[Swooperman]

The longest ever ODI tournament in England consisting of just 2 teams starts tomorrow with a day/nighter at the Rose bowl.

This is the games played at the venue:

1 Zim 173/8 50 50 - L day NW Series 9 SA v Zim 2003 [2036]
2 SA 174/3 35.2 50 174 W day
- NZ DNB - - - N day NW Series 9 NZ v WI 2004 [2141]
- WI DNB - - - N day
1 Ind 290/4 50 50 - W day ICC CT 3 Ind v Ken 2004 [2170]
2 Ken 192/7 50 50 291 L day
1 USA 65 24 50 - L day ICC CT 5 Aus v USA 2004 [2172]
2 Aus 66/1 7.5 50 66 W day
1 WI 269/3 50 50 - W day ICC CT 8 BD v WI 2004 [2175]
2 BD 131 39.3 50 270 L day
1 Eng 251/7 50 50 - W day ICC CT 10 Eng v SL 2004 [2177]
2 SL 95/5 24 24 145 L day
1 Pak 131 38.2 50 - L day ICC CT SF Pak v WI 2004 [2181]
2 WI 132/3 28.1 50 132 W day
1 Eng 271/9 50 50 - L d/n NW Series 3 Eng v Pak 2006 [2410]
2 Pak 274/8 48.5 50 272 W d/n

Pakistan chased a good total down under lights last year so we cant just think its easier to bat first, but I'd have to think Indias chances of chasing a big total second are probably better than Englands.
Bit of rain around lunchtime which could mean movement early on & I've always thought the Rose Bowl to be a bit of the slow side in its brief history.
India have lots of part time slowies but no big name spinner with Powar giving hope to all fat club players everywhere
India start favourites which if you look at the WC seems strange but England arent great in this format although the WIs series will have helped Collingwood enormously.
England have the edge bowling wise I feel with the withdrawal of Sidebottom tempered by the return of Freddy. India have Agarkar to back up Khan & Singh but those 2 have already bowled a lot on this tour & Englands attack looks fresher to me. Therefore I'm tempted with the evens on England for this game. I'm backing Yuvraj in both the series & the match, & Bell as I like his price & I feel if he can see off the openers he can cash in.
In all previous ODIs here, there have never been more than 4 match 6's

England @ Evs 1st ODI 10pnts Stan James
Bell Eng series runs @ 6/1 SJ 3pnts
Yuvraj Indian series runs @ 6/1 Lads 2pnts E/W 1/5 1-3
Bell 1st ODI HS @ 5/1 B365 2pnts
Yuvraj 1st ODI HS @ 11/2 Sp.Odds 2pnts
Ganguly perf.40+ @ 5/6 B365 6pnts
Match 6's under 5 @ 6/4 Sp.Odds 4pnts

[Colbro]

Betfair currently have India at 1.76 to win the series wheras most of the other bookies go at around 1.60 or less

The Indian bowlers out bowled Englands during the test series and have adapted to english conditions well. England are still a work in progress in the one day game (have been for since 1992) and Indias openers seemed to have plugged the weakness they had there. They also have the big hitters lower down we lack.

The main concern is towards the end of the series if the players mentally board the plane a few days before the series ends. Something to look out for then I suppose.

I'll take a bit of the 1.76 though

[Pie-chucker]

Lots of head-scratching from England about how to capitalise on fielding restrictions and they don't have/haven't picked the opening ammo to get off to a flyer anyway.

India first 10 overs @ 5/6 at 24pts

Ganguly's bowling is a bit of a revelation. Tends to get 5 or 6 overs. And he 'puts it in the right areas' Should go well with the bat and a decent MoM candidate.

Ganguly MoM @ 12-1 at 3pts

I'll take him on the spreads as well, but performance is quoted at 53. Maybe in a one-on-one against Prior perf will do the trick.

BUY Ganguly/Prior perf @ 8.5 at 1pt. as these things can go v wrong.

India to win this opener in my book.

