Cook – Aussies still a Real Threat

Despite suffering a miserable 4-0 Test drubbing in India last month, Alastair Cook has made it clear Australia still can’t be written off ahead of this summer’s Ashes series.

It wasn’t just on the field in India that Australia were left embarrassed, as head coach, Mickey Arthur’s decision to suspend four players for failing to submit a feedback report left many conceding this was a squad in disarray ahead of the Ashes.

The England captain knows his side will go into the first of back-to-back Ashes series as favourites in many peoples’ eyes, but Cook has refused to draw too much from Australia’s recent troubles.

Despite Australia’s clear problems going into this summer, England skipper, Cook, knows that form is not as important going into an Ashes series as it may be with other series.

"I wouldn't read too much into what happened in India with Australia. The conditions were very different to what we are going to experience in England,” said Cook.

"They are going to be a very tough side to beat”, Cook said to cricket betting news pundits. “The Ashes is a unique event so hopefully it will bring the best out of both sides. The favourites stuff is all off the field. You can read all you want about that sort of stuff but it is irrelevant."      

While Cook couldn’t really say anything else, there is no denying that this has to be the weakest Australia squad an England side will have faced in a good few years.

England might not be in the best of form themselves, a point attested to in the betting news, but it would still be hard to picture anything other than Cook’s men retaining the Ashes by the time the fifth and final Test finishes in August.

Compton still Competing for Ashes Spot

Despite scoring back-to-back Test match centuries, England batsman Nick Compton has played down talk he has cemented his place in the team for this summer’s Ashes series.

The 29-year old has burst on the international scene during England’s tour of New Zealand, scoring his maiden Test match century in the first drawn game in Dunedin before adding his second in the washed out second match in Wellington.

While only a few months ago it had been Compton whose place in the team appeared least secure, the Somerset batsman has now made it virtually impossible for the selectors to leave him out for the return Test series against the Kiwis at the beginning of the English summer, with the first of back-to-back Ashes series soon after.

Despite it appearing as though he is in the driving seat to face the Aussies this summer, Compton has admitted he still has plenty to prove if he is to fulfil his dream of representing England in an Ashes series.

"I've done well, but do I feel established? No, I still feel a long way off. I think it's great to be a part of this team and contributing but it's still early days. It's my second series,” maintained Compton.

"I've dreamed about the Ashes since I was a little boy. It's something that now feels a bit more tangible but it's not something I'm thinking about at the moment.”

There certainly isn’t a shortage of young batsmen coming through the ranks, but the Joe Roots, Jonny Bairstows and Jos Butlers of this England squad will have to wait for their next chance in the team. Compton has definitely done enough with his chance to warrant keeping his place for the foreseeable future.

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Aussie media savages players

The Australian cricket team has come in for some heavy criticism after they were whitewashed by India in their four match Test series.

India’s victory in Dehli on Sunday means that Australia have lost a series 4-0 for the first time since 1970.

It represents a new low in Australian cricket, that has been in steady decline ever since the first members of their golden generation began to retire around seven years ago.
With no Warne, Gilchrist McGrath or Ponting to turn to, the new generation of Baggy Greens are floundering.

The young side certainly possesses talent, but the manner by which they gave away their wickets repeatedly during this India v Australia tour suggests they may lack the mental toughness required to be successful at this level.

With back-to-back Ashes on the horizon – the next Test they play will be at Trent Bridge in July - there is genuine concern among the media.

Not that they showed it in the aftermath of this defeat, choosing instead to savage the players, including stand-in captain Shane Watson.

"It's official. Australian cricket's class of 2013 are the worst to tour India ... and the nation's worst Test outfit in 34 years. That is the macabre reputation Michael Clarke's battered troops will bring home," wrote the Telegraph.

"...If any player should forensically analyse their form on this shambolic tour, it is Watson.
"The struggling all-rounder can no longer be a selection untouchable after his form slump hit a crisis point during Australia's latest batting collapse.

“In the ultimate indictment, No.11 Nathan Lyon (244 balls) managed to survive more deliveries on this tour than Watson (239). Lyon (18) also finished with a superior batting average to Watson (16.5),"

To read the thoughts of former England skipper Michael Vaughan on Australia, England and this summer’s Ashes, head over to: http://betting.betfair.com/cricket/michaelvaughan/

Messi can also play cricket?

