heat and humidity of Sri Lanka they'll need every last one of them. I can't see that there was ever any suggestion at all of Bopara being a much-used fifth bowler. Especially when we consider that, at number seven, England have a guy in Matt Prior who averages 44 in Test cricket. Jonathan Trott can always come in and bowl a few overs if necessary, anyway. As for Samit Patel, he will have to wait for his chance to make his Test debut, which as far as he's concerned, may not be a bad thing anyway.

The rest of the team picks itself: Strauss, Cook, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Bopara, Prior, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Panesar. The only doubt would be Panesar, if England look at the wicket and decide there's more there for the seamers rather than the spinners but this is a Sri Lankan track we're talking about so that's highly unlikely.

Sri Lanka's bowling line-up isn't that great and I've said that already but their batting is strong. They failed against the swinging ball over in England last summer but that won't have come as a surprise to many because those are conditions that all sub-Continental batsmen struggle in. India were no different.

Tillekeratne Dilshan is one of the most destructive batsmen in the world, Upal Tharanga is an experienced campaigner, Dinesh Chandimal looks a real talent and both Prasanna Jaywardene and Thilan Samaraweera can occupy the crease for long periods. Then there are the two monsters. Kumar Sangakarra and Mahela Jayawardene are as good as anyone in the game and have been for the last decade and a half. Other players in this Sri Lankan team have come and gone over that period but those two have been a constant presence in the side, piling on the runs against all-comers. I almost can't remember the last time that either of them didn't score a century in a Test match. And then the following match the other one comes in and gets a ton!

With Swann being a more dangerous threat to the left-handers - and therefore Sangakarra - I'm going to side with the skipper here for first innings honours and Jayawardene is the call for top bat at around [4.5].

This should be a bat first wicket. Post a big score, keep the opposition in the field for a long as possible and try to drain as much energy out of them as you can. I've said already that I fancy England to edge the series 1-0 but Sri Lanka look a bit over-priced to win the first Test at [3.5]. If they bat first they can post a big score and if they bowl first it's not inconceivable that they can take a couple of early wickets whilst the England batters take some time to get accustomed to a pitch that will be very different to anything they've played on in recent times. I don't think they'll win but their price should come in at some point so they're a good back-to-lay at the current odds.

2 pts Back-to-lay Sri Lanka @ [3.5]
1 pt Back Mahela Jayawardene to be first innings top scorer @ [4.5]

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Michael Vaughan: A tried and trusted strategy for the 3rd ODI

Pakistan v England / Michael Vaughan / 17 February 2012 / Leave a Comment

Afridi departs in the 2nd ODi in a game-changing moment

"If we were to take a pre-match punt on either of the teams we’d be wanting to side with England because they have the more in-form seamers at the moment and the momentum after winning the first two matches. Especially given that they’re the marginal outsiders at 2.08. But the smarter bet is to once again back the side batting first."

Michael Vaughan discusses the enigma that is Shahid Afridi and the importance of winning the toss once again, ahead of the 3rd ODI.

We were on the money in the second ODI with the prediction that whoever batted first would win the match. In the end it was actually a lot closer than many would have anticipated and those who were following the Betfair market in-play will have noticed that, just before Shahid Afridi was bowled by James Anderson, Pakistan were pretty strong favourites.

In fairness to Afridi, his 18 at a run-a-ball went a long way to getting Pakistan back in the game when they were behind the required run rate after a flurry of wickets. But having hit a couple of boundaries and gotten them back in contention there was no real need to start swinging from the hip and trying to hit every ball out of the ground. If Afridi and Misbah had just rotated the strike well and punished the odd bad ball - with a few calculated risks along the way - they would have put themselves into a position where they could win the match and the pressure would have been on England. But then again, that's not really Afridi's style.

I didn't actually play much against 'Boom Boom' when I was on England duty but with the way he plays I do remember that we always felt we had a chance of getting him out next ball. When someone like Mahela Jayawardene or Rahul Dravid is well set you need to come up with concrete plans of how to get them to make a mistake or at least find a way of getting the runs to dry up. But Afridi is one of those players who can look dangerous from the very first ball yet never looks completely set. I think one of the big problems with him when he goes out to bat is that he has a tendency to play to the crowd a bit too much. The fans erupt when he comes to the crease and I think that makes him feel like he's got a responsibility to not only score runs quickly but also to entertain. Sometimes it comes off but more often than not it doesn't and we're left wondering what might have been. Still, cricket needs entertainers like him that get spectators on the edge of their seats. That's why just about every English county would love to sign him up for the T20 competition. He was a passionate captain during his time in charge and he brings an energy and a love of the game that galvanises any team. But if we're being honest, he's more likely to have an effect on the remainder of the series with ball rather than bat.

Dubai may be a pitch that offers more to the seamers than it does the spinners. If we were to take a pre-match punt on either of the teams we'd be wanting to side with England because they have the more in-form seamers at the moment and the momentum after winning the first two matches. Especially given that they're the marginal outsiders at [2.08]. But the smarter bet is to once again back the side batting first. England played well in the first two matches but the difference was Alastair Cook's two centuries. Had Pakistan batted first on both occasions it's not too far-fetched to imagine it could be 2-0 Pakistan right now.

I've spoken before about how having a new ball from each end makes it easier to score runs at the top of the order because it stays harder for longer and hitting boundaries is easier. That's all well and good on great wickets but on tough tracks it means the ball will actually do more. Can you imagine two new balls at Trent Bridge in a morning start with a bit of moisture in the air? Wickets could fall pretty quickly and maybe this change in the rules means that outside say, India, we'll return to the days when 250 will be considered a par score rather than 300.

