They’ll (England) be looking for their big players to be confident in this final test – none-more-so than Andrew Flintoff who’ll be looking for a winning end before he retires from International cricket. However, you can be assured that Australia will not be reading from the same script.

As we are writing this, we have heard that England captain, Andrew Strauss, has won the toss and has decided to bat first. Many Ashes betting old heads will understand this theory of batting first before the ground crumbles in the 3rd & 4th days of the test match. Hopefully, it is a theory that also works in practice for England’s hopes.

Teams

England – Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Jonathan Trott, Matt Prior, Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, Graham Swann, James Anderson, Steve Harmison.

Australia – Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Marcus North, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus.

England vs Australia Betting Odds

To Win The Ashes 5th Test Betting Odds

Australia	13/8	6/4	11/8	14/9	13/8	5/4	11/8	6/4	6/4	11/8
England	11/4	100/30	10/3	7/2	11/4	10/3	11/4	100/30	11/4	3
Draw	11/8	11/8	5/4	18/5	5/4	11/8	11/8	5/4	13/10	7/5

Professional sport will always have some form of off-ball tactics and cricket is no different. The thing to remember is that it is not interfering with the rules of the game unlike ball tampering. Look at football and how using last minute substitutes has become the norm to run down the clock. Perfectly legit. But try to con a referee by simulating a dive to win a penalty and you’ll be forever branded a ‘cheat’.

Boxers, Tennis players, heck even Rugby players all use intricate techniques to help swallow up some valuable seconds. It is sometimes needed to win matches or to ensure no damage is undertaken for the return bout. Ashes betting fans, especially England fans, understand the need to swap substance over style, this is a test of endurance after all and there will be a few more mind games to be played out before the eventual winner of this great cricketing spectacle emerges.

England will be hoping on 2 big names for this Ashes series, Andrew Flintoff and former captain Kevin Pietersen. If these two giants of the English game are fit and focussed then England have more than a chance of winning. But, we all know Test Cricket is about confidence, and maintaining that confidence over a lengthy time span takes a lot of mental and physical energy. It drains the body and the mind.

From now until the Ashes starts, experienced Ashes betting fans will know that the papers will be full of quotes from either side, probing for weaknesses, as the pre-match mind games kick off. Former Australian leg spinner Shane Warne was a master at these tactics and now he’s back on these shores doing exactly the same thing for Sky TV and being paid for it as well. It is The Ashes after all, and Australia need this victory just as much as England. It’s all in the balance for both of these proud cricketing nations.

To Win The Ashes 2009 Betting Odds

Australia	4/6	4/6	4/6	5/7	4/6	8/11	8/11	4/6	8/13
England	2	9/4	15/8	13/5	9/4	2	7/4	9/4	9/4
Draw	5	11/2	5	29/5	9/2	9/2	5	9/2	5

Biggest story so far of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup is Australia sent home early after some head scratching displays against Sri Lanka and the West Indies. Scotland huffed and puffed but lack of bowling experience sent them home early as well. Holland stunned England then crashed out against Pakistan. Bangladesh made a fight of it against India then struggled against Ireland.

England have a tough one today against South Africa (when is it ever easy) and need to call upon the ruthlessness they showed against Pakistan in the earlier round to fend off a strong South African team. But with a bumper crowd behind them and the “Boom, Boom, Boom” ground speakers switched to max England could get their Super Eights campaign off to an absolute cracker.

To Win The ICC Twenty20 World Cup Betting Odds

South Africa	5/2	11/4	5/2	29/10	5/2	5/2	5/2	5/2	11/4	13/5
India	10/3	3	3	21/5	11/4	3	10/3	100/30	3	7/2
Sri Lanka	9/2	9/2	9/2	5	5	4	9/2	9/2	9/2	4
New Zeland	13/2	13/2	5	36/5	7	7	6	13/2	7	11/2
Pakistan	8	7	7	19/2	8	7	7	8	8	7
England	8	9	7	9	8	8	15/2	8	8	15/2
West Indies	9	9	9	21/2	8	9	10	9	9	9
Ireland	150	125	100	629	100	100	100	100	100	125

Firstly, it can’t have escaped the attention of the various England coaches, captains, players and cricketing authorities that winning sides such as the fifteen year run the Aussies had are the consequence of excellent players and consistent captaincy enabled to groove themselves as a team without the constant distractions caused by squabbling over which bowlers are on form and why our batsmen get a pair of golden ducks one day and 200 runs the next. Let’s please set a side that requires only fine tuning when needs be and then stick with it

Secondly, Strauss seems to be a level headed captain with the ability to inspire his team with consistent batting, especially when needed. The trouble is, England players only seem to be REACTIVE in the good play department. They can rally after a trashing such as occurred in the second Test with the West Indies, but they can’t get out there and PROACTIVELY win the first Test of a competition. The last time they did this was at Lords in May 2005 and it’s high time the ‘all hands on deck in a crisis’ attitude was shelved in favour of harnessing that energy and delivering it on day one of the series. And then on day two, day three and forever more.