I dunno that bowling action looks a bit suspect.

No more confusion, Finn must sort out his game

The confusion over whether or not a bowler disrupting the bails at his end while bowling leads to a no ball will finally be resolved after the Marylebone Cricket Club confirmed it would amend the cricket laws.

Currently, it is within the umpire’s discretion to give a dead ball or not should the bowler interfere with the bails on his run-up, a situation that led to confusion with the England side over their recent tour this winter.

Steven Finn was twice denied wickets against India, the umpire calling a dead ball after England’s paceman ran into the bails on his delivery. It cost his team vital wickets and left Finn with much explaining to do, the paceman himself confused over the laws of the game.

Thankfully, this confusion will end on 1 October when a new law comes into place, insisting that the ball is dead should the bowler interference.

The law also means that Finn must sort out his game if he is to make the England Test squads for New Zealand and Australia this summer. As he wrote in his Michael Vaughan tips column, former England skipper Vaughan knows that current captain Alastair Cook cannot afford to have a meandering bowler in his midst that could cost the team a match.

Finn has already claimed he is working hard on his stride and even shortened his run-up to try and cure the problem. However, having taken just one wicket from his last two ODIs against New Zealand this spring, changing his game has clearly taken longer than expected and he may suffer a reduction in delivery pace because of it – something that has affected the England cricket betting.

Sadly, this could cost Finn his place in the side, so the 23-year-old needs to concentrate on his action over the next few months. With three Tests against the Kiwis coming up he has the stage to perfect a new game but will be given no leeway from umpires should those bails come off at the wrong end.

Woakes eyes England progress

Following their defeat to New Zealand in the opening ODI encounter in Hamilton, Chris Woakes is hoping he can help his side level up the series in their second clash on Wednesday.

The Warwickshire bowler, who worked under now national head coach Ashley Giles at Edgbaston, produced a decent performance against the Kiwis, recording bowling figures of 2-52 and contributing 17 runs with the bat at more than a run-a-ball.

England, slender favourites according to the cricket odds, eventually lost the game by three wickets and Woakes, who was pleased with his performance in the opening ODI, believes there were areas he can improve on for the second encounter with the Black Caps in Napier.

He said: "I thought it went okay.

"It would have been nice to have stayed in till the end with the bat, and put some more runs on the board.

"Obviously, we thought we were slightly short with the bat. So it would have been nice to contribute there a little bit more.

"With the ball, I didn't finish as well as I'd like to. But to pick up two wickets in the middle was pleasing."

Punters who want to know how to bet on cricket will note that Hamilton has not been a happy hunting ground for England and they will be looking to fare much better when they make the trip to Napier.

A loss for the tourists on Wednesday would see them lose the ODI series before the final encounter on Saturday, after which the Test series will soon following against New Zealand.

England will then be looking to build on their Test success in India when they face the Kiwis in a three-match series, starting in Dunedin on March 5.

Watson back on Song for Aussies

Shane Watson returned to action with a real bang as he hit a sensational century to help the Aussies secure a series-clinching victory against West Indies. Chasing 330 for victory, the Windies fell 39 runs short as Australia took an unassailable 3-0 series lead.

The batsman, returning to the side after a four-week injury lay-off, set Australia on the right track with a well-crafted 122 from 111 balls, taking his time to settle back into his rhythm before really taking the West Indian bowlers to the cleaners with some typically ruthless stroke-play to finish with 12 fours and two giant maximums.  

Australia captain, Michael Clarke, heaped praise on Watson for his man-of-the-match performance, admitting to the sports betting news that it was a huge boost to the team to have the influential all-rounder back in the fold.

"Shane Watson led from the front. Good wickets and fast outfields help, but it doesn't matter how flat the wicket is if you're facing good bowling, you've got to hit the ball sweetly and he (Watson) did that from the first ball.

"Watto is a very good player and it's great to see him back to his best,” added Clarke.

Watson’s return to the one-day side may be important but the real question will be whether or not he will manage to stay injury-free in the run-up to the Ashes.

While the cricket betting news seems to be writing Australia’s chances off ahead of the upcoming Ashes, Shane Watson remains as one of the few current players that England will be extremely wary of.

Having the 31-year old fully fit and in-form will be essential to any hope Clarke’s men will have when they arrive on English soil later this year.