Conditions could be tricky in Dubai and it's worth backing that we won't have a century in the match. So far only Cook has got one (or two to be precise) and only he has looked like getting one. So unless he goes out and somehow gets another I think "no century" looks a good bet at around [1.65].

As my final bet I'm going to back Jonathan Trott to outscore Younis Khan. I'm a big fan of the veteran Pakistan batter but he's looked rather out-of-sorts in the first two games whereas Trott looked pretty composed before edging one behind in the second ODI.

3pts Back the team batting first
3 pts Back 'no century' at [1.65]
1 pt Back Jonathan Trott to outscore Younis Khan @ [1.9]

Ed Hawkins is expecting Pakistan to improve in game three, which starts in Dubai on Saturday...

Michael Vaughan is full of praise for Alastair Cook after Monday's century. But the most important thing the England skipper can do on Wednesday is win the toss......

Ed Hawkins advises punters to wait until the coin flip before getting involved for game two in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday...

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Michael Vaughan: Pakistan to carry on where they left off

Pakistan v England / Michael Vaughan / 09 February 2012 / Leave a Comment

Big guns. Younis Khan, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi share a joke with coach Mohsin Khan (second from left).

"We have seen Pakistan struggle to chase good scores plenty of times in the past so the toss may end up being really important. Still, we have to side with Pakistan because of the momentum they bring into the one-dayers and their better knowledge of the conditions."

The momentum Pakistan are carrying from the Test series and better knowledge of the conditions should help them win the ODI series. Michael Vaughan discusses England's strongest team and the best bets.

The Test series was a rude awakening for England but they get a chance to try and redeem themselves with this four-match ODI series. If we're looking for positives then we can say that some of the England batsmen who now take to the limited-overs format should know how to play the likes of Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman by now. One of the guys who really struggled against them, Ian Bell, has been dropped and there are some new guys like Jos Butler, Steven Davies and Ravi Bopara coming in who may not have played against those guys before but then again, won't have nightmares about what happened in the Test matches to haunt them.

Kevin Pietersen is opening the batting just like he did at the World Cup and that's a good move. Firstly because he's probably still England's most dangerous player in this format and will enjoy batting when the ball (or balls as it now given that two are used throughout the match) is hard. And secondly because I think it's time to abandon the experiment of opening with Craig Kieswetter, who will drop down the order.

Jonathan Trott may contribute in terms of weight of runs but I simply can't have him and Alastair Cook batting together in the top three. You can't axe the skipper so if I was me, I'd be tempted to leave Trott out and play Samit Patel at three. The Notts all-rounder also likes to bat when the ball is hard and something England need to start doing is playing the batsmen in the positions they bat for when playing for their counties. Patel bats at three for his county so he should bat there for England as well.

If Jos Butler is going to get a game he should bat at four, which is where he comes in for Somerset. But I'd actually be tempted to play Bopara and find out for once and for all if he can cut it at this level. He'd also provide another useful option as a fourth seamer. Then it would be Eoin Morgan at five, Jonny Bairstow at six and the aforementioned Kieswetter in the traditional keeper's position of seven.

Of these Morgan would be my selection to end the series as top-runscorer. I know he only comes in at five but we saw in the Test series how one wickets leads to another and he may well be at the crease a lot earlier than England would have liked! He's available at [6.0].

The rest pretty much pick themselves with Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson and one of Tim Bresnan or Steve Finn.

Pakistan are arguably a better Test side at the moment than they are ODI team but this will be far from easy for England. Shahid Afridi is and always has been a match-winner and Umar Akmal has been accused of being a little reckless at times but he's another who can turn a game very quickly. They will both come into the side and could be big players for Pakistan in this series.

The big problem England have is that I wouldn't fancy them to chase anything above 250 and that's likely to be on the cards if Pakistan bat first. We saw in the Test series that England's batters couldn't keep their wickets intact against the spinners, let alone score off them so I can't see how that's going to change now, especially with the pressure of a tricky run-chase on. I can picture a scenario where England are chasing 230-250 and fall well short just like they did in the Tests.

England's best bet is to bat first if they win the toss, be aggressive against the spinners and try to set a decent total. We have seen Pakistan struggle to chase good scores plenty of times in the past so the toss may end up being really important. Still, we have to side with Pakistan because of the momentum they bring into the one-dayers and their better knowledge of the conditions. If England don't win one of the first two matches it could easily end up being another whitewash, just as it was in India before Christmas but I think they will, so 3-1 would be my idea of the series score.

1pt Back Eoin Morgan to be England top series runscorer @ [6.0]
3 pts Back Pakistan to win the series @ [2.22]
Back Pakistan to win the series 3-1 @ [3.4]

Kevin Pietersen has his own nemesis, and everyone knows it's left-arm spin. Except KP himself refuses to admit it publicly says Frank Gregan. And that could be England's downfall ahead of the ODI series against Pakistan....

Ed Hawkins crunches the numbers to answer the question: how has technology changed Test cricket?...

Ed Hawkins eats a bit of humble pie over the scoring ability of Azhar Ali and pours cold water on any faint England hopes of an unlikely victory......

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Michael Vaughan: Why I'm laying the draw in the Second Test

Pakistan v England / Michael Vaughan / 24 January 2012 / Leave a Comment

Run machine. Jonathan Trott looks set to cash in this time.