The attacks will come as a massive blow to cricket within the region. The Sri Lankan cricket team were replacements, after India pulled out of a scheduled cricket tour amid security fears. Now, after this horrifying attack, it will put huge doubt about any visiting team coming into the region.

It is believed that none of the gunmen involved in the attack where captured or injured. Police found discarded grenades, handheld rocket launchers and machine guns after the attackers fled. The Test match has now been cancelled.

According to the greatest living Australian, without Andrew Flintoff we are deeply four x’d and might as well throw the towel in now. This, despite the fact that we have won ten test matches without Freddie and only three with his help. That’s just so much kangaroo poo to Shane whose cynicism about statistics seems deep-rooted when he claims you can make them say whatever you want to hear. The bottom line on Flintoff is that left-handed batsmen fear him a lot and there are four in the Aussie top six.

The snag at our end is that Freddie is booked in for the Indian Premier League (IPL) season and risks further aggravation to the tear in his hip muscle. The IPL season runs from April 18 to June 1 and the first test against the Australians is July 8. Warne seems confident that Flintoff will put England before the £540,000 pay-cheque from the IPL and not go there. Hmmmmm . . . Ashes glory versus over half a million smackers – watch this space!

Having said that, our team put up a good fight – an effort largely born out of the need to atone for an appalling performance in the first Test match in Jamaica. That it was not good enough to win can be attributed to a number of possible reasons. Jonathan Agnew in today’s BBC Sport column reckons that if Flintoff had been firing on all four, we would have won. I think he’s right – the match was drawn by a narrow margin and a fit Freddie would probably have made the difference.

Much discussion will surround the decision by Andrew Strauss not to enforce the follow-on. With Steve Harmison and Flintoff out of sorts Strauss felt that a rest would recharge them and produce a more effective attack in the bigger picture. Had we won the match his decision would have been hailed as a brave masterstroke. That we only almost did does not diminish the quality of the move.

Last week I was ready to bin English cricket and take up basket weaving. Now I’m all fired up again and can’t wait for the next Test match in Barbados. And what’s more, the shrewd eyes of seasoned cricket enthusiasts will be on bowlers Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann, hoping that they will repeat their excellent performances thus far. If they do then winning the forthcoming Ashes series this Summer may well turn out to be a realistic proposition after all.

So, my bruised fellow cricket betting comrades, can we blame the money? The IPL coughed-up $3 million for Pietersen and Flintoff (combined second-innings scores – 25) during the game and perhaps their minds were more on the colour of the Ferraris they were thinking about buying. Or perhaps Pietersen was contemplating the number of years he could rake in this kind of cash when Taylor sent his off stump cartwheeling down the ground.

In my experience, when large amounts of fantasy money come into play in any field, a lot of harm is done (e.g. football, banks etc). Soul and spirit exit stage left and Ferraris and helicopters enter stage right. Large mansions take the place of the Nirvana of cricketing excellence in the minds of the players and mammon is once again served.

The solution? There isn’t one. We can slow things down a bit by machine gunning the entire ECCB and bringing in a modern and far-sighted governing body that is not floundering and bewildered by the current seismic shifts in world cricket. Engage a manager who has the final say in team selection, tactics and strategy (imagine a cricketing Alex Ferguson in charge of things) and thrash the team with nettles every morning but from now on, we will never see the glory days of cricket again.

But 6 months, surely that’s enough time to sort out England’s problems. Looking at England’s previous, probably not. You see, just 6 months ago, England appointed Kevin Pietersen as their skipper and promises of a new way forward were batted from every mouthpiece. Exciting times, indeed. 6 months on and … we’ll, we’re back to square one again.

In just over a fortnight, England leave these shores once again to tour the West Indies and you have to say that this isn’t ideal preperation, is it? It is obvious there is a massive rift within the team when you have the former captain trying to get-rid of the head coach, succeeding then resigning himself. And now Andrew Strauss is left to pick up the pieces and quickly or the Aussies will be laughing even harder in the lead up to the Ashes.