The Hawkeye view / Ed Hawkins / 26 November 2007 /

Cricinfo must be the first port of call when weighing up a punt on the cricket...

Cast your mind back to when you were taking a test or examination. It is to be hoped - and I'm at risk of sounding like your teacher here - that you put in some study time. After all, to do so would improve your chances of success. And there is nothing more annoying than failing to achieve simply because you could not be bothered to prepare.

What is the difference between taking an exam and having a bet? There is none. Both are a test of your knowledge and skill. Both offer results to those who put the revision time in.

However, you would be amazed at the number of people who bet on a whim, just because they "have a feeling in their bones". Far more than soap-dodging students stumbling unprepared into an exam hall. That's why traditional bookmakers stay in business.

An excuse could be that the research tools are not available. Perhaps with other sports it is valid, but not with cricket, which could have been invented for statistical boffins going boss-eyed at the sheer weight of data stored on matches and series.

Here we tell you where to do your all-important research for the most common wagers.

Match/series

Whether it is a Test or one-day series, before deciding which side to bet on you need to check which of the teams is in the best form, what the head-to-heads are and the records of the respective sides in the conditions.

The place to go is www.cricinfo.com, which has completely cornered the market in terms of cricket news, views and statistics.

In particular, the site has an option called Statsguru, which many punters believe they could not survive without.

If you want to know how England fare on the Asia sub-continent batting second under lights, chasing totals of 250 or more when captained by Michael Vaughan, Statsguru will tell you thanks to a mind-boggling array of filters. And within seconds too.

The most basic allow us to work out crucial stats like how Pakistan fare in India - they have won just two Tests out of a possible 27, vital information if you were considering backing them in the current series.

Statsguru also allows us to look at individual player records. Again all possible scenarios are covered for both Test and one-day cricket. Gems of info can be uncovered for batsmen you are considering backing or laying by looking at a player's career summary. It tells you who he is most successful against and even the bowlers who dismiss him most. Likewise for bowlers.

Top runscorers

This is perhaps the market where the most man hours are needed. I have always believed that a punter should only bet a batsman for top runs honours when three things are in place - a good record against his opponents, form at the venue and, most importantly, he is in good nick at the time.

Statsguru will tell you the first two and, to some extent, number three as well because you will be able to see his recent scores. However, there is no substitute for actually watching a player to check his timing.

It is also useful to know which player is top scoring most for a particular team so you can work out what percentage of matches he top scores and therefore whether he is value at the price. Unfortunately you will have to go through each match over the period you want to study - best not to go back years because of the player turnover - and keep a tally as you click on each scoreboard.

For series bets involving players, use the Statsguru option again which allows you to search for the series records between two teams. It will list all the contests, giving the series score, and allow you to click on to a homepage for the matches where you will find averages for batsmen and bowlers.

Lay the draw

It doesn't take a genius to work that when you want to lay the draw in a Test, best to check the number of draws at the venue in recent history. Statsguru, unsurprisingly comes to the rescue again, allowing punters to search for records at grounds.

It is also worth checking out www.cricketarchive.com which allows you to access important data like highest fourth innings totals to win, highest fourth innings totals to draw and a complete list of Tests (in chronological order so you can check the number of draws recently) much quicker than Cricinfo.

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