Live Test Match Blogging / Ed Hawkins / 31 July 2008 / 2

England failed again with the bat on the first day, can Sidebottom, Flintoff, Anderson and Panesar pull us back into the game? Ed Hawkins keeps you updated throughout the day with betting hits. You can contact Ed at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk

18.25 SA 256-6 BAD LIGHT STOPPED PLAY
Flintoff has given England a good chance in this match. His brilliant and brutal spell of fast-bowling after the rain break was worth two wickets and his duel with Kallis will be long-remeMbered. SA are [1.59] to lay, which seems awfully short given they lead by 25 runs and will have to bat last here. We'll see what the feeling is tomorrow before taking that option.

18.20 SA 255-6
Flintoff only has to get one of his fast yorkers straight and Boucher is a dead man. Well, not quite but you know what I mean. He cannot see the ball because it is coming from above the sightscreen. Twice now he has not seen it.

18.12 SA 239-6
Flintoff strikes again. His fourth. DeVilliers the man to go, caught at deep square hooking. What on earth is he doing playing a shot like that at this stage? England in to [4.2]. Not far off the price that they started this Tes.

17.50 SA 226-5
Absorbing cricket. Absorbing. Flintoff has castled Kallis with an inswinging yorker. Reminiscent of the over he bowled at Ricky Ponting from the very same end in 2005. Really he had him twice with the leg before shout. It was exactly the same delivery but this time Kallis didn't get a toe on it. England have had their fires stoked by Flintoff. They are hot, hot, hot.

17.45 SA 223-4
Kallis has somehow survived a huge leg before appeal from Andrew Flintoff. It was out. Simple as that. England have had some poor decisions in this series but that is the worst. As Mr Boycott would say "that's missing leg, missing off and hitting middle". Incredible decision by Umpire Dar.

17.38 SA 212-4
Uses for Collingwood No. 2
Roadsweeper. He's always trying to whip everything away to the legside with a dominant bottom hand. It's a crucial skill for street cleaners up and down the land. He could be one of the greatest we have seen. His ultimate test would be the London Marathon. Not running it but sweeping all those bottles up afterwards.

17.26 SA 205-4
We're back. Kallis and Prince - who have put on 70 - are making their way to the crease. Not sure how long they'll be out there for, though because the light ain't great. The draw priced has shifted out to [3.80] which is slightly annoying because we were hoping to lay sub [3.00] tonight. A wicket could be just around the corner because both these batsmen will feel as though they are starting their innings again. An opportunity for England.

17.15 PLAY SET TO RESUME
The umps reckon we'll have play at 17.25.

17.00 RAINING
Bored. Mind you, England won't be. They're probably playing a game or something. Buckaroo or Jenga. The sort which requires absolutely no skill whatsoever. They'd be good at that. On that point, have you seen how well the Brit Insurance chap hits the ball during the sponsorship ad break? Get him in the team I say.

16.28 SA 205-4 RAIN STOPPED PLAY
This bit of rain should mean when they come out again we could be 20 wicketless minutes from laying the draw. It is currently [3.40].

16.00 SA 205-4
At the break we are not far off from having our wicked way with the draw price. It is currently [3.60] but hit [3.40] briefly. With SA trailing by only 26 runs, it's a bonkers situation.

15.45 SA 198-4
Mahavir has asked "at what rate should we back or lay something." Patience, my friend. I'm keeping a close eye on the draw price and we are not far off from laying it again. At [3.90] it is getting too short for my liking. The Sky commentators keep saying this is an easy pitch to bat on but 14 wickets in two days suggest otherwise. It might be a little two-paced. If we could get the lay price to under [3.00] it could be fill your boots time.

15.15 SA 178-4
Okay, I'm going to own up. I didn't come up with the question for today's quiz. It was Beaver, who emailed this nice story. "I was playing in a friendly game in Essex the other week (kept like a dream - stumping and catch standing up to the boss' medium pace stuff, that's the way to get in the good books!) and Neil Burns (ex Essex, Leics, Somerset), was in the slips. He was talking about stats. Burns said he wasn't a fan but did say he liked the fact that Darren Maddy had taken more first-class five-wicket hauls than Andrew Flintoff."

14.55 SA 158-4
Other uses for Paul Collingwood No. 1
Colly, with his bright orange head, could be placed on cliffs around the UK's coastline to be used as a beacon to warn ships of treacherous rocks or sandbanks. He would have to swivel around quite a lot, but the way he has been getting squared up recently, twisting his body this way and that, it shouldn't be a problem.

