Australia started the day need 382 to win the test and secure a drawn series. Something they would have been more than happy with given India’s relative dominance over them for the majority of the matches.

Their batsmen were positive from the beginning of the day as they knew that a draw was a pointless result for them. Simon Katich was perhaps a bit too aggressive in the early stages as he was caught behind off the bowling of Ishant Sharma.

Ricky Ponting managed then managed to run himself out for just eight and a very out-of-sorts Michael Clarke soon followed. Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey did give Australia some hope by taking the score to 150-3. New spin sensation Amit Mishra removed Michael Hussey in his first over though and this triggered a drastic batting collapse.

Matthew Hayden was the next man out shortly afterwards and in total, the tourists only managed another 55 runs for the final five wickets with Cameron White’s unbeaten 26 the only real resistance to a determined Indian bowling attack.

Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra were the two bowlers that did the most damage as India secured the significant victory late on day five. There is no doubt that this India team, led by new captain MS Dhoni, are in decent form right now and England will need to be at their best if they are to get a positive result out of them this winter.

It could be argued that ashes betting will be affected by how England do in India compared to Australia. This is because in all honesty, Ricky Ponting’s side were far from their best throughout the majority of the series.

Random Posts

• Mixed news for former heroes
• Ramprakash close to landmark
• England 5 wickets from series win

Sarah Taylor, the world’s fourth best batter in the ICC rankings, says that next year’s World Cup and Ashes series, along with the Twenty20 World Cup, could signal the start of a successful run for England’s women.

“Realistically we have a great chance to win the World Cup,” she says. ” We have a strong side full of enthusiasm and belief, and though we are a young side we have a lot of experience.”

England travel to Australia in March to compete in the tournament, and Taylor believes they will encounter some familiar foes: “New Zealand and Australia are definately the teams to beat, and home advantage will help them.”

Australia will then head for English soil to compete in the Twenty20 World Cup and the Ashes, which, after a period of Australian dominance, have been in English hands since 2005.

Taylor says that home advantage for both competitions should benefit her side: “Having the Twenty20 World Cup on home soil should be a definite advantage, yet there will be that added pressure of high expectations,” she admits. “I am confident that we can deal with it and that our supporters will be behind us.”

With the three biggest prizes in cricket up for grabs in such a short space of time, Taylor believes that the women’s team have never had such an opportunity to gain recognition.

“To have three major events in one year can only be good for the women’s game. I’m sure it will raise the profile of women’s cricket and we hope that there will be bigger crowds for all the games.”

The Sussex wicketkeeper, first called into the international fold in 2006 aged just 17, says that the team are hoping the Twenty20 tournament, where the women’s matches will be curtain raisers to the men’s games, will provide a platform to showcase their talents.

“Playing before the men’s games will make people aware of us and we hope to impress,” she says. ” Recognition is important for the women’s game and success is what we are working hard to achieve.”

Random Posts

• Collingwood banned for four games
• MCC to allow “reverse slog”
• Michael Vaughan under pressure

After England captain Kevin Pietersen won the toss and elected to bat first, his opening batsmen, Ian Bell and Matt Prior, put on 43 inside eight overs before Bell was run out for 23. This brought Owais Shah to the crease and he was the main man in this England innings, finishing unbeaten on 39 as they closed on 121-4 after their 20 overs.

The downside for England was the dismissals of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff. Considered to be the biggest threats of this batting line-up, neither of them troubled the scorers too much and they will hopefully find their form as this series develops. In terms of Ashes betting, there is no doubt these two need to be on top form by the time Australia come to England next summer.

In all fairness though, the pitch and conditions meant that runs were not easy to come by. Therefore, the cricket odds weren’t exactly backing Middlesex to chase down 122 against a relatively strong England bowling attack.

They weren’t helped by the fact that Andrew Strauss – who must have found it strange playing against England – had his leg stump smashed out of the ground by Ryan Sidebottom. Ed Joyce and Dawid Malan then shared a stand of 62 to keep Middlesex in touch.

However, Andrew Flintoff was in sparkling form with the ball as always and he helped restrict Middlesex before Joyce was dismissed in the penultimate over by James Anderson. At this stage, 18 runs were still required and it was virtually game over.

Indeed, Flintoff successfully bowled the final over to leave Middlesex on 109-4, 12 runs short of victory. It was vital they got off to winning ways and although it was far from a perfect performance, it certainly pleased Kevin Pietersen who said that getting a win under their belts was very ‘important’.

The only complaint the players had after the game was directed at the lights used for the fixture. Several catches were dropped during both innings and Paul Collingwood blamed the lights that were ‘different than any other set’ they have played under.

Next up for England is a game against Trinidad & Tobago on Tuesday 28th October.

Random Posts

• Napier goes ballistic
• Ramprakash close to landmark
• India fight back to take the day

India were set 299 to win in the fourth innings of the match, but didn’t really give it a go and finished the final day on 177-4. Ricky Ponting has said that it is no wonder India draw a lot of games and that he was disappointed with the way they reacted to ‘aggressive cricket’ from Australia.

