Ashes Diary / Ed Hawkins / 15 December 2010 /

With England expected to dominate in Perth, Ed Hawkins comes up with some betting alternatives if you are a little tired of the one-sided nature of the series

The Ashes action so far has been rather anti-climactic, unless you have had your house on England winning the series. Competition, in any area, seems in short supply. It is not just from Australians where we are hoping to see some fight.

It is a relief that the third Test match-odds remain oddly competitive. England should be out of sight by now and the search for value elsewhere would be underway. If, as expected, England continue to dominate at the Waca, then the Ashes will have been retained - so closing off another punting option - and they will be sub [1.20] to win the series.

Competitive heats remain however on the long-term top bats and bowlers markets. We have already discussed why Ryan Harris, the Australian bustler, is value to finish as Australia's top wicket-taker here. There are potential wagers on the three remaining sections - England's top batsman, top bowler and top Australian.

Top England batsman, on the face of it, looks dead, too. But even though Alastair Cook is a whopping 223 runs ahead of the second-placed Kevin Pietersen, it is a margin that KP in his pomp could chase down.

Cook is [1.42] to top the charts with Pietersen [6.40]. Okay, we would probably like close to [7.00] but Pietersen, such is the swagger with which he is batting at the moment, has a record of being like the Ariston man when in such nick. He goes on, and on, and on. Cook less so.

The left-handed opener has a tendency to score his runs at the start of a tour, rather than at the end and there is also the nagging doubt that sometime, surely, Australia will work out a way to expose his lack of technique outside off stump.

The top England wicket-taker market is dramatically - okay, a little OTT but there has been decent money staked - tight. Graeme Swann, who went off around even money, now trades at [1.74]. But he is not in the lead. Steven Finn is level pegging the spinner on nine wickets each.

Finn has been the surprise package. Nobody expected him to do so well. Nobody expects him to continue to do well. At [5.70] faith in short supply. But should we be so quick to write him off? The next two Tests - Perth and Melbourne - are expected to suit him more than Swann. Swannupmanship anyone?

There are three candidates vying for top Aussie bat. Mike Hussey (340 runs) looks to have it sewn up at [1.70], with Brad Haddin next best on 204 runs and Shane Watson third on 185. Haddin is as big as [13.00], though and in a scenario where Hussey fails and the keeper narrows the gap, he could trade at half that. Look at Watson's price for confirmation. He's [6.60].

So a nice little trade to keep the interest going, if the small hours and repetitive sound of Aussie heads against a brick wall is beginning to tire.

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