14.20 SA 135-4
England have themselves two quick wickets. Neil McKenzie is the man to go, which is better than removing Jacques Kallis because they now have two fresh batsmen at the crease. Is an England comeback in the air? Or is it rain? The market says comeback with England as short as [4.50]

14.15 SA 127-3
Paul Collingwood earlier shelled a relatively simple chance afforded to him from Neil McKenzie's bat. Andrew Flintoff was the bowler. Collingwood is having an awful game, having batted like a blind man in the first innings. He said the axe hurt when it fell at Headingley but it will hurt twice as much when it comes at The Oval and ends his Test career. It begs the question if Colly knew he was in such awful form, why would he risk potentially ending his Test career by not telling the selectors he was not in good enough form? He could have gone away, found it again and had a much better chance of winning his place back. Selfish, too when filling such a vital role in the side. He's supposed to be a team man, too. Send me your emails on your thoughts on what better use Collingwood can be to this country hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk

14.00 SA 117-3
Tremendous piece of work from James Anderson to remove Hashim Amla (9). He dived at full stretch to grab a caught and bowled chance with one hand. If England could get another quick one now, they might have a squeak. Jacques Kallis is the new batsman.

13.50 SA 109-2
So I counted up all the sessions South Africa have won in a row. Basically it is all of them since the start of day four at Lord's. When we think of it like that we can't really be surprised to see England struggling so badly. Yes, Test series have a habit of ebbing and flowing, particularly ones involving these two sides, but sometimes one has to recognise a team is vastly superior to another. That is what we are seeing. My word, I am regretting tipping England in this Test.

13.05 SA 104-2
South Africa win another session to go with the three they won yesterday. During the break I'll add up the sessions South Africa have now won consecutively. The tourists are as short as [1.2] which is fair considering they trail by only 127 runs.

12.50 SA 94-2
Paul Harris' vigil has come to an end. Sidebottom had him edge one to Alastair Cook who pouched like an OAP traps a wantaway biscuit in his lap. But so what? It was a meaningless wicket thanks to him lasting for 54 vital balls. The market has not moved a decimal.

12.39 SA 86-1
Sky have just shown a graphic highlighting the wayward fare on offer from James Anderson. In conditions such as these, bowlers have to hit the top of off stump. Anderson has managed one ball. None of you have managed the answer to today's quiz. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Darren Maddy is the answer. He has five first-class five-wicket hauls compared to Flintoff's three.

12.13 SA 67-1
The 50-run partnership between McKenzie and nightwatchman Paul Harris highlights England's ineffectiveness this morning. It's official now. They are bowling terribly. Initially they could say they were warming up but they are not making the batsmen play enough. More worryingly, no-one has managed to get the quiz question right. Which former England batsman, who played three Tests, and is still playing county cricket, has taken two more first-class five-wicket hauls than Andrew Flintoff? I'll give you a clue, Edgbaston is his home ground. hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk

12.05 SA 60-1
England thought they had Neil McKenzie. A genuine edge from Andrew Flintoff into the hands of Andrew Strauss at slip. But Strauss wasn't so sure. The television replays confirmed that the ball had bounced before he caught it. Good honesty from Strauss because McKenzie was walking. The longer England go without a breakthrough, the further slip from getting a foothold in this series.

11.45 SA 51-1
They are playing again, which has rendered my quiz useless. We're still going to have it though. The thirst for learning is never quenched. So, here it is: which former England batsman, who played three Tests, and is still playing county cricket, has taken two more first-class five-wicket hauls than Andrew Flintoff? Answers to hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk Your prize will be a hearty "well done".

11.28 SA 51-1
Short and sweet. The rain has curtailed play again. There were good signs for layers of SA with England swinging the ball nicely, although their direction left a little to be desired. The tourists have shortened quite considerably from before play began to [1.23]. That is probably down to the fact that the teams were able to get onto the park. I shall go away and come up with a quiz to keep us all occupied while the rain falls.

11.15 SA 38-1
The start has been delayed at Edgbaston - a miserable mixture of rain and bad light. We are underway now. I have had an email from Dilip Singh who has posed: "At present rate SA seems to be a good lay bet. Considering the weather, the swing and later they may have to play a fourth innings against Monty." Correct Dilip, although I am very wary about laying a team on the basis of a bit of rain around. I don't think that will make much difference. This may be punters' only opportunity to lay South Africa because if they bat well today, England will be as good as out of this match. If you do lay Graeme Smith's men be aware that you will be relying on England's bowlers swinging the ball. Conditions are overcast enough to suggest they should be capable of that and they have a walking wicket in Paul Harris to aim at first up. A better bet may be laying SA at [1.31] on the series outright market because essentially this innings could dictate the rest of the series. If England bowl SA out for something near parity they should go on to win the game because of the Monty factor in the fourth innings. Then the series is level at 1-1 with a match on a flat, flat, flat Oval wicket to come.

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(2)

1. mahavir | 31 July 2008

   Dear Mr. Hawkins
   As per ur advice no bet placed yesterday. Waiting for the right moment from ur end.

   Which team and at what odds we should bet

   Thanks

2. mahavir | 31 July 2008

   at what rate we should back or lay something

   Thanks

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