Monte's Multiple / Jaymes Monte / 31 March 2009 /

"When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom, Let it Be." - John, Paul, George and the other one.

Mother Mary came to me in my time of trouble and she spoke these words of wisdom...

Bet One: Snooker - China Open
The snooker season is drawing to a close, but not before the China Open and the World Championships next month. The world's best are out in Beijing this week where the sport is certainly at its most popular. Whilst sponsorship deals and popularity dwindles in the UK, the players are treated like megastars in the Far East.

It's been a good start for the locals, as five of the seven Chinese wild card entries have progressed in to the first round proper of the tournament. However, the competition starts in earnest now with the snooker elite joining the stage.

In a tournament that has so far been littered with early round shocks, I'm plumping for another one the first round tomorrow. Robert Milkins has already played two qualifying matches this week and can hit the ground running when he comes up against Stephen Hendry in round one.
Milkins beat local favourite Liang Wenbo on Monday, then Welsh Open finalist Joe Swail on Tuesday to secure his match up against the seven time World Champion. Hendry has looked a shadow of his former self in recent tournaments failing to make it past the first stage of any event since the Bahrain Championships back in November.

Selection: Back Robert Milkins @ [2.4]


Bet Two: Darts - Premier League
James Wade's five game winning streak came to an end last Thursday as he shared the points with John Part in a nip and tuck battle. Amazingly not one leg went against the throw throughout the match and there was only a 0.05 difference in the two players' three dart average.
His opponent this week is Mervyn King who put an end to his own mini dip in form with an 8-2 victory over Wayne Mardle. Wade will have a point to prove after King smashed him 8-1 in their earlier encounter in the league, but he may have difficulty doing so. The King appears to have found his 'A-game' again, he made a perfect nine darter in a PDC pro tour event on Saturday, before coming a cropper against Phil Taylor in the quarter-finals. What was more impressive was that the tournament was staged in freezing cold conditions meaning King is thought to be the first player to make a nine-darter in competition whilst wearing a jumper!
I'd be surprised if we saw a repeat of the score line from when these two players first met in the league, but I do expect King to come away with at least a point.
Selection: Lay James Wade @ [2.1]


Bet Three: Cricket - England v West Indies
Two men who will undoubtedly now appear on Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower 's Christmas card list are Franck Duckworth and Tony Lewis. These two men's names seem to be the most prominent where England have obtained any type of victory in the Caribbean and their scoring system has given them a chance of winning the five match ODI series. A chance that I don't think they will take.
As well as the Duckworth-Lewis method there were a couple of other contentious decisions which helped England on their merry way to victory. Flintoff took a catch off Kieron Pollard on the boundary rope but the umpires deemed that the batsman should walk, despite replays showing the rope moving. Had a six been awarded and the big hitting Pollard stayed at the crease the West Indies could have posted a much bigger target.
There was also another decision that went the way of the tourist when an edge from Andrew Strauss was deemed not to have carried to wicket keeper Denesh Ramdin. Strauss went on to make his 79 from 61 balls and win England the game.
Despite a combination of litigious decisions and the Duckworth-Lewis method seemingly being the only way England can get a result in this series, the hosts are still available at [1.9]. A back of the West Indies at that price screams out as value to me.
Selection: Back West Indies @ [1.9]

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