Cricket betting: Sri Lanka vs England series markets

Muttiah Muralitharan is no better than 4/11 to finish as Sri Lanka's top wicket-taker in their three Test series with England which begins on December 1.

It is a price which many punters will balk at but amazingly, the spinner who is just five short of Shane Warne's world record figure, finishes as Sri Lanka's top bowler an amazing 73 per cent of the time in series so it is a justified price.

There are more attractive prices available for the series for bettors to get their teeth in to. The 2/1 with Bet365 that Kumar Sangakkara outscores his team-mates could be worth taking given his recent form in Australia and his good record against England on home soil.

Click here to get your £100 free bet from Bet365 to bet on England's tour of Sri Lanka

For England, Kevin Pietersen looks ludicrously short at 3/1 with Bet365 as England's top runscorer. This makes opener Alastair Cook and Ian Bell the value at 9/2 and 5/1 with Bet365 respectively. Their patient, nudge and nurdle approach could be perfect for the conditions that they will encounter.

Pietersen's form in the warm-up matches has been poor. He may have made a half-century in the five-wicket win over a President's Board XI but two failures preceded it and he ended the India series woefully out of sorts.

Cook, on the other hand, has been in terrific nick and has 377 runs if you include all the matches played in the country since the start of the one-day tour in September and he looks like building on this great start.

On the bowling front Matthew Hoggard should finish as England's top wicket-taker. The returning yorkshireman has been excellent so far and his off-cutters and changes of pace should bring plenty of victims.

Click here to get your £100 free bet from Bet365 to bet on England's tour of Sri Lanka