"This England team don’t do boring because they’ve become accustomed to playing an aggressive brand of cricket. That’s why they’ve been entertaining to watch since Andy Flower took over."

All the talk is of mountains of runs on a flat pitch but England are rarely involved in draws and there's a great chance we'll get another result. If there are runs to be scored, expect Jonathan Trott to be amongst them, says Michael Vaughan.

A cricket dressing room is a great place to be in when you're winning but a pretty miserable one when you've just been hammered. There will have been plenty of soul-searching amongst the England players as to what went wrong and plenty of work done by analysts and other background staff into why their batting line-up capitulated not once, but twice. No prizes for guessing which Pakistan bowler will have been the subject of the greatest amount of analysis. If England don't play Saeed Ajmal a lot better than they did in the First Test they're in big trouble but hopefully all this fancy technical equipment will help them work out where they went wrong last time.

Chris Tremlett isn't fully fit so will miss out, although I suspect the Surrey paceman wouldn't have played anyway, even if he was 100%. This will be a pretty flat pitch here in Abu Dhabi and that's not really the sort of track where he's dangerous. All the talk has been of Monty Panesar being brought in to help Graeme Swann with spinning duties but I'm not sure that's the way forward. There should be some cracks emerging and a some rough areas to aim at on days four and five but during the first three days you need to put pressure on the batsmen by either generating your own spin or varying the pace at which you're bowling. I'm not sure Monty will be a huge threat in those conditions and I'd actually go with Graham Onions instead.

It's been a while since we last saw the Durham man in action but this may just be his sort of pitch. We know there's unlikely to be much swing assisting the bowlers and the pitch may have just that little bit more bounce than the one in Dubai but there's still not much chance of wickets falling to short-pitched deliveries. And this might just be where Onions comes into the equation, bowling stump-to-stump deliveries. The DRS was prominent in the First Test and if you bowl straight enough on the Abu Dhabi wicket and hit the pads, that may just be the best chance you have of taking wickets.

As regards the batters, Eoin Morgan is probably the only player whose place may be in doubt but dropping him just because Ravi Bopara can bowl would be rash. And this England management team don't do rash.

The Betfair market suggests a draw (2.2) is on the cards. The reason for that is that both of the two matches played here before did end in high-scoring draws. But we should remember that when Pakistan drew with Sri Lanka late last year, the latter needed a double century from the great Kumar Sangakarra to avoid defeat because Pakistan pretty much had them on the ropes.

I'm laying the draw at [2.2]. Over the past few years England have played in all manner of conditions and very rarely do their matches end up in boring draws. OK, so there was the First Test of the 2010/11 Ashes series in Adelaide but (excluding two against Sri Lanka last summer where a huge amount of play was lost to rain) the stalemates have been thrilling draws - Panesar and James Anderson batting out the last few overs at Cardiff, Onions out in South Africa and the West Indies tail (twice in the series) doing the same with just one wicket in hand in the Caribbean, the last time England lost a Test series.

This England team don't do boring because they've become accustomed to playing an aggressive brand of cricket. That's why they've been entertaining to watch since Andy Flower took over. If anything, Pakistan are the more likelier side to go on and win the match for two good reasons: I can't see England scoring 550-plus to put themselves in a wining position and Pakistan (3.8) look better suited to taking 20 wickets on this pitch. But England are capable of winning because they've developed that sort of winning habit so I'd rather cover both bases by laying the draw than just backing Pakistan.

For England first innings top batsman honours, it has to be Jonathan Trott. He looked really good in the second innings and was picking Ajmal before getting out to an uncharacteristically careless shot off the bowling of Umar Gul. That was just a lapse in concentration because I think Trott was on for a big score and he's worth backing at [5.0] to build on a good start and pile on the runs.

My last tip for the match is that a bowler will take five wickets in an innings. Ajmal took seven in the first innings of the First Test and both Gul and Graeme Swann took four so there's a good chance that it will happen again. Ajmal is the most likely player to do it but there are plenty of others who can get on a roll and with the wicket likely to get considerably worse on days four and five, there's a good chance for someone to really cash in.

3 pts lay the draw at [2.2].
2 pts Back Jonathan Trott to be England first innings top batsman @ [5.0]
2 pts Back a bowler to take five wickets in an innings @ [1.7]

***

Michael Vaughan's £500 Run Chase!

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With England's opening pair about to step out together for 100th time, Ralph Ellis pays tribute to a steady, successful partnership which is integral to the world's best team. Can they engineer victory against Pakistan in the second Test?...

Ed Hawkins expects Andrew Strauss' team to hit back in the second Test on Wednesday but high scores are likely and getting 20 Pakistani wickets will be tough...

Homesick England looked all at sea in the desert yet, somehow, the tourists are marginal favourites ahead of Pakistan in the second Test betting. Frank Gregan is amazed...

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Michael Vaughan: Phenomenal Dhoni to lead India to victory again

ODI preview / Michael Vaughan / 21 October 2011 / Leave a Comment

Captain's knock. Dhoni's well-paced 35 not out got India over the line in the 3rd ODI.

"If England bat first and get more than 300 they’ll once again go close but the smart money is on India prevailing again at [1.7], against an England side who still can’t come to term with the conditions and don’t seem to learn from their mistakes."

Michael Vaughan is full of praise for the Indian captain and has a few harsh words to say about England's inability to learn from their mistakes. The latter will cost Alastair Cook's men again, as India go 4-0 up.

England came much closer to winning a match than they did in the first couple of ODIs on Thursday but it wasn't quite enough.

