Garcia poised to take Major step

OH DEAR . . . a week on from gloating about the demise of Australian cricket, the English game finds itself in turmoil over Pietersengate.

So much has been written about the KP-Moores rift and the ECB’s subsequent own goals that I don’t propose to go on at length about the whole sorry mess.

Suffice to say I would willingly throttle the idiot who leaked KP’s views into the public domain, thereby sparking a chain of events which led to the dismissal of both captain and coach.

Despite recent issues, I retain an optimistic outlook and believe that in Andrew Strauss England has a worthy and capable captain equipped to pull the team together in the build-up to this summer’s Ashes showdown.

If, as I expect, our lads win the Test series in the West Indies, then much of this latest shambles will have been forgotten and England can go on to overcome an Australian side lacking strength in depth and, vitally, experience.

Bookmakers quote Strauss at 6-1 ON to lead out England in the first Test in Cardiff, with the deposed Pietersen 5-1 to regain the captaincy, Alastair Cook on 20s, Freddie Flintoff at 25-1, Paul Collingwood and Rob Key on 33s and the best of the lot, Michael Vaughan, at 50-1.




ANDREW Murray has shot to the head of the market for the Australian Open, which gets under way next Monday, following his successful defence of the Qatar Open.

The Briton - yes, let’s embrace him as one of our own rather than calling him Scottish - is the 5-2 favourite to win in Melbourne, which is a pretty mean price when you bear in mind he has never won a Grand Slam title.

Roger Federer, Murray’s main rival at 3-1, said as much this week and is probably right, while other Slam winners to consider are Rafael Nadal (9-2) and Novak Djokovic (7-1).

It’s no surprise that the Williams sisters Serena (100-30) and Venus (7-2) dominate the market for the women’s event, but there will be plenty of supporters for the talented Jelena Jankovic at 7-1.

At the prices and if forced to have a bet, I would go for a Novak-Serena twist and double.




FOR the first time this season, Manchester United are odds-on to retain their Premier League crown.

The Reds saw off an abysmal Chelsea outfit on Sunday and have been cut to 5-6 for the title, ahead of safety-first Liverpool (3-1) and Chelsea (7-2), whose manager appears to have lost the plot.

As for Athletic, they remain 25-1 (VC Bet) to win the League One title despite overcoming Hartlepool on Monday to move into third.

Leaders Leicester are 4-6 favourites, followed by MK Dons (4-1) and Peterborough (9-1).

Athletic’s best chance of promotion will probably come via the play-offs and anyone who thinks John Sheridan’s men can reach the heady heights of the Championship should snap up the 3-1 generally on offer.




GOLF’S US Tour is gradually getting into full swing, but Tiger Woods remains conspicuous by his absence which must be a worry for his supporters with the Masters only three months away.

I know Woods won the US Open on one leg, but his injured knee has prevented him from playing competitively since and that has seen his price for the Masters drift to a whacking 11-4.

Even if he does make it to Augusta - and there are no guarantees - Woods can hardly expect to have his game honed to perfection, so there is plenty of value to be had with his main rivals.

Could this be the year of Sergio Garcia, then? Winner of last season’s Players Championship, which is often regarded as the fifth Major, Garcia went close in the US PGA Championship won by Padraig Harrington and must surely be ready to take the next step up the golfing ladder.

When you consider the wayward Phil Mickelson is only 10-1 for the Masters, Garcia has to be value at double that price now that his putting is far more reliable than in the past.

RECOMMENDATION: Sergio Garcia, ew, US Masters, 20-1 (Skybet).






Big bets struck on mini marvel

HE may only be 2ft 8in tall, but actor/stuntman Verne Troyer will land some huge bets if winning the latest Celebrity Big Brother title.

The Austin Powers and Harry Potter mini star has been a big hit with punters who have backed him down to 4-7 to see off the likes of broadcaster/presenter Terry Christian (7-1 second favourite) and maneater Ulrika Jonsson, who must have been pretty desperate to plumb the depths of this ghastly programme.

In comparison to CBB, Dancing On Ice is positively brilliantly but when I tell you it does nothing for me you can accurately gauge my opinion of the former programme.

Singer Ray Quinn was an also-ran on the X Factor a year or two ago, but the bookies reckon he is a good thing to keep his cool on the ice and make him 5-4 favourite to win the whole shebang.

Among the unlikely runners - or should that be gliders - in this contest is rugby league legend Ellery Hanley (14-1).

On first noticing this I burst out laughing. Then again, there have been lots of rugby union players on Strictly Come Dancing, so why not?