ENGLAND VS SRI LANKA CHAMPIONS TROPHY BETTING TIPS

Andrew Strauss' England look to have it all to do as they take on in-form Sri Lanka in the opening fixture of their 2009 ICC Champions Trophy Campaign. After having saved themselves from a 7-0 whitewash at the hands of the Aussies, the last thing the English would have been hoping for was a face-off against some of the top ODI players in the world. England are listed at 15/8 to win this one with Sri Lanka available at a 4/11 price. The Sri Lankans are favoured to beat England in nearly every category and, if you truly believe England can pull off an unlikely victory in Jo'Burg, then you're going to be rewarded with very generous odds at Victor Chandler. England are at evens to grab the highest opening partnership while Sri Lanka are the 8/11 favourites. Andrew Strauss is expected to be England's top batsman at 5/2 with Joe Denly carrying a 4/1 price alongside Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah who is available at 5/1. Matt Prior is listed at 11/2 and that's solid value for me. If Strauss goes early, the responsibilities fall to Prior as he is one of our few batsmen who seems to be able to trouble International calibre fast bowlers. Paul Collingwood sits at 6/1 ahead of Eoin Morgan at 7/1. He's had a few good knocks in the ODI series and I think he could put something together. The incredible Tillakaratne Dilshan is the favourite to get the job done for the Sri Lankans at an 11/4 price. Kumar Sangakarra is at 7/2 with Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Javawardene and Upul Tharanga all listed at 9/2. Sri Lanka are the 1/2 favourites to have the highest score after 15 overs. England can be backed at 6/4.