Where did they lose the game? Firstly, in the bowling department. India bowled full and straight, whereas England were guilty of bowling short and wide far too often. Those are freebies on these wickets to batsmen of this calibre.

Jonathan Trott played really well to score 98 but when the analysts in the England backroom staff crunched the numbers in the aftermath of the match, they'll have picked up on the fact he only scored one boundary during the last 10 overs. For a batsmen who is well set on a good wicket, that's simply not enough.

And finally, and most worryingly of all, there was the fielding. Dropped catches, missed run-outs, overthrows. You name it, England were guilty of it. Which is all the more remarkable when you consider that just a couple of months ago it was the Indians who were slow and clumsy in the field and England who looked energetic and sharp.

In the end it was left to MS Dhoni to play a typical 'finisher's' role and score the winning runs with another of those wristy drives to the boundary rope. Dhoni is a phenomenal limited-overs player, arguably the best in the business. Not since Australia's Michael Bevan has a batsman been so good at pacing a run chase. He knows how long he has to play himself in, knows when to accelerate and has an instinct for where to score his runs. Dhoni almost always finishes the innings unbeaten.

But at 30 he may decide that he needs to cut back on his workload in the near future. Keeping wicket, batting in the middle order and captaining India in all three formats takes a hell of a lot out of you and he may decide to give up the Test captaincy over the next couple of years, or indeed give up the longest format altogether. We'll have to wait and see but for the time being England have to work out a way of getting him out or else this series is only going one way and that's towards a whitewash.

Can we make a case for England winning the fourth ODI in Mumbai? We said already that their best chance was to post a big score and try to defend it by taking early wickets and hope the pressure of a big run chase got to the batsmen. Well, 298 looked like an imposing total on Thursday but in the end it was a relatively comfortable chase for India, when you consider they still had five wickets in hand. If England bat first and get more than 300 they'll once again go close but the smart money is on India prevailing again at [1.7], against an England side who still can't come to term with the conditions and don't seem to learn from their mistakes.

Alastair Cook's side are terrific on green wickets at home where the ball moves all over the place. But a 5-0 loss here in India a couple of years ago, a 6-1 drubbing against Australia in January this year and losses to Ireland and Bangladesh at the World Cup are all proof they simply can't replicate that form away from England. The first thing the management need to address is the issue of the wickets they prepare back home. If they're going to play on 300+ wickets away, they need to have practice of playing on those on English soil. Get used to hitting more sixes, learn to take wickets when there's no assistance and learn to use spin to reduce the run rate. Until they do that, they're a pretty one-dimensional team.

On the plus side, Kevin Pietersen has scored 46 and 64 in his last two matches and is looking his old confident, aggressive self. A big knock from KP may not be enough to win England the match but at [5.0] he's the stand-out bet to top score for his side.

3 pts Back India to win @ [1.7]
2 pts Back Kevin Pietersen to be England top batsman @ [5.0]

A change of personnel is unlikely to radically change England's fortunes against a side who are getting better and better in this series. The obvious bet is the good bet, says Michael Vaughan....

Ed Hawkins previews the third one-day international at Mohali on Thursday and applies betting rule No 1...

India were vastly superior in the first match and there could be more of the same here unless a couple of England's senior players put in much improved performances, says Michael Vaughan....

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Michael Owen's England days are over

Premier League / Richard Aikman / 25 September 2011 / Leave a Comment

Michael Owen was given no time or space by Stoke's defenders but he also failed to create any chances for himself

"Owen passed largely unnoticed, other than the few occasions in which his inability to hold up the ball up to earn his side a reprieve from the barrage from the home side was all too evident."

A lacklustre performance from the former England star at Stoke are proof that Michael Owen's chances of getting a starting place at Manchester United are about as slim as those of him getting an England re-call. Despite what Sir Alex Ferguson says...

Where would England be without Sir Alex Ferguson, the self-anointed saviour of English football?

Only two weeks ago the United manager was putting the boot into the FA for their lack of appreciation for the country's best-loved club, claiming the game's national governing body take for granted Manchester United's generosity in providing so many players for the England team - "they us like sh*t" - were his precise words, presumably still irked at having had to serve so many touchline bans last season for criticising referees. And this weekend Ferguson decided to put Michael Owen's name forward for an England recall.

Owen you see, returned to the first team in a blaze of glory in midweek, scoring twice in one of the most crucial matches of the season - a Carling Cup third round tie against Leeds United. The 31-year-old's goals were well taken, it should be conceded, but scoring against a Championship side in a competition not even they are bothered about hardly makes the former Liverpool front man a likely candidate for a starting place in England's best XI at next summer's European Championships.

Particularly not when he is so far down in the pecking order at United. When it comes to strikers the campions do have an embarrassment of riches. Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck and Dimitar Berbatov are all ahead of Owen in the pecking order - but when two of the very players selected ahead of him at his own club are English, it is ludicrous to suggest he deserves international recognition.

Owen has also been making pronouncements this weekend, voicing his disappointment at having been overlooked by Fabio Capello from the outset of his England reign and insisting that he is still ambitious in his international career. "If I got a call-up I'd be there within five minutes," he said. "I think [Capello] came to watch me twice in a year when I was at Newcastle, both times at the Emirates. Arsenal were one of the best teams in the league. We got tonked, and whoever was the striker for Newcastle away at Arsenal wasn't going to get too many touches, so I did feel a bit sorry for myself at that point."