[Swooperman]

Crushing win by England by 100+ runs Outplayed India tbh.
Bell was awesome bringing in the HS & looks a decent bet for the series runs now although obviously theres miles to go.
India looked poor tbh & I wonder how much this ICL business at home might be affecting them. Having said that I still feel they'll win the series & the longer the series, the better chance the better team will win.
India are certainly worth backing @ 2.7 now

The 6's bet cost me in the end with 5 being hit, leaving me +8 on the day

[rcgills]

Originally Posted by Swooperman

The 6's bet cost me in the end with 5 being hit, leaving me +8 on the day

Followed you on that one Went to bed last night with India 8 wickets down, about 8 overs left and there had only been three 6s hit

Nice start for you with Bell though

[Swooperman]

2nd game in Bristol tomorrow.
Some markets not up for this as India are struggling with flu, none of Tendulkar, Zaheer, Agarkar, RP Singh & Yuvraj trained today.
Its a toughie tbh as India have been the scorers of the 2 x 300+ scoesw on this ground, & Tendulkar has 2 tons
I didnt take India at 2.7 but I am taking them at 3.15 now. The groundsman has said its a 300 track & its a small ground & considering nobody gave England a prayer before tuesday the markets very lopsided in my view.
England looked impressive in game 1 & their fielding was a step above Indias, but England still rent that great & Indias batting is still strong, & it only takes a good toss for this to turn.
Therefore I'll take a gameble on the flu-boys recovering

India series win @ 3.15 Betfair 10pnts
India 2nd ODI win @ 2.46 Betfair 8pnts
Collingwood Eng HS @ 7/1 SJ 2pnts
Bopara Eng HS @ 10/1 B365 1.5pnts
Karthil Ind HS @ 7/1 B365 2pnts
Anderson perf 40+ @ 5/6 B365 6pnts

[Pie-chucker]

Still think that game on Tuesday was 'a bit odd', starting with Dravid's decision to insert. Maybe he didn't want to bowl with a 'dew ball' but I think most would have batted on that.

Was it he was concerned about the temp dropping further in the evening and not wanting India in the field in the cold? Haven't heard him say that but he has been saying conditions difficult for his lot, with reference to crap weather.

It may be best to forget that game as a line of form. And it does look sunnier and warmer in Bristol (if that matters). However: Anderson, Broad, Flintoff (on his rejuvenated form) is a very tough, penetrative barrage to face in the opening overs. With Sachin and Ganguly opening India are gambling a bit on the first 15 overs. 75 for 1 or 48 for 3 kind of thing.

Yeah, it's tough. Will think about bets as have a need to get some money back after the Southampton stitch-up.

[Pie-chucker]

india win toss

Could be runs.

BUY multi-sixes at 16 at 5pts

[Pie-chucker]

With Fred looking less than 50/50 and Zaheer to return for the very ordinary Agarkar, even money India looks a tad generous. I'd have India as slight favourites here.

India win @ evens at 25pts (coral)

[Pie-chucker]

weather looks pretty good. Do you have tickets for this, Swoops?

[Swooperman]

Didnt go mate, had a league match in deepest Herefordshire....which we lost
Havent seen any of todays game yet but its a good win & Dravid keep putting England in helps our cause unless you're on India of course....like me

Bellys looking good should have backed him every match

[Swooperman]

4th ODI @ Old Trafford tomorrow & a day/nighter once again.

Flintoff is back for England whilst Mascarhenas faces a fitness test but I dont see the latter forcing his way back into a winning side. Collingwood is a doubt with illness & its an interesting choice between KP & Fred who captains if required. It might be too soon to go back to Fred but it would be a real slap if they went for KP you'd feel

India have high profile wins against England & Pakistan here but I think its a leave alone until in play tbh as its gone very much the setting sides way so far. The difference is that Englands bowling is backed very much by the better fielding side givbing them a chance chasing under lights if they restrict India to a modest total. India, I feel, have to bat first to stand a chance as their fielding is, quite simply, shocking

I'm happy with my money on I think & I'll review in play if possible.

