Cricket's first ever million pound-plus betting day......

ASHES' FIFTH TEST OPENING DAY TO SMASH BETTING RECORDS........For the first time ever, over one million pounds will be gambled on a single cricket match in a single day when the 5th Ashes Test match begins on Thursday, say bookmakers William Hill. 'This is already the biggest betting Test Series ever, with up to a record £50 million riding on the outcome of the five match series, and with the unprecedented interest in the outcome of the final match we are expecting cricket punters to bet over a million pounds in a single day for the first time as the game gets underway' said William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe.With Ashes betting fever becoming frantic, Hills are even quoting odds for the outcome of the Toss - England are 10/11 to win it - and have offered one punter odds of 500/1 that after this series Shane Warne will desert Australia to apply for British citizenship and play for England against the Aussies next time round.England go into the final match as 1/ 2 favourites to win the Ashes - but as 12/5 outsiders to win the game, for which the draw is 11/8 favourite and the Aussies offered at 6/4 - with the chances of a dramatic tie 100/1. Hills are also offering 66/1 that serial catch-dropper Kevin Pietersen will redeem himself by clinching the Ashes for England by taking the match-winning catch.Hills are offering a host of other odds on the match:To score most runs in 1st innings - 4/6 Aussie; 11/10 England; 100/1 tie Man of Match - 8/1 Flintoff, Warne; 10 McGrath; 12 Lee, Ponting; 14 Vaughan; 16 Clarke, Hayden, Harmison, Trescothick. Player to take most wickets in 5th Test....15/8 Warne; 11/4 McGrath; 6 Harmison; Flintoff; 7 Lee; 10 Macgill; 11 Hoggard; 14 Anderson, Giles Player to score most runs in 1st innings...6/1 Ponting, 7 Trescothick; 8 Langer, Vaughan; 9 Hayden; Strauss; 10 Clarke; Pietersen; Top series batsman- 11/10 Trescothick; 3/1 Flintoff; 4 Pietersen; 13/2 Vaughan; 10 Strauss. England top series batsman - 11/10 Trescothick (355); 3/1 Flintoff (322); 4/1 Pietersen (301); 13/2 Vaughan (270); 10/1 Strauss (263) To be called up for next Ashes series by Aussies - 1000/1 Dame Edna Everage; Rolf Harris; Entire cast of Neighbours; Russell Crowe; Jason Donovan; Mel Gibson; Ritchie Benaud.