Whether Owen was feeling sorry for himself after yesterday's 1-1 draw only he will know, but he wasn't playing against the Invincibles, he was playing against Stoke City. And even in the absence of the hamstrung Rooney, United's No7 was overlooked for a starting place in favour of Berbatov and Hernandez, before the latter came off injured after seven minutes to give the little man his long-awaited chance. Thereafter Owen passed largely unnoticed, other than the few occasions in which his inability to hold up the ball up to earn his side a reprieve from the barrage from the home side was all too evident.

It was actually another England striker cast into the international wilderness who caught the eye at the Britannia Stadium, Peter Crouch proving a constant thorn in United's side. The former Tottenham man became only the sixth player to score in the Premier League for a sixth different club, but he really should have scored a hat-trick and handed an off-colour United their first league defeat of the season.

It cannot be easy struggling to impress when the competition for places is so fierce that Owen cannot get a regular run of first-team games under his belt, but he only has himself to blame for that. He claims he joined United to win trophies, which is his prerogative - and it can't be all bad being paid to have a ringside seat to watch the best side in the country. But let's face it: if he genuinely wanted regular football and an international reprieve he would have left Old Trafford in the summer, rather than stay at a club that has given him one league start in the last 12 months - and six in total.

As for Ferguson claiming that United have provided England with "more players than any other club in the world" it is true that United are quintessentially more English in their makeup than any other side. But while the Red Devils "provided" five players for Capello's last England squad, Ferguson might need reminding that three of those were not even at his club last season. United deserve about as much credit for producing English internationals as Manchester City, who incidentally were represented by six players in the last gathering.

All the big guns won this afternoon as Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham picked up three points whilst the likes of Blackburn and Swansea will have increased relegation fears after today's results....

This weekend Gareth turns his attentions to QPR v Aston Villa, where one stat stands out like a sore thumb when it comes to eliminating one of the outcomes on the match odds market......

Lee Dixon gives us his views on the ever-colourful Joey Barton ahead of this clash between two sides who have got the same number of points but have obtained them in very different ways....

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Michael Bell's Saturday Runners: Creme to rise?

Trainer Talk / Michael Bell / 17 September 2011 / Leave a Comment

Creme Anglaise will be in action at HQ

"Creme Anglaise is in good form, but the handicapper has made it tough... "

Michael Bell is tentative about his runners' chances on Saturday but could they surprise him?

Newbury

13.25 7f Maiden
Kai: He was very disappointing on his first run at Newmarket and it was back to square one with him after that. No doubt some of the newcomers will be useful and I will just be looking to him to show some improvement.

Newmarket

16.05 1m4f Handicap
Creme Anglaise: She got hoiked up 6lb for getting beaten in a less-competitive race at Nottingham last time so it isn't going to be easy for her this time. She is in good form, but the handicapper has made it tough and I couldn't be too confident given our current run of form.
..........

Michael also runs Wigmore Hall in the Northen Dancer Turf Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday Night (due off 21:34). Click HERE to read what he had to say about his chance, and to find out how you could win a trip to the Breeders' Cup.

Brian Meehan provides the lowdown on his weekend runners, including one in the opener at Newbury that he's very excited about......

Brian Meehan's Theyskens' Theory, sixth in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, returns to the US on Saturday night for the Garden City Stakes at Belmont Park (due off 22:18 BST). Here's what he had to say about her......

Michael Bell's globetrotting gelding Wigmore Hall goes in search of his first Grade 1 success in the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday night (due off 21:34). Here's what Michael had to say about his chance.....

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Michael Bell's Weekend Runners: Activate set for big run?

Trainer Talk / Michael Bell / 03 September 2011 / Leave a Comment

Will Michael's runner triumph at Haydock?

"Activate has a good record at this track and stays the trip well so everything looks in place for a big run."

Michael Bell provides the lowdown on his four Saturday afternoon runners...

Ascot

15:15 7f Handicap
Gramercy: He has good form at the track and ran well in the Wokingham on his reappearance. He suffered a little setback with a splint after that race but he has been working well recently and I am hopeful he will give a very good account. The longer trip should be no problem and this has been the plan since he has been back in work.

15.45 1m4f Handicap
Communicator: He has form at the track and I am putting his latest disappointing effort down to not getting the trip over 1m6f at York. I have a slight concern that the ground will be a tad too quick for him but he is in very good form at home and isn't badly handicapped if he gets it all together.

Haydock

14:30 1m6f Handicap
Activate: He had a very unfortunate experience when he was brought down at Goodwood last time but hopefully that hasn't left its mark - he has been fine at home since. He has a good record at this track and stays the trip well so everything looks in place for a big run. It's a very competitive race but I am very happy with him coming into it.

Kempton

16:25 6f Group 3
Gabrial The King: He bolted up in his maiden at Ffos Las and has always shown loads of speed at home. This is obviously a step up in class and looks quite competitive for the grade, but I have always thought he was useful and he deserves to take his place in a race like this.

Brian Meehan discusses his weekend runners as they bid for success at Kempton and Haydock......

Brian Meehan gives us his usual honest assessment of his weekend runners....

Michael Bell tells us what he makes of his horses' chances over the weekend....

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Michael Vaughan: Morgan the best in the world

England Cricket / Michael Vaughan / 01 September 2011 / Leave a Comment

Eoin Morgan is a fantastic improviser and one of the great exponents of the reverse sweep

"I think this England ODI outfit will improve over the next couple of years and perhaps the man most central to all this is Eoin Morgan. For me he’s the best middle-order batsman in the world, bar none. People talk about his temperament and power but for me his greatest asset is that he can score in every single area of the pitch."