Incidentally, Bells form is being put down to him netting with a thin bat, which theyre trying to make sound revolutionary. The fact theyre the same weight as his normal bat may be new, but I remember one of our lads turning up with one about 3 years ago made by Hunts County. Theyre actually pretty good once you get used to it & obviously the point is it means your'e hitting the ball in the middle more.......but you have to get over the fact that your stumps get mashed off all of the first 5 balls you face at least.....

[kompressaur]

England moved 2-1 ahead in the NatWest Series with an impressive 42-run victory over India at Edgbaston on Monday and there's a strong case to be made for them extending that advantage in the fourth match at Old Trafford on Thursday.

It's too early to get carried away with the Three Lions suddenly becoming a one-day force but there are definitely signs that they are moving in the right direction.

For a start they've topped 280 in all three games so far and have also been superb in the field.

That's all in stark contrast to India who are giving England a 30-40 run start in every game with some shambolic fielding and lacklustre running - and they've also failed to take advantage of winning the toss three times in a row.

We're back to day/night territory on Thursday and the toss looks like being more crucial than ever because the clear skies and sunshine which have characterised most of this series are set to be replaced by plenty of cloud cover and chillier temperatures.

And while it was India who surprisingly made the most of the swing-friendly conditions in the Test series, there's no doubt England should be at a huge advantage if they are able to bowl under lights in the one-dayers.

Clearly that's almost certain to depend on the flip of a coin but even if it goes against the Three Lions they did show in the second game in Bristol that it isn't necessarily game over.

And they are also set to be boosted by the return of talisman Andrew Flintoff on his home ground after the all-rounder was left out as a precaution earlier this week following a minor knee niggle.

Despite that - and the further evidence of the Three Lions' progression - the odds haven't changed a great deal so the 4/5 about England taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series looks more than fair.

Admittedly their one-day record isn't great in Manchester but they've thrived at the venue in Tests during the same period so we're not too concerned about that, especially as they've only played one 50-over match there in the last four years in any case.

More significant to Thursday's game is the fact that India's fielding problems aren't going to be put right at a stroke and the batsmen aren't helping the situation with their running between the wickets.

That's compounded by them falling into the traps set by Paul Collingwood with increasing regularity and they are a team to oppose right now.

Given that we feel England are going to come out on top, we're also going to risk a couple of slightly speculative man-of-the-match wagers on Flintoff at 12/1 and Monty Panesar at 20s.

Flintoff's bowling has been superb in the two games he's played - he collected his best-ever ODI figures at Bristol with 5-56 - and the widely-held belief that he's struggled against the Indian spinners isn't backed up by enough evidence.

He's batted just once in the series, stroking a glorious four through the covers first up before he just got under a delivery from Ramesh Powar and was caught on the boundary.

He can surely be forgiven that given he was struggling with his knee and there's every chance he can make key contributions with both ball and bat on his home ground.

Switching to Panesar and bearing in mind the success India have had with their spinners Powar and Piyush Chawla, there's surely every incentive for England to keep Monty in their starting XI.

And that's especially the case at Old Trafford where the bouncy surface has made him a huge threat in the recent past and where the bigger boundaries will give him plenty more protection than of late.

He snaffled the man-of-the-match award in the Test against the West Indies there earlier this year thanks to career-best match figures of 10/187 and also picked up eight Pakistani wickets in 2006.

There's an argument that he was fizzing the ball through a little too quickly at Edgbaston on Monday but towards the end of his spell the pace looked far better which should set him up nicely for Thursday's match.

MOMENTUM ALL WITH ENGLAND: Bettingzone Cricket Betting News - England v India,Twenty20 World Cup, Test & County Cricket Betting and Tips.

[Pie-chucker]

Bloody well hope India win because this could be a dead duck series before your auntie's taken her nightie off.

Edgbaston track a bit slow but even Bell went over the ropes twice.

Hope for it coming on here and will go with the sixes.

BUY multi-sixes @ 16 at 7pts

Long handle; India win.

[Swooperman]

6th game tomorrow but I'm finding it a bit of a drag now tbh
England lead 3-2 with 2 to play but rather than get involved I think I'll just cheer on my Bell & Yuvraj bets, as if I cant get an objective viewpoint on it then betting on it is too risky