Sport is made for betting

Australia have been completely outplayed in this Ashes series. With the exception of the WACA where one cricket expert on Twitter said 'Aliens invaded Mitchell Johnson's body for a week and then left', it hasn't even been close. England have been everything Australia used to be - relentless, impossible to budge and mentally superior, not forgetting better at little things like batting, bowling and fielding. Most of the Australian side are now playing for their futures. Several should be marked 'Never to play Test cricket again', however mitigating factors such as lack of depth, spineless selectors and most of them play for NSW will give some of them more chances than they deserve. Carrying on like spoilt children though when decisions go against you, the ball CLEARLY bounces in front of the catcher or not clapping the batsman when they reach 50 or 100 is just pathetic. It's one thing to hate losing - all top sportspeople hate losing, but sooking, whingei...

That sums up the Australian cricket team this series - it is simply a mediocre side and no matter who they bring in, it is highly unlikely to change it. Is Twenty20 cricket to blame? Have other sports stolen cricket's thunder by snapping up the promising young players, who are often gifted at more than one sport? Is it a backlash against an overly cocky Australian team since Ponting took the helm? Or is it simply a regression to the mean after a superstar-studded golden era, now we have to return to a more 'normal' set of cricketers, with no match-winners amongst them? Things don't look good for either side to be honest. 11 wickets each over five full days on a pitch which usually has plenty of life in it doesn't augur well for the bowlers of either nation. Let's hope there's some life in the remaining pitches of the series because we all slag off the lifeless pitches on the subcontinent which lead to huge scores. The crowd on the final day showed what the...

Here's a no-brainer if ever I saw one - England cricket sponsors want to see the Ashes back on terrestrial TV. npower do, Betfair surely will and no doubt all the others do as well, even if they have to pay more for it. When less than 1/3 of the 2005 audience watched the last Test at The Oval, that's a pretty strong argument. Betfair's volume on the whole series was no bigger than 2005, predominantly due to the broadcast factor. Sponsors want Ashes on terrestrial TV Not sure I'll be here for the next one, living here for two losses in a row has been hard enough!!

Firstly, congratulations to England for winning back the Ashes. I still struggle to fathom how they did it, with most statistical measures pointing towards Australia, but at the end of the day, the book says 2-1 to England, and the rest is immaterial. The Aussies: Katich - averaged 42, scored one century, performed well at short leg with a couple of dismissals in the final Test which only a specialist could conjure. Far better this tour than last time and is the steady opener we need. Hughes - such a talented kid, got found out early and got replaced by an allrounder who suddenly found a role. He'll be back soon enough after remedial work on his technique. He is too good to be lost to the team for long, but couldn't quite handle the pressure cooker of the Ashes so early in his career. Watson - most bagged his selection but you can't bag his performance. Three 50s in five innings, average of 48, although it was disappointing he didn't convert any of those into a score hi...

The third Ashes Test begins later today at Edgbaston. The outfield is sodden from days of heavy rain inthe Midlands. The draw price has been crunched down to 1.74 with more rain expected throughout the match. But does the prospect of wet weather also bring more wickets as the ball moves around more? If the water can be dispersed from the outfield and play start close to 11am, a reasonable day by the forecast could see a complete innings gone. And if that happens, the draw will no longer be odds-on. Rain at Edgbaston all right for some Last time at Edgbaston, the Aussies lost McGrath on the morning of the match and it cost them dearly. The two Tests we lost were the ones McGrath wasn't fit for. Will KP have a similar effect on the Poms? An England batting line-up with Bopara and Bell doesn't scare anyone. Mind you, the way Johnson is bowling, he's not exactly putting fear into anyone either. Though apparently he's patched up his differences with his mum over some ridicul...