Monte's Multiple / Jaymes Monte / 17 March 2009 /

Even the best got it wrong in the beginning; Einstein once famously stated 'There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.' H.M. Warner suggested 'Who wants to hear actors talk?' and even Vincent van Gogh wasn't appreciated until after he died.

So there you go, I can now class myself in the same category as Einstein and van Gogh. Quite an accolade I'm sure you would agree! This week its cricket, football and darts and I am half expecting a phone call from Andrew Strauss on Friday evening to thank me personally for recording his first win as England captain. Here's why.

Bet 1: Cricket - W. Indies v England - 1st ODI

The ODI series between West Indies and England begins on Friday at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

After yet another poor performance from England in the Twenty20 match at the weekend, they have now failed to beat an International side in any format of the game since 31st August 2008. Results are now (if they weren't already) visibly starting to take their toll on the players and the team morale.

There were confrontations in the T20 match on Sunday between James Anderson and Owais Shah, and although minor, they were significant in their emergence. It shows that all is not well in the camp and that the players are not all necessarily pulling in the same direction.
With Chris Gayle back in the squad and Dwayne Bravo set to play his first ODI since July 2008 the hosts look well set to continue where they left off in the T20 match and take an early lead in the series.

Add to the above the fact that England are priced up as very slight favourites and a back of the W. Indies screams out as a value bet for me.

Selection: Back W. Indies @ [2.04]

Bet 2: Football - English Championship

The Championship play-off push is entering the home straight and as is traditional with English football's second tier, more than half the league have at worst, a slim chance of clinching a place.

Cardiff currently occupy sixth position and the final play-off place, and they have their exemplary home record to thank for that. In their final full season at Ninian Park - before moving across the road to a new state-of-the-art stadium - the Bluebirds have made their home patch into that mother of all footballing clichés - a fortress. They have won eleven of their seventeen home games and lost just two, those losses coming against the teams currently occupying the top two positions in the league.

Watford are the visitors on Wednesday night and they bring with them a poor away, record reading twelve losses from eighteen games. Despite a recent upturn in fortunes the results that they have been picking up have been against the teams around them towards the foot of the table.
Cardiff need to maintain their home form to secure a play-off spot and manager Dave Jones will be more than aware of that.

Selection: Back Cardiff @ [1.8]

Bet 3: Darts - Premier League

The world of darts never fails to keep you on your toes. Last week amid the flurry of arrer flinging we had an onstage interview with Ricky Hatton sporting a shell suit three sizes too big for him and a flower pot hat.

Hard-core darts fans could be forgiven for thinking : what is this well toned, muscular athlete doing on my darts stage? However he did come up with one comment worth taking note of, 'in darts, anyone can beat anyone on their day'. True Mr Hatton, very true, but there are players who haven't been on 'their day' for a prolonged period of time and it is to these players we most look to with a view to opposing them.

Mervyn King versus Terry Jenkins is a matchup between players of contrasting recent fortunes. King remains top of the Premier League table despite being defeated by Barney last week, who was back to his very best. By contrast, his opponent on Thursday night, Jenkins , has failed to record a victory in the league this year.

We seem to be getting an inflated price on King this week due to his withdrawal from a tournament at the weekend through illness. But the wonders of modern medicine should take care of that and he is expected to be back to full 'fitness' by Thursday. Plus, with a packed house full of Mervyn fans eager to support their King, he'll put any feelings of minor illness to one side for the night in a bid to put in a strong performance. Any other week King should be [1.5] at best in my opinion, so at [1.9] it's a must back.

Selection: Back Mervyn King @ 1.9

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