Stan James on the Ashes

Get a free bet worth £25 with Stan James on the AshesIt might have escaped you but I suspect not. Yes?.next Thursday sees the coming together of two great old friends for another Ashes Series. England and Australia just can't get enough of each other at the moment, but it's been all bish bash bosh one day stuff. The real examination is the five Test Series starting at Lords. This is where it all begins. Stan James has entered into the spirit and they have a host of Series markets to whet the appetite??.Let the battle commence. Series OutrightEngland????11/4Drawn Series???.11/2Australia????..4/9Total Centuries in the SeriesFive Tests mean potentially 20 innings in total, but the reality is that the weather and batting collapses could affect this. There will undoubtably be many centuries, but precisely how many is up to you. Our compilers are looking at a benchmark of between 12 and 14 in total. You can either agree with this or bet under or over. Your call.Under 12 Centuries??..15/8Between 12-14????.11/8Over 12 Centuries???15/8 Highest Individual Score in SeriesThere will always be one guy who gets his eye in and builds a monster innings during the Series. But just how much will the best innings be? A warm spell could bring great batting wickets and our compilers seem to think that a double century is a distinct possibility. They are looking at a spread of between 205 to 235 runs?.Under 205???.7/4205-235 inc??..13/8Over 235????7/4Highest First Innings ScoreNaturally the runs, if they are going to come, will come in either of the team's first innings. There are ten opportunities altogether and the weather should be good enough over five days to see both sides unhindered in at least batting until they want to declare. Not easy to call this one but our boys have a middle spread of between 550 and 590.Under 550???15/8550-590 inc???6/4Over 590????7/4 Lowest First Innings ScoreCan you see one of the sides being skittled out for next to nothing? It's probably more likely to happen in their second innings but if the weather is conducive to the bowlers we could see a low first innings score. Our boys suspect it won't be too catastrophic?..but what do you think?Under 175???13/8175 - 200 inc?.?6/4Over 200????2/1 England's Top Series Wicket TakerThis is essentially between five bowlers. Steve Harmison is the strong favourite and he can be very destructive on his day. The problem with Harmison is that if things don't go right he can suffer from a lack of confidence. He's rightly the favourite but there are chinks. Matthew Hoggard is steady and seemingly the unglamorous one of the England quickies but he will pick up wickets. Whether he will be able to string together big wicket hauls is another matter. Freddie Flintoff has that magic touch that Botham had, and he can always be relied on to get wickets. He'll love the theatre of it all and England need a hero. What better man. Now Simon Jones is interesting because he has the potential to rattle the Aussies out. The problem is that over the Series the Aussie batsmen might find his flaws and weaknesses and he just might not get selected for all the Tests. If he has a good first test, the price could seem big. Also Ashley Giles is going to suffer as the only spin bowler. If conditions are amenable to spin then Giles could pick up a lot of wickets and some big hauls as well. Don't rule him out?..but rightly he's the natural outsider of the five. Good luck! Steve Harmison???.4/5Matthew Hoggard??5/1Andy Flintoff????5/1 Simon Jones????..6/1Ashley Giles??.?..11/1 Australia's Top Series Wicket TakerThere are two main contenders here and both are different types of bowler. Favourite, but only marginally is our earringed friend and loveable rogue Shane Warne. The juries out as to whether at 35 Warne is still a major threat to England's batsmen. His much publicised injuries have almost rid him of his flipper ball which can reek havoc and also his marriage break up will not help his mental game?.(but there again?with Warne you never know). He won't be denied his chances due to his reputation but is he still the force. The same can be said of the other leading contender Glenn McGrath. He's not the spring chicken he was, but is still devastating with the new ball and deadly accurate. He'll certainly get wickets but England will know how to play him and they could neutralise the threat. After these two the problem you have to consider is who will actually play. There's a bit of guesswork here. Gillespie, Lee, and Kasprowicz all will be in the frame, but in theory only two out of the three will play. Brett Lee is the quickest, but he is more of a One Day player than a Test player. In bursts he's very fast and can rattle them down, and is a favourite of the captain. What he needs is a good start?.if given the