England a must at tasty 11-4

SPORTS BETTING:


WHAT a turnaround! Yes, we did recommend England to win the second Test at 5-1 last week, but did anyone really see a 10-wicket victory coming?

The match in Mumbai proved what I suspected having watched the first game – India are no more than an average side and England are much better than they showed in Ahmedabad.

In fact, our boys looked a class above their hosts and it will be fascinating to what happens in the third Test in Kolkata next Wednesday.

Will India instruct the groundsman to produce another big turner – a dangerous ploy with Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann around – or will they go for a more conventional Test-match track: one that helps the seamers early on and the spinners as the match develops?

I will be watching the Indian camp with just as much interest as England’s but from our perspective, it would initially seem folly to change a winning team.

That said, pace bowler Stuart Broad has been so ineffective that he has to go, hopefully to be replaced by a fit-again Steven Finn. If not, then Tim Bresnan must come in.

This Test could go either way, but England do have momentum and 11-4 for a second successive victory is extremely generous

India are 11-8 – which is way too short – while the draw is 7-4.

These odds make little sense so price-driven punters like myself have no alternative but to back the outsider of three.



GOLF’S Nedbank Challenge starts in South Africa tomorrow with Lee Westwood going for his third successive victory following an eight-stroke win in 2010 and two-shots success last year.

With that course form to his name, he would normally be an obvious bet at 4-1 in this small field, but his recent form has been poor and the likes of Justin Rose and Louis Oosthuizen (both 9-2) are upwardly mobile and far more likely to show their true colours.

That said, I can’t help thinking that Peter Hanson is a decent bet at 14-1.

It’s less than a month since he beat Rory McIlroy by a shot to win the BMW Masters in Shanghai, and while he does not have experience of this course, he is confident and on top of his game.



THE 12 candidates for the BBC Sports Personality of The Year were revealed on Monday and it is no surprise to see cycling superstar Bradley Wiggins as the bookies’ hot favourite at 2-5.

Double Olympic champion Mo Farah is 5-1 with tennis ace Andy Murray 10-1 and athletics golden girl Jessica Ennis 12s.

Any of these would be worthy winners in a normal year, but I suspect the bookies have got it right and Wiggins will win by some distance.



RECOMMENDATIONS: England to win third Test, 11-4 (general); Peter Hanson to win Nedbank Challenge, 14-1 (general).