/ Jaymes Monte / 14 July 2009 /

In years to come when people ask me what my lingering memory of the first ever test match on Welsh soil is, it won't be Paul Collingwood's dogged resilience or Monty Panesar's unexpected capacity to manage to hold a cricket bat for 11 overs. It will be that bloody close up of the Sophia Gardens wicket. Every time it appeared I thought we'd lost a wicket and there was an ad break for the latest cereal bar. It's no wonder Graeme Swann couldn't get the ball to turn; you try bowling onto a Weetabix!

Here's a fibresome, wholesome, less than five calorie treble to get your teeth into....

Bet 1: Cricket - Ashes 2nd Test

Sport possesses an uncanny ability to send one group of fans into jubilation and the other to despair despite the spoils being shared. A last minute equaliser in football is a prime example, Sunday's final wicket stand between Panesar and Anderson is cricket's illustration.

England can take encouragement into the second test whereas the Australians will need to shake off any regrets about not seeing the job through in Cardiff. However, the fact that the second test is at Lord's, where England haven't beaten the Aussies since 1934, should provide a reality check for the hosts.

With the Lord's pitch likely to favour seam Steve Harmison has been added to the squad, and I wouldn't be surprised if either he or Graham Onions were involved, possibly at the expense of Monty Panesar.

England's poor record at Lord's means a draw would appeal more to the hosts than the tourists. And with their seeming inability to take 20 wickets mean that it may be the best they can hope for.

Selection: Back The Draw @ [2.2] (England v Australia, 2nd Test)

Bet 2: Football - Europa League

Last week I suggested that Motherwell weren't up to the task of Europa League football, and that manager Jim Gannon could do without the distraction. I was wrong.

The greatly altered Motherwell squad made the journey to Wales to take on Llaneli and put in an extremely professional performance. A 3-0 victory in the match resulted in a 3-1 aggregate win and ultimately progression to the second qualifying round. On Thursday they will make their first overseas trip of the season to take on Albanian side Flamurtari.

Similarly to Motherwell, the Albanian side qualified for this competition via success in the national cup competition and only managed a mid table league position. They have only made it past their first game of a European competition once in seven attempts and there is nothing here to suggest that they will make it two out of eight.

If they can put in the same professional display as they did against Llaneli this should be another comfortable victory for the Scottish side.

Selection: Back Motherwell to beat Flamurtari @ [2.2]

Bet 3: Golf - The Open

The most coveted players in golf descend on the West coast of Scotland and more specifically Turnberry, to contest for the Claret jug this week. All the talk will be of whether Tiger Woods can recapture his form on the biggest stage, as he finds himself in the unfamiliar position of holding none of the four major titles.

On a course that has only been used as an Open venue three times in the past, this will be the first time that most of the field have competed on the course. If Greg Norman could reproduce his form of last year's competition he would fancy his chances of repeating his 1986 victory there, but the odds of [520.00] or more than reflective of the chances of lightning striking twice.

Padraig Harrington was the man to derail Norman's fairy tale dream last year and at the same time joined the select group of men who have won the Open more than once. Since the turn of the year however, the Irishman's form has gone from bad to worse. When he missed the cut in the French Open two weeks ago it became the fifth tournament in a row that he had done so, equalling the number Tiger Woods has failed to make in his entire career.

Betfair has offered up the opportunity to pit two Irishmen together in the form of Rory McIlroy and Padraig, and given the recent form of both players it's a no brainer on who should be backed with both players at similar odds.

Selection: Back McIlroy to have a better tournament result than Harrington @ [1.9]

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