2009 ASHES SPECIAL BETS

Popular UK bookmaker William Hill has put together a number of interesting 2009 Ashes Special Bets. You can bet on which country the first century-maker will come from and Australia is the 8/11 favourite with England at evens and No Century in the 1st test to pay out at 33/1. If this is affected by the weather and match days are lost, that could turn out to be a key bet. Andrew Flintoff has just come back to regular cricket, but many of us witnessed his titanic performance in the twenty20 last week. He finished just short of a century off 50-odd balls. William Hill has him at odds-on (8/11) to play in all five tests. To appear in just four tests pays out at 3/1 while one test is 9/1, two tests are 12/1 and three tests pay out at 12/1 as well. No tests played for Flintoff is listed at 14/1.James Anderson is the odds-on favourite to bowl the first ball of the Ashes and he commands a 1/3 price. Stuart Broad is 4/1 while Andrew Flintoff (this could be a sentimental choice) is listed at 8/1. Graham Onions is at 12/1 with Ryan Sidebottom listed at 16/1. Graeme Swann is a titanic 50/1, but I'm not too sure how many times the opening ball of the Ashes came from the arm of an English spinner. Speaking of bowlers, James Anderson is the favourite to be England's leading wicket taker throughout the Ashes series. Anderson is priced at 9/4 while Stuart Broad is at 5/2. It looks like it could be a real duel between these two and that will be a very interesting sub-plot as the test series plods on. Flintoff if 4/1, Onions is 5/1 and Sidebottom carries a 6/1 price. Graeme Swann is 8/1.