ENGLAND FAVOURITES TO TROUNCE PAKISTAN: CRICKET ODDS AND TIPS

England take on Pakistan at Chester-le-Street today in one of the most interesting match-ups in a long, long time. This is one game that the cricketing world will most definitely be focused upon with Pakistan having had so much negative publicity of late, including the call by Daniel Vettori and Andrew Strauss, for life bans to be imposed upon spot-fixing perpetrators.
The past two weeks has been nothing short of a media circus- with very little attention given to the two International 20/20 games played recently...however, the time has now come for these teams to buckle down and get on with some serious cricket
Any person who knows anything about cricket realises that this Pakistan team is one in utter turmoil. If one were to think otherwise- the recent news that Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir are on their way back to Pakistan will be sure to drive it home.
In summary: this tour has been a write off...whatever positives taken from incidents such as Amir's great bowling in the test series were quashed by the recent scandal, and one can be certain that it will be haunting him for the foreseeable future.
What that does leave Pakistan however, is a team that can play which has nothing to lose.
England are clear favourites to trounce Pakistan with Betfair offering them at 1.39 to Pakistan's 3.5. One would think that being a one-day series that the odds might be a lot tighter than this, but again...with three of the team’s best players probably making their way through Heathrow terminal by the time you are reading this- these odds are pretty much spot on.
When getting a quick overview of the ‘Top batsmen’ breakdowns, and with Kevin Pietersen dropped for the ODI series, Andrew Strauss is set as favourite to top score at 4.7, with number three Jonathan Trott locked in at 5. A dark horse to perhaps look out for, and one that is considered to be a serious contender at a very decent price is Eoin Morgan at 6.2.
On the Pakistan end the ever-reliable Mohammed Yousuf is set at 4.7, however with Shahid Afridi back in the fold- and as proven in the past-always a man to rise to the occasion- he looks a solid choice at 6.6
On the bowling front Swann is expected to clean up with Paddypower setting him at 3.5, with what is by many considered to be the better bet- Jimmy Anderson next up at an equal 3.5. The less reliable, and somewhat hot and cold Sidebottom and Broad are both set at 4.5.
Umar Gul is also a decent put down for Pakistan at 4.3, with many considering veteran- Shoaib Akhtar capable of taking it at 4.5. If the old-school Akhtar comes pounding in...there could be fireworks and there could be serious money to be made.
Paddypower also throws in a mix of great scenario bets with methods of first dismissal odds ranging anywhere from an outfield catch at 1.9, to a stumping at 34.0. This makes for some rather fun play
While this match up has traditionally been extremely competitive in the past, one does get the feeling that the scent of scandal hanging over the team will not disperse any time soon.
Although Afridi has suggested that a victory today would do wonders for both the team, as well as country, it is challenging to see how Pakistan could turn things around and regain focus sufficiently to take this series, or even this game, the distance.