Michael Vaughan tells us why he rates Eoin Morgan as the best middle-order batsman in ODI cricket and who he's backing to win the upcoming ODI series against India.

England added a T20 victory to their Series whitewash and MS Dhoni will be scratching his head wondering how he's going to beat England in any format at the minute.

Jade Dernback bowled superbly on Wednesday night and Eoin Morgan was the difference with the bat. If it hadn't been for his knock at a time when England were losing quick wickets and threatening to lose their way in a tough run chase, India would have won the game.

For all of the criticism aimed at England after a disastrous ODI Series out in Australia and a crushing defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, we shouldn't forget that they remain extremely strong at home and it's been a long time since they lost a Series at home in the 50-over format.

There are two main areas they need to really work on though, if they're to become as competitive abroad as they are at home. The first is that the guys who get starts go on and score hundreds. It sounds an obvious thing to say but all too often we've seen English batsmen play themselves in, get to 50 or 60 and then get out. I was guilty of that myself during my ODI career and despite plenty of chances to get to three figures, I never managed to do so. A set batsman who's in sees the ball so much better than one who is new to the crease and finds it so much easier to score and to do so quickly. The guys at the top of the order who get starts have to go on and convert them, the way that players like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene have been doing on a consistent basis throughout their careers.

The other area that needs improvement is the variety of the bowling. Varying line and pace is crucial in taking wickets and keeping the run rate down. Once again, it's hardly rocket science but it's not something England have done often enough and well enough and the introduction of Jade Dernbach to the team has been important in this respect. We saw him clean bowl Praveen Kumar with a beautifully disguised slower ball in the T20 match and it's a fantastic weapon to have at your disposal, particularly at the death.

I think this England ODI outfit will improve over the next couple of years and perhaps the man most central to all this is Eoin Morgan. For me he's the best middle-order batsman in the world, bar none. People talk about his temperament and power but for me his greatest asset is that he can score in every single area of the pitch. There are 360 degrees on a cricket field and he gets runs in every single one of them. Bowlers try to vary the areas and angles at which they bowl at him and he'll still improvise a shot that allows him to find a gap where there isn't a fielder. Kevin Pietersen is a wonderful player but most of his runs in ODIs come on the leg side and you defend that area with well-placed fielders you can actually negate his scoring. Not so with Morgan.

Despite all that I'm actually backing Ian Bell to finish as the Series top batsman. With Pietersen rested for these matches Bell will bat at 3 or 4 and will face enough balls to go on and get some really big scores. We saw in the Test series that once he got in, he really cashed in, and I'm hoping he can repeat that in the shorter format. Morgan will probably carry on batting at 5 and whereas he'll probably finish the Series with an incredibly high average, Bell at [6.5] is the man I fancy to score the most runs.

As for the winner, England are an extremely confident selection at [1.76] to win the Series.

4 pts Back England to win the ODI Series @ [1.76]
2 pts back Ian Bell to be England top series batsman @ [6.5]

India want to show the cricketing world that the Test series whitewash was a blip and Wednesday's T20 is great chance to do just that. Michael Vaughan looks at England's new faces and considers the betting ahead of this exciting...

They're the T20 World Champions and the likes of Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad are amongst the best players in the world in the shortest format. So why are they and others missing out on the IPL riches rather than...

Ed Hawkins thinks England could pay for taking their Irish cousins lightly in Dublin on Thursday...

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Michael Vaughan: Broad lifeline means I'm backing England

England Cricket / Michael Vaughan / 30 July 2011 / Leave a Comment

Broad celebrates his hat-trick

"Strauss might have thought England were out of it as Yuvraj and Dravid looked set to pile on the runs. However, after Broad's superb hat-trick, the hosts will be feeling buoyant."

Stuart Broad was the star on day two once again - this time with the ball - and ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan is convinced that England can now go on and triumph...

At the end of a great day at Trent Bridge, England's will be the happier dressing room. The Betfair markets may disagree but I'm sticking with the home team to win the second Test.

They've been given a lifeline by Stuart Broad. On day one, he turned England's fortunes around with a superb innings of 64 and, on day two, he changed the course of the game again with Test best bowling figures of 6 for 46. In the space of a fortnight, he's turned his own form around too and now looks far more at ease with himself.

You can back England at [2.78] to win the match, with India [1.87] and an unlikely draw at [9.0]. India may have scored the bigger first innings total and England would have liked to have ended the day with all wickets intact but they are playing with momentum and conviction. They could win the match on day three but a fourth day is more likely and I still see them winning in Monday's final session at [3.55].

Two hours before the close of play, I feared for England and Andrew Strauss might have thought his team were out of it as Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid looked set to pile on the runs. However, after Broad's superb hat-trick, England will be feeling buoyant.

It's now up to the batsman to make the most of the platform that Broad has give them. Jonathan Trott's injury is a big blow - he's going to be sore and will probably not be able to do much more than come in and block - but England must bat 90 overs. If they can do that they will win this match. They should look to make around 270 on Sunday and then let the attack go all out at India on Monday.

So who will get the runs? Ian Bell may relish his chance to perform at number three and Strauss could do with a captain's innings. However, I have a feeling that someone further down the order could come in and succeed with a bold, aggressive innings, similar to the way Broad did on day one. I won't back the Nottinghamshire man though; instead, I'll have a bet on Any Other Batsman at [3.9] because I can see Matt Prior coming in and smashing it.

