Nannes returns to Surrey

Surrey have boosted their hopes of achieving T20 success this season after re-signing pace bowler Dirk Nannes for the competition. The Australian-born Dutch international represented the county in last year's tournament, impressing hugely by taking 19 wickets at an average of 20.05 – the highlight of that collection being his 5-40 against Middlesex at Lords. Nannes couldn't quite help Surrey qualify from the group stage but will now have another chance to help the county to T20 glory.

The 35-year old will join Murali Kartik in the Surrey bowling attack after the spinner was also signed up for the competition. Nannes' return will be a huge boost to Surrey's chances, especially as the left-armer will have plenty of unfinished business after last year's disappointment. Those looking at the cricket betting online will be keeping an eye on them.

Surrey manager Chris Adams revealed the county were delighted to welcome the one-day specialist back to the Oval this summer, admitting Nannes would add another option to their attack.

"He was very popular in the dressing room and with the members and he bowled really well," he said.

"I was gutted for him when we didn't qualify because he really started to settle into our environment, he enjoyed it, and by his own admission he didn't think he was going to enjoy it as much as he did."

"He brings new ball prowess and an ability to bowl very well at the death, which we don't naturally have available in the squad all the time as we have bowlers who may have to go off on England duty."

Nannes is a match-winning player, and match-winning players are just what teams need to be successful in the T20 tournament. Those looking at the online betting should remember this.

The fast bowler could well be the difference between another disappointment and possible T20 glory.

Cook confident of England Batting

England might have lost four wickets in the final session against Pakistan, but Alastair Cook believes England still enjoyed a good second day in the victor chandler review.

It didn't take long for England to finish off the Pakistan innings before Cook and Jonathan Trott put together a strong run that took Englands total to 166-1 as the betvictor free bets gathered pace.

At that stage England looked set for a big lead but Saeed Ajmal removed Cook (94), Kevin Peitersen (14) and Eoin Morgan (3), while Abdur Rehman dismissed Trott (74).

That left the total at 207-5, a deficit of 50, but Cook remained upbeat.

"I think we've had a good day," he told Sky Sports.

"To wrap up their innings (was good). The last half-hour has shifted it back maybe to evens but we're one partnership away from that 50 deficit being a 50 lead at lunch.

"It was nice to get off to a good start, so it was a shame to lose those wickets; it turned a really good day into just a good day I suppose."

"In subcontinent conditions, you never get to 20 very easily," added Cook.

"Sometimes in English conditions, you can get to 20 quickly. But here it's always hard work for the new guy coming in.

"When the partnership gets going, it's hard to break it. Not that much happens, and you get used to the conditions as a batter. You can get into a groove."

Don't Panic says Flintoff!

Former England all rounder and betvictor racing favourite Freddy Flintoff has warned that the panic buttons shouldn't be pressed just yet, after England fell to a disappointing first test match defeat against Pakistan in Dubai.

Flintoff does say that England looked a little rusty in their first Test defeat against Pakistan, but he has also pointed out that England should bring Graham Onions and Monty Panesar into the team to improve their stan james betting chances of a test victory, and says that they can turn things around in Abu Dhabi.

Nicknamed the 'Batsmans paradise', the wicket in Abu Dhabi will not help Englands cause as it will be another slow one and open to some big hitting, but Flintoff insisted there was no reason to believe the world's number one Test team had suddenly lost all their ability

"They've not played Test cricket for a while, the conditions are pretty different to what they're used to, and we've always been slow starters," Flintoff told Sky Sports News.

"Pakistan played better than probably anybody thought, and England looked a little bit rusty.

"The hard thing now is trying to get back into the series because the next one's in Abu Dhabi, it'll be another low, slow wicket which doesn't make for entertaining cricket. So it's going to be tough but I think we can salvage something from it.

"Everyone's jumping to the panic buttons already, saying we're not very good, but it's only a matter of months ago we were beating everyone so I wouldn't worry too much about it."

The batsmen were largely to blame for the first tests but there looks like being changes to the bowling unit for Abu Dhabi, and Flintoff would like to see a couple of bowlers introduced to the attack.

"It's often the case, batters run the team! They're deemed the ones who have the brains so the bowlers get changed all the time.

"I'd love to see Monty in the side. The other guy I'd like to see play is Graham Onions, I think on those wickets he's slightly smaller, he's skiddy, he attacks the stumps and he can reverse it, so I'd be tempted to bring Onions in for Tremlett and see how he goes."

It will be another difficult test for England in tough conditions but we hope that Flintoff is proved right as we hope for a much improved England performance.

England 'Undercooked' in Dubai, Says Flower

England coach, Andy Flower, has lamented his team's recent loss to Pakistan as a "proper reality check" for the Rankings-topping outfit. A subdued and "undercooked" England, to quote Flower, were dispatched by ten wickets in the United Arab Emirates, over the course of three days.

The loss was, perhaps, inevitable. England had not played an international fixture, Test or otherwise, since October 2011, when they won a Twenty20 match against India. Their most recent Test was contested in August; an innings and eight run victory over India, at the Oval in Kennington.

In other words, Andrew Strauss' boys had gone five months without playing a Test match, and three months without any experience of international cricket, at all. Add in the obligatory festive hijinks over the Christmas period, and England, on paper, should have been in sorry shape in Dubai. People looking to make a best cricket bet online should remember this.

Unfortunately, they were; England's batting was described as "woeful" by the BBC. The visitors' dour performance at the crease was exacerbated by a stunning bowling display from Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal, who took three wickets in five balls on the first day. Ajmal dismissed seven players with lbw calls, overall, a new record.

"If there were any thoughts of complacency, they have been banished", Flower said. "We weren't on the ball and weren't sharp enough to deal with what Pakistan challenged us with in this game." The coach added that England simply could not cope with Ajmal and his cohort, spin-bowler, Umar Gul.

England have a lot of work to do before the second Test against Pakistan, which begins on January 25 in Abu Dhabi. Flower told the BBC that England's batters would practise with a versatile bowling machine called 'Merlyn', over the next few days, in a bid to overcome the threat posed by Ajmal.

England need to get used to Pakistan conditions.

After a disappointing first test match performance from England which lost a number of stan james free bets, England will need a lot of patience in their next test with Pakistan in the UAE.

It was only a year ago when England were taking advantage of the fast paced pitches in Australia in front of huge crowds and an electric atmosphere, but the situation against Pakistan is very different and the Victor Chandler odds show how difficult there task is going to be.

Playing cricket in Dubai, Pakistan's second home, will feel very alien to the the English team.

Apart form one or two of the Barmy Army faithful, the stadiums will be very much empty which can often make it difficult to raise the energy levels required in the game. Bowlers will find it hard attack the opposition while batsmen will find it equally hard to score quickly on pitches that produce more turgid cricket.

This is quite a concern for the England side who tend to rise to the big occasions.

They hit the ground running in Australia in 2010 and didn't let up and they were just as ruthless when they demolished India last summer in front of packed houses.

But then they were no where near as promising when it came to playing against Sri Lanka. England did demolish the tourists but there wasn't that usual spark or intensity in their play.

So if England want to win this three test series against Pakistan and prove to the world that they can hold their position as world number one, then they need to quickly adapt to the conditions and understand that the challenges will change from day to day.