CalvStar

Keep Reading.....we are going well

Well if you'd read my last report on the Ashes you should be sitting pretty at the moment (cricket archive).

Apart from the skipper needing runs the rest of our bets are looking pretty good at the moment. I'm still confident that Michael is in for a big series no matter what the 1st test showed me as it was such a bowler friendly wicket that I'm not going to panic and try and get out of that particular bet. Lets see what happens on a (hopefully) more friendly Edgbaston wicket.

Apart from that if you closed of all of the bets below you would have a lot of green screens, Giles is still not going to be top wicket taker (0 in the last test) and can now be backed at a healthy 30.0 to green your book which I am going to take. Because we have layed him at over 7's it leaves us with a large liability to take on before we can collect so lets take the 30 now and free the funds up to bet on something new....(see below)

With the other markets we will basically hang fast and enjoy the ride at the moment and cheer on the skipper in Birmingham as we need him to overtake Ponting to make it a clean sweep......oh and don't be to upset when McGrath picks up our top order again as remember....we may be 80-6 but the wallet is looking fatter.

A new bet I've seen is Pieterson to be top run scorer. His price is so artificially low after Lords it's not funny. He is currently 3.0 to lay on the market and this has to be taken on at the moment. He looks good playing a natural game of attacking cricket but I'm still not convinced and think the Aussies are going to target him. You only need 1 player to hit a big score (apart from Kevin of course) and his price will drop like a stone and Pieterson's will drift, that's the scenario I am betting on so lets make a stand and then see what happens at the end of Birmingham.

Individual match bets for the 2nd Test will be available shortly before the test but keep with these and you won't go wrong.

• 2pts LAY Draw in the 1st Test - 2.8 WIN +2
• CLOSE BOOK Giles to be top England wickets - WIN 1.5

Total +3.5pts