There is one more set of markets to look at ahead of The Ashes kicking off on Thursday and that is what we will call the side markets, where the obscure and the almost normal are priced up with various lines depending on where you shop.
We’re taking about player series runs, player series wickets, highest and lowest scores, highest scoring ground, and things like that. Depending on where you bet there are plenty of offerings to go at and we like three of them here.
Highest Individual Score
A few bookmakers have a market up for what the highest individual score will be in the series with lines ranging from 170 to 188.5 and it is the latter which interests me because I think it is miles too high. In terms of genuinely good batting tracks we’ve only got two in this series in Old Trafford and The Oval.
That means in all likelihood we only have six innings to worry about as surely no score of this kind is getting hit in the final innings of the match as there won’t be enough runs to chase. I’m expecting tired wickets and with poor batting line ups and decent bowling attacks I just don’t see this getting covered because unless an opener gets it, which is unlikely, everyone else will soon start running out of partners.
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All Tests to finish before Day 5
Simple yes or no to this one and I’m firmly in the camp of the yes as in I don’t see any Test match finishing on the final day. I genuinely think that realistically only rain will force a final day here because I don’t see too many innings in this series going beyond the 90 over mark. There just isn’t enough class on show with the bat.
Admittedly rain can come along at any point in late August and September but the earlier in comes that can be made up. We saw the Test with Ireland never threatening a fourth day last week let alone a fifth one had one been available. Overhead conditions at Edgbaston, Lord’s and Headingley will see them matches over long before a fifth day while there’s been a lot of cricket at Old Trafford and The Oval so those wickets will be tired. I’m happy to take on the weather at 9/1.
Ground with the most runs
This market is pretty simple to explain too. It is simply the ground which stages the Test match with the highest amount of runs. Edgbaston would normally have been my selection for this sort of market but the place was under water less than 48hrs before the match so I’m expecting a slow wicket where the ball doesn’t really come onto the bat which negates easy run scoring. I can’t be having Lord’s or Headingley because there is too much chance of a period of cloud cover which brings the bowlers right into the game there.
That leaves us with The Oval and Old Trafford and I’m going to plump with the latter at a decent price. By the time we get to The Oval injuries will have hit and we might be getting some fresher bowlers to limit the run scoring. You could legitimately argue that Old Trafford is the best batting track in the country right now and if there is a huge innings I expect it to be here. At 7/1 I’ll take the Manchester track to be the highest scoring ground.
Tips
Back Highest Individual Score – Under 188.5 runs for a 5/10 stake at 1.80 with 888sport
Back it here:
Back No Test Match to finish on Day 5 for a 1/10 stake at 10.00 with Betfair
Back it here:
Back Old Trafford Ground with the most runs for a 1/10 stake at 8.00 with Sky Bet
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