After that it will be down to England's bowlers. Dravid and Yuvraj showed their class on Saturday but the Indian tail is woefully long, as Broad demonstrated. Mahendra Dhoni is out of sorts with the bat and the gloves and the tourists are lacking leadership. The pitch is a bit of a gremlin too and the bounce is working in England's favour. Put simply, India don't like it and I can't see things improving for them. Game on, England.

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Another thrilling day's cricket draws to a close with India on top, but only just. Andrew Hughes has the details of Saturday's play and looks ahead to tomorrow.

It was hard to take your eye off the action on a dramatic opening day to this Second Test. Andrew Hughes brings us up to date with Friday's events and looks ahead to Saturday's action.

The momentum is with England after Monday evening's events and they can go 2-0 when we head to Nottingham, where conditions will assist the bowlers and mean the match is unlikely to go the distance....

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Michael Vaughan: A great chance for England to go 1-0 up

Test previews / Michael Vaughan / 23 July 2011 / Leave a Comment

Graeme Swannwill be looking forward to bolwing on day five at Lord's

"England need to be aggressive with their declaration, get the tactics right and take their chances when they come their way because this is a great chance to go 1-0 up. My money is on them doing just that."

Michael Vaughan thinks England have a great chance of winning the First Test if they get their tactics right and take their chances...

As I predicted in my pre-match preview, India have looked a little rusty over these first three days.

The injury to Zaheer Khan was obviously a huge blow on day one and just downright unlucky. In fairness to Praveen Kumar, he did his very best to try and make up for the loss of India's star man with the ball and bowled exceptionally well. No-one likes to see the best players missing through injury but it's obviously done England's chances of winning this Test and the Series as a whole, no harm at all.

I'm guessing Andrew Strauss would probably have enforced the follow-on if given the chance but England will have to re-think their strategy now in terms of how to go about trying to win the match.

They need to go out and bat normally when they start the second innings. Strauss will see the second innings as a good chance to get some runs on the board himself. He actually played really well and looked pretty comfortable until falling to an ill-judged shot in the first innings and with his nemesis Zaheer Khan very unlikely to bowl on Sunday, he'll fancy his chances of getting a big score on a wicket that is expected to stay true. And we fancy that as well so at a rather appealing [5.0], he's our chosen selection for second innings top batsman. A price that appeals even more because England are likely to declare at some stage which favours an opener's chances of top scoring.

Can England still win this Test? Very much so because with the possible exception of James Anderson, who looks a bit out-of-sorts, their other bowlers have been bowling really well on a pitch that hasn't offered too much assistance. The decision to play Stuart Broad rather than Tim Bresnan appears to have been vindicated and he'll be a threat in the second innings again, I'm sure.

The Lord's wicket very rarely deteriorates a lot but it's not played quite as well as it has in other Tests I've seen over the years. There may be something there for the fast bowlers and on day five there may even be some assistance for Graeme Swann. England need to be aggressive with their declaration, get the tactics right and take their chances when they come their way because this is a great chance to go 1-0 up. My money is on them doing just that.

Recommended Bets:

1pt Back Andrew Strauss to be England second innings top batsman @ [4.5]
2pts Back England to win @ [2.7]

Never underestimate the importance of playing at home in tough conditions, which gives England the edge before a ball has been bowled in anger. Read on to also find out who are the men to be on for top bat...

India haven't had enough of a chance to get used to English conditions and go into this First Test a little under-cooked. This should allow Jonathan Trott in particular to prosper and give England a great chance to go 1-0...

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Michael Vaughan: We must back England at odds-against to win Series

Test previews / Michael Vaughan / 19 July 2011 / Leave a Comment

Ian Bell can help England get over the line and beat the top ranked team in the world

"All in all we have to conclude that England are better equipped to win the series. Of course their price of [2.2] reflects that but odds-against about England in a home series has to be snapped up, irrespective of the opposition."

Never underestimate the importance of playing at home in tough conditions, which gives England the edge before a ball has been bowled in anger. Read on to also find out who are the men to be on for top bat honours.

When looking at the most likely winner of a Test series we need to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the two sides when it comes to the three disciplines of batting, bowling and fielding. To this I'll add an assessment of who has the better captain. In limited-overs cricket the skipper has far less time to think on his feet and requires a quick brain but in Test cricket you need to get the big decisions right. Bat or bowl? Enforce the follow-on or bat again? Take the new ball or hope the old one starts to reverse swing? In Test cricket he needs to be at the very least 10 overs ahead of the game and he's often the man who can sway the game one way or another through his decision-making at crunch time.

On paper India have the better batting-line up. Heck, two of their batters - Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag - have just made the all-time ICC's all-time Test XI. Not only have England not got a current player in that team, no England player has made the team at all! How Sir Ian Botham wasn't included I'll never know but that's a discussion for another day.

Sehwag misses the first two matches through injury but Tendulkar is fit and raring to go. But that only tells half the story. You'll hear me talking time and time again about playing in English conditions and the reality is that England's top seven are far more suited to playing over here than India's. MS Dhoni's men have endless talent in that batting order to go on and get big scores, that much is obvious, but they may well take a couple of Tests to get used to these tracks and the swinging ball. After all, they've only played the one three-day match (against Somerset) in preparation for this and even that was rain-affected.