Despite these claims from Ricky Ponting, India will claim they did what they had to do. It was very, very important that they didn’t lose this first test match, after all. The chances of India chasing 299 were rather slim to begin with, but when they lost Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid early on, all cricket odds were ruling out victory for the home side.

Gautam Gambhir followed soon after and at 77-3 it is no wonder that Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman played it safe as they put on 61 for the fourth wicket. It was then the same for Sourav Ganguly who only managed 26 from his 68 balls.

So, Ricky Ponting does have a point when he says that India didn’t exactly give their undivided attention on victory. Perhaps they do settle for draws to often, but in this case, I think it was understandable. Hopefully it won’t be the pattern for the series though.

Random Posts

• Kent cruise into final
• No way back for Hoggard or Harmison
• Sidebottom puts England on top

Ganguly has been credited with changing the mentality and attitude of Indian cricket, almost single handedly, having taken on the captaincy at a difficult time, when they needed an inspirational leader.

Tributes have flowed in following the announcement, even attracting rare praise from India’s fierce rivals Pakistan, where Ganguly led his nation to their first test series win in 2004.

Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said of Ganguly, “It is a sad day for Indian cricket that he has decided to retire. But he has taken a brave decision and he will go as one of the ‘icons’ of Indian cricket.”

Ganguly has played 109 tests, following a memorable century on debut at Lord’s in 1996, and scored 6,888 runs with 15 hundreds. He has played 311 one-day internationals, scoring 11,363 runs with 22 hundreds.

Random Posts

• Ambrose so close to first England ton
• What’s in your wallet?
• Can Kent retain the honours in the Twenty20 Cup?

Matt Prior returns to the test arena after impressing in the one-day series against South Africa and will be going head to head with Tim Ambrose for possession of the gloves. Then, Graeme Swann will be used as England’s second spinner after he was called up in favour of Samit Patel and Adil Rashid. Both these players have already been in the one-day squad and again highlights the aim of the selectors to be consistent in the players they choose for international cricket.

Many people will be thinking that Graeme Swann will be play ‘second fiddle’ to England’s number one spinner Monty Panesar. However, this will be far from the case. In India, the chances of England playing two spinners are greatly increased. Graeme Swann will be one of the main men for England this winter and I am pleased for him. It is reward for his consistent good performances for Nottinghamshire. Even when called upon by England he has impressed me. He averages 15.11 with the ball in One Day International cricket, after all. I wouldn’t mind a look at what the cricket odds are on him taking more wickets than Panesar this winter.

The other talking point as far as selection is concerned is the inclusion of Owais Shah, who fills the batting void left by Michael Vaughan. Owais Shah has been preferred to Essex’s Ravi Bopara, who will be devastated about the news that he won’t be going to India. He knew this was a big winter for him as an international player and this will be tough to take. I hope he bounces back.

Owais Shah is a class performer though and won’t let England down. For what it is worth, I think there were two factors behind him getting the call up. First of all, he provides another spin option. Then, it is my belief that captain Kevin Pietersen is a huge fan of his. He put faith in him by batting him at three in the ODI’s and has continued this loyalty by getting him on the plane to India.

Random Posts

• Trouble brewing for ECB
• Ravi Bopara puts Essex in charge against Derbyshire
• England look to level series against New Zealand

The game has been fairly well established in the domestic game but perhaps we haven’t seen the best of it in international cricket as yet. Well, that is about to change as we look ahead to the ICC World Twenty20 that is being held in England next year. It should be quite an occasion and with these ICC cricket tickets on sale now, it is advised to snap them up as soon as you can.

There is no doubt in my mind that these ICC World Twenty20 tickets are some of the hottest tickets in town. It is a stage for all of the best cricketers in the world to shine in one of the most entertaining ways possible.

Twenty20 cricket may have received its criticisms in the past, but how can anyone say that this event will be anything other than a joy to be part of? I just hope England improve on their showing in the last tournament back in 2007. Any England fan that brought Twenty20 tickets for this particular Twenty20 tournament certainly wouldn’t have been in South Africa as long as they would have hoped!

Nest year’s tournament is to be held in June 2009 and will be spread across three venues – Lords, Trent Bridge and The Oval. There will also be a women’s tournament which will make the event all the more special.

With Kevin Pietersen at the helm and with home advantage, I would say England certainly have a good chance of success. They have started looking like an excellent 50 over side and hopefully this can be reflected in their Twenty20 performances. It would be a great confidence booster ahead of the Ashes if England could win it.

However, no matter how well the home nation does there is going to be some amazing cricket on show. The likes of India, Australia and South Africa have come wonderful limited over players and I’m sure there will be many memorable innings. So, my advice to you is to buy World Twenty20 tickets as soon as you can!

Random Posts

• India win in style
• England cricket is on the up
• Smith will be “fit and ready”

For those of you that want to be a part of this by getting hold the Ashes Cricket Tickets, now is the time to do it. After the success of the last time Australia were in England, back in 2005, there is no doubt that Ashes tickets are selling fast.

