In-form KP to top runs chart at 7-2

SPOTS AND SHOWBIZ BETTING:

BING Crosby got that song all wrong.

I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas? Well, maybe he was, but he didn’t have to dig his car out of three feet of snow in order to get to work, did he?

OK, I know I am not exactly exuding the spirit of the season, but those nice chaps at Betfred certainly believe they are by offering 9-4 about it snowing in Manchester on the 25th.

Keep your money in your pocket - warmer weather is on the way.

One place where it won’t be snowing is South Africa where the Test series between the hosts and England is about to enter round two.

Durban stages the second Test of four, starting on Boxing Day, and if the weathermen are to be believed this game will end up in a frustrating draw.

Thunderstorms are predicted and when it rains in Durban, it comes down like stair rods.

Bearing that in mind, it is most unlikely we will get 450 overs of play - or anywhere near that amount - so Betfred’s offer of 13-10 about a stalemate is probably worth taking.

Should blue skies prevail, however, expect another close encounter between two evenly-matched sides.

Admittedly, England did their best to snatch defeat from the jaws of a draw in the first game at Centurion, but for most of the Test they gave as good as they got.

There were several positives, not least the return to form of Kevin Pietersen, the continued promise of Jonathan Trott and a terrific all-round contribution from Graeme Swann.

Friedel De Wet made an excellent debut for the Proteas and, if Dale Steyn is fit to return, I would not be surprised to see De Wet retain his place at the expense of Makhaya Ntini now that the popular, but ageing fast bowler has secured his 100th cap.

By all accounts, the ball tends to swing at Durban, so Jimmy Anderson should be a threat for England.

And if conditions are as expected, don’t be surprised to see England play a fifth bowler.

Despite the clamour to bring in Luke Wright as an all-rounder, I reckon England will go for Ryan Sidebottom, who took five wickets in the tourists’ final warm-up match and will swing the ball if the conditions are right.

Under either scenario, the man to go will surely be Ian Bell, who played as a sixth batsmen at Centurion but contributed only seven runs in two innings.

His first dismissal, bowled shouldering arms to Paul Harris, was one of the worst I have ever seen from an international batsman and could well be the defining moment - for the wrong reasons - of Bell’s career.

Pity, really, I actually think he is a class act who is capable of great things if only he can get his head right.

With the new ball likely to prevail over the bat in Durban, I believe the opening batsmen on both sides may struggle, so two men who played well in the first Test could top the run scoring charts for their countries.

Pietersen looks a sound bet at 7-2 for England, while the obdurate Jacques Kallis is first-rate value at 4-1 to be top batsman for the Proteas.


AUSTRALIA and Pakistan begin a three-Test series at Melbourne on Boxing Day (tune in to Sky Sports at midnight if you are still sober) and it’s the hosts who are overwhelming favourites at 4-7 to make a winning start.

Pakistan, who looked fairly ordinary during their recent 1-1 draw with New Zealand, are 6-1, with the draw at 11-4.


PHIL Taylor will go into the second week of the PDC World Darts Championship as the red-hot 4-11 favourite to win his 15th title.

Raymond van Barneveld looked good in his first-round victory over Warren Perry and has been cut to 10-1, a price he shares with James Wade, who takes on Steve Brown tonight.


RECOMMENDATIONS: Second Test between South Africa to end in a draw, 13-10 (Bet365), Kevin Pietersen to be top England batsman, 7-2 (Ladbrokes), Jacques Kallis to be top SA batsman, 4-1 (William Hill).