chance. Jason Gillespe is not as quick as he was but a lot of commentators on the game rate him very highly. Perfectly suited to Test cricket he'll get his chances and will probably take them. His record here is also very good. One question mark is his recent form?.it's not as good as the others. If Kasprowicz gets picked for the First Test then he'll be a runner. He's consistent and knows English wickets well. The one problem is that he might find himself on the sidelines too many times. Leg spinner Stuart MacGill will only play really if Warne gets injured?.or sent home?..but he's no mug. Young Shaun Tait has the talent to be a real superstar, but he'll struggle to be given his chance just yet. They might just put him in the deep end and play him. If so he'll definitely get wickets. Iif you can get a price, back him for the next series. Shane Warne??..13/8Glenn McGrath??.7/4Brett Lee???..?.4/1 Jason Gillespe?.??10Micheal Kasprowicz?14Stuart MacGill???.20 Shaun Tait????...33 Top England Runs ScorerThe favourite, but only just, is Michael Vaughan. Why? Well he's the captain so he should play, but this is really a disservice to the many who see Vaughan as England's best batsman. He's astute but is not afraid to attack. Basically a good, technically sound, batsman, who'll certainly get a lot of runs. Trescothick will have to take the blunt of the new ball attack but if he gets himself in, he can be very dangerous. Not a great record against the Aussies, but he's in form and is a great player of spin. He just needs to stick around?.regularly. Andrew Strauss similarly has to blunt the new ball attack, but the man has shown just how good he is against South Africa. He hasn't played Test cricket against the Aussies before, but you suspect this chap will not be phased and he'll be around for a long time to come. Kevin Pietersen is some talent, but his critics point to a technique that'll stand up well in one dayers?..but not in Test matches. This is slightly unfair because he could well prove them wrong. This man can also run up big scores very quickly. If he fires early he could definitely be a runner?..at a decent price. At 23 Ian Bell has a bright future and he is mature for his age. Technically sound, he doesn't necessarily set the world alight at the crease, but he is very steady and tends to slowly build innings. The darling of the crowd will be Freddy Flintoff and his swashbuckling style with the bat will ensure his hero status is maintained. What Freddie needs to do, is to consistently score well. I suspect that he's up for this and the Aussies will not relish Freddie in full flow. Graham Thorpe has been left out of the First Test, and really this is a big blow to his chances. He would need to get back in the side quickly to have any chance and that will have more to do with Kevin Pietersen than it will Graham Thorpe. Finally don't rule out little Geraint Jones who has shown us that wicketkeepers are not just fidgety madmen behind the stumps. Michael Vaughan???3/1Marcus Trescothick??.7/2Andrew Strauss????7/2Kevin Pietersen????5/1Ian Bell???????.6/1Andy Flintoff?????7/1Graham Thorpe????16/1Ger. Jones??????.25/1 Top Australian Series Run Scorer Ricky Ponting, as Skipper, heads their market and the man has a great record with the bat. In fact his actual bat has courted a bit of controversy but the man's talent is pretty much the reason why he's the leading fancy. He's very cool and is a natural ball striker. A worthy favourite. Damien Martyn is in form and he is a steady and a much more reliable bat these days. He makes batting look easy at times and he will accumulate runs. With 21 Test Centuries under his belt, Justin Langer has to be a runner in this market. Gritty and reliable as an opener he'll amass runs for sure and with an average of 46 in Test cricket you could do worse than back him. Matthew Hayden looked a bit jaded last year, but he's a great competitor who'll be relishing the chance to stick one on us. But one word of warning?he'll need to start the Series well or he could struggle. Learning all the time and honing his game is Michael Clarke and although you wouldn't describe his batting as watertight, he does have experience of English county cricket which should keep him in good stead. He will though have to improve a lot to be the top runs scorer. Simon Katich is a interesting runner because he has the game?.he just needs a decent run in the team. If he gets that, he'll have a chance. Adam Gilchrist has been around and his vast experience and determined batting should give him a chance. He's a giant in the Australian game?.don't be surprised if he goes close. Ricky Ponting???.7/2Damien Martyn???7/2Justin Langer????4/1Matthew Hayden??..9/2Michael Clarke???13/2Simon Katich????7/1Adam Gilchrist???.7/1Get a free bet worth £25 with Stan James on the Ashes