ENGLAND VS WEST INDIES 1ST TEST BETTING TIPS

We're expecting things to be playing a bit flat at Lord's for the first test between England and the West Indies, the earliest test ever played on English soil. Venerable English bookmaker Ladbrokes has put together a 35-market selection of odds for the upcoming test and I expect a lot of money-making opportunities for the savvy cricket punter. England are listed at just less than evens in the outright betting, carrying a price of 10/11. Windies aren't far off with a price of 11/8 indicating that the bookies don't see much between these two teams. The draw pays out at 5/1 and, for my money, that's not a bad bet early on. Lord's is a batsmen's pitch and I expect a very difficult fifth day for anybody trying to bowl out the opposition. With Windies bringing in heavy hitters like Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivarine Chanderpaul you have to feel as though they have the ability to chase down a large total. Taking wickets will be difficult for both parties, but I'm confident that England's selection of Graeme Swann will pay dividends. I'm not 100% on whether England should play two spinners as I can see pace bowling being the order of the day for the first 4 sessions. Ladbrokes has match betting between all the top batsmen and there's some solid odds available there. If you're backing England's batsmen to get to 50 or 100 in the first innings you're looking at very solid odds. I'd select Alistair Cook at 5/4 and Andrew Strauss at 6/5 to get to 50. I'd like to back Kevin Pietersen at 11/10, but he has been shaky with the bat. He either gets 100 or goes out for a duck, it seems. A solid bet for a century might be Ravi Bopara who has wielded the willow with confidence in the IPL. If he scores a century, you're getting paid out at 9/2. Andrew Strauss pays 7/2 to get to 100 as does Alistair Cook. You can also bet on the weather and the conditions in one of the Ladbrokes markets. If you think a complete day will be lost due to weather, you'll be paid out at 7/2. Any rain delay at all pays ¼ and that's a decent bet. If you think global warming might give us some extreme surprises, you might be able to make some serious cash. If the temperature hit 28c or above at any time you'll be paid out at 14/1. If snow hits the pitch at any time, you're looking at 14/1 as well. Hail pays 6/1 while lightning pays 4/1.