You will remember the scenes during 2005 when fans were queuing up to witness what will go down as one of the best series of all time and there is no reason why 2009 will be any different. A close contests between two of cricket’s most talented teams is expected and the Ashes tickets are likely to sell out to reflect this expectation. Everyone wants a piece of the action.

Of course, England are looking to respond to the 5-0 drubbing they received in Australia a couple of years ago. Andrew Flintoff was the captain during this series, but the Lancashire all-rounder will hopefully revert to his 2005 role and become new captain Kevin Pietersen’s ‘go to’ man. If England are to defeat Ricky Ponting’s men there is no doubt that they need their big players, like Flintoff, to be fit and raring to go.

Australia on the other hand will have a very different looking team from the last time they toured England. Legends Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath have retired and they have been joined by Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer and Jason Gillespie. It will be interesting to see the type of squad they bring with them.

The first match takes place in Cardiff on the 11th July and this is likely to be an incredible occasion. The whole series is a marvellous spectacle though so I would advise you to get any Ashes test match tickets you can get your hands on. Bring it on!

Random Posts

• Michael Vaughan under pressure
• Australia secure series whitewash over the West Indies
• MCC to allow “reverse slog”

Chris Adams has certainly been a fantastic captain for Sussex and has had great success. During his time at Hove, he has won three County Championship titles as well as the C&G trophy. He is a true professional and deserves to go out on top in my opinion. Now he has won the Pro40 title he can do just that. Chris Adams himself admits that he sees now as a ‘great time to bow out’.

The man that has the difficult job of replacing Chris Adams is Michael Yardy. The 27-year-old – who has played six one day internationals for England – will bring his own style to the captaincy and according to Chris Adams can ‘bring a lot to the team’. Sussex have a lot of young players right now and perhaps it is right that they are going to be led by Michael Yardy who will take the county into a new era of cricket.

As for Chris Adams himself, he still has one year remaining on his contract and is expected to continue as a player for them next season. I have always liked the way he plays and he can be such a destructive batsman on his day – something he has proved time and time again for Sussex. I guess it is a shame he only represented England on 10 occasions, but in all honesty his average of 13 in test matches and 17 in ODI’s doesn’t exactly suggest that he was made for international cricket.

Something I would put a lot of my cricket betting money on though is that he will score a bucket full of runs for Sussex next season with the weight of the captaincy of his shoulders. He averages 38.78 in first class cricket and it would be fitting for his contribution the game if he could sneak that above 40 by the time he calls it a day.

Random Posts

• England drop Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard
• Flintoff back taking wickets
• Strauss leads the way to England win

Andrew Flintoff has been a major factor in England’s recent one-day success, but he believes that the credit should go to Michael Vaughan’s successor Kevin Pietersen. Andrew Flintoff admits that there is a different atmosphere amongst the squad now and this is having a positive affect on team performances. Ashes betting is even being changed because of the feel good factor.

This all makes sense to me. Michael Vaughan was struggling with the bat during the latter stages of his captaincy and many players may have though to themselves – ‘If our captain can’t do it, how are we supposed to do it?’. This has completely changed under Kevin Pietersen. He is in some of the best batting form of his life and has faith in the rest of his players who are following his excellent example with the bat. Matt Prior, Ian Bell and Owais Shah have all showed signs of good form with the bat and this has come on the back of Kevin Pietersen becoming skipper.

Most importantly for the England cricket team though, Andrew Flintoff is looking back to his best with the bat. Kevin Pietersen has handed the Lancashire all-rounder the responsibility of batting at five and it appears he is revelling in the positivity of his new captain. There has never been any doubt surrounding Andrew Flintoff’s bowling, but if he can continue his excellent batting form it will help England become a force in both forms of international cricket. I’d place a lot more of my cricket betting money on England winning the Ashes next year if Andrew Flintoff is firing all on cylinders.

One of the other key factors behind the excellent start to the new era is, of course, the return of Steve Harmison. Like Andrew Flintoff, it appears that Steve Harmison is enjoying the new captain’s approach very much and England are reaping the awards. There is a doubt about Steve Harmison’s ability to tour this winter, but if anyone can convince him to do so and get him to perform – it’s Kevin Pietersen. Hopefully, in the same way that Nasser Hussain always got the best out of Andrew Caddick, Kevin Pietersen can get the best out of Steve Harmison.

Everyone knows that things will get tougher for Kevin Pietersen in the future. Perhaps he should be judged more after the winter, but at the moment you cannot fault how he is performing in his new role. He has won five matches in a row, has scored plenty of runs himself and is getting the best out of his senior players. All good really isn’t it? England are looking to seal a 5-0 whitewash against South Africa tomorrow and the way things are going, I’m not going to bet against it.

Random Posts

• Dravid passes 10000 Test runs
• Ganguly Draws Tributes From Fiercest Rivals Over Retirement Announcement
• England in control at Lord’s