If the batting is just about even, the bowling certainly isn't. Zaheer Khan will be extremely dangerous over here but he can't bowl every other over. Harbhajan Singh has a good record against England but he's been in poor form recently. For the most part India won't be able to put pressure on the England batsmen from both ends, whereas England will. Graeme Swann is arguably a better off-spinner in English conditions than Singh and James Anderson and Chris Tremlett can cause India plenty of problems too; the first with swing, the second with bounce.

Fielding is probably less significant in Test cricket than it is in limited-overs cricket but catches still win matches. As does the odd brilliant run-out. India have a good slip cordon but there are some old bodies in that side with players the wrong side of 35 who just don't have the athleticism to perform wonders in the field anymore. England are better at running between the wickets, too.

Andrew Strauss or MS Dhoni? The latter has been there and done it in all formats for a while now and has a sparkle about him that few possess. But Strauss has a fantastic record as England Test skipper and keeps a cool head at all times. He knows his troops well and gets the best out of them. There's not much to choose between these two in the longest format.

All in all we have to conclude that England are better equipped to win the series. Of course their price of [2.2] reflects that but odds-against about England in a home series has to be snapped up, irrespective of the opposition.

For top England series batsman I'm going to agree with Ralph Ellis and side with Ian Bell. Jonathan Trott is a big threat to him but this could just be the series when Bell scores mountains of runs against the very best opposition in the game. If the ball is swinging early on and Zaheer is making it talk, the top order will be under huge pressure but coming in at five, Bell probably won't have to deal with it. He looks a great bet at [7.4].

As for India, it takes a brave man to oppose Sachin Tendulkar. If you choose to back him at around [4.0] you will have had a very decent bet but I'd rather side with VVS Laxman, who is a far bigger price at [6.4]. He has good experience of having played over here at both international and county level before and plays the short ball very well off the back foot. With Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett planning on bowling plenty of bouncers, playing them and actually scoring off them, will be a major asset.

Recommended Bets:

Back England to win the Series @ [2.2]
Back England to win the Series 1-0 @ [10.5]; back England to win 2-0 @ [8.0]
Back Ian Bell to be Series top England batsman @ [7.4]
Back VVS Laxman to be Series top Indian batsman @ [6.4]

To hear Michael Vaughan's podcast discussing the key factors, players and best bets ahead of the Series click below.

Fresh from making the ICC's all-time Test XI, Sachin Tendulkar is fit and raring to go ahead of the first Test on Thursday. Virender Sehwag, who also made the all-time team, will miss the first two Tests but India have...

English cricket fans on these shores will welcome this superb India team with open arms whilst there will be plenty of fervent support from Indian fans, hoping MS Dhoni's men can retain their spot at the top of the rankings....

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Michael Vaughan: England batting line-up needs a re-think

ODI preview / Michael Vaughan / 27 June 2011 / Leave a Comment

Ian Bell needs to face as many balls as possible in the form he's in

"Where I think England need to have a re-think is in the batting order. Ian Bell is the most in-form batsman in the side at the moment so we can’t have a repeat of Saturday afternoon where he was watching from the sidelines. He should definitely play and he should open the innings."

Michael Vaughan on why Ian Bell belongs at the top of the order and how Samit Patel needs to start giving something back.

A new era for England's ODI team starts on Tuesday when Alastair Cook leads the side out for the first time since being appointed the full-time ODI skipper.

Stuart Broad got his own T20 captaincy off to the worst possible start with England's lacklustre display in a heavy defeat on Saturday, as predicted in this column. Both will have wished for a slightly easier opposition than this well-drilled Sri Lanka side that contains a handful of highly-talented match-winners.

The first thing Alastair Cook needs to do is make sure he gets the right balance in the side. My guess is the team will look like this: Cook, Kieswetter, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Morgan, Patel, Bresnan, Broad, Swann, Anderson. That's a good-looking side on paper and I've got no problems with the bowlers or the all-rounders. Where I think England need to have a re-think is in the batting order. Ian Bell is the most in-form batsman in the side at the moment so we can't have a repeat of Saturday afternoon where he was watching from the sidelines. He should definitely play and he should open the innings.

The best ODI openers fall into two categories. Firstly, guys like Adam Gilchrist or Virender Sehwag who hit big from the word go and can clear the ropes. And secondly, players like Sachin Tendulkar and Mark Waugh, who are masters at finding gaps in the field through sheer timing and throughout their careers perfected the art of building an innings; a little more cautious at the start and then accelerating as they start to really get their eye in. Ian Bell is very much in the latter category of course and England need to juggle the order around somehow so that he does open the batting.

I also think Kevin Pietersen needs to bat at three. A top three that contains Cook and Jonathan Trott is perhaps a little too pedestrian for my liking. They'll get you runs because they're both fantastic players but the rate at which they get them is a bit of a concern and if they eventually get out, it puts pressure on the middle-order to have to score very quickly before they've had a chance to really get themselves in. Few players in the world can score as quickly as KP when he's on-song and England need him at the crease during those crucial first 15 overs.

Samit Patel is a super prospect and I've spoken in this column before about how he has all the talent in the world to be anything he wants in this game. His weight and general fitness has been the only thing that has so far stopped him from achieving his ambitions so it was slightly disappointing that, in his first match back in the side, he lost his wicket by virtue of being lazily run out. The selectors have been patient with Patel but he needs to put in a couple of eye-catching performances throughout the series to reward the faith they've put in him.

Michael Vaughan hasn't forgotten what happened the last time these two met in an ODI and is confident this England side in transition will once again struggle against Lasith Malinga and co....

Ed Hawkins previews the first of five one-day internationals between the teams, starting with the contest at The Oval on Tuesday...

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