Michael Vaughan: England to take first-innings lead as Strauss cashes in

Test previews / Michael Vaughan / 27 May 2011 / Leave a Comment

Andrew Strauss comes into this match in good nick

"I think there’s every chance that they’ll overtake Sri Lanka’s score given pretty much all their batsmen are in form and I also like the [2.0] on England scoring 475 runs or more in the first innings runs market."

An England win isn't out of the equation by any means but Andrew Strauss will have to lead by example and get a big hundred, says Michael Vaughan.

First and foremost I was glad to get a full day's action after the disappointment of losing so many overs to rain yesterday.

England bowled well at times today, certainly better than they did yesterday, but credit should also go to the Sri Lanka batsmen and in particular HAPW Jayawardene, who scored a magnificent century. Yes, the wicket played pretty well throughout much of the day but this is a player with less than 40 Tests to his name scoring a tonne in conditions he's not used to, against one of the very best bowling line-ups in the world. Give credit where it's due.

If you'd followed my advice of backing the draw at [2.6] on Wednesday afternoon and laying it at odds-on you'll already have a nice green book in front of you. But if you're planning on having your first bet of the match the best way to approach it is to back England at [4.8] and lay them off when they hit [3.0]. I think there's every chance that they'll overtake Sri Lanka's score given pretty much all their batsmen are in form and I also like the [2.0] on England scoring 475 runs or more in the first innings runs market.

We know that players like Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan can score very quickly when set. If they can lead by 75-100 runs and take an early wicket at the start of the Tourists' second innings the market may well think England have enough time to go on and win the match. The problem Andrew Strauss has is they're almost certainly going to have to try and bowl Tillekaratne Dilshan and his mates out relatively cheaply without James Anderson. He has a back and side strain and is unlikely to be able to bowl during this Test, and also the remainder of the Series. That's my big reservation as regards an England win and why I'm sticking with the back-to-lay strategy.

I've liked what I've seen of Andrew Strauss so far in this innings and I've already mentioned that in my pre-match preview that he's been in good form so far this season. At around [3.5], he looks a good wager to score a first-innings hundred as England pile on the runs on a good track.

Recommended Bets:

Back-to-lay England at [4.8]
Back England to score 475 runs or more in the first innings at [2.0]
Back Andrew Strauss to score a first innings century at [3.5]

Michael Vaughan tells us why England were right to go with Eoin Morgan over Ravi Bopara ahead of the First Test....

Michael Vaughan tells us why Andrew Strauss will be so keen to make an impact in this First Test and how Mahela Jayawardene is the obvious choice to top score for Sri Lanka in the first innings....

Former England captain Michael Vaughan gives us his take on the challenges Sri Lanka face in this Series, why Kevin Pietersen can come good this summer and how to approach the betting for the First Test....

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Michael Vaughan: Strauss and Jayawardene to shine

England Cricket / Michael Vaughan / 25 May 2011 / Leave a Comment

Mahela Jayawardene is a class act who can score heavily when set

"As for Sri Lanka, you could make a case for any of Tillekaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara or Mahela Jayawardene. They’re the class acts in this batting line-up and the ones who have previous experience of playing in conditions where the ball will swing. My preference goes for the latter of the three at [4.9]."

Michael Vaughan tells us why Andrew Strauss will be so keen to make an impact in this First Test and how Mahela Jayawardene is the obvious choice to top score for Sri Lanka in the first innings.

There will be plenty of people very keen on keeping Alastair Cook on their side after his heroics in Australia. You can't really blame them and it's pretty incredible to think that, just over a year ago, he was probably just one failure away from being dropped. The Essex man is now seen as one of the rocks in this superb England side.

After the way he batted in that England Lions Match, Eoin Morgan will be carrying some punters' money too. But my own hard-earned will be on Andrew Strauss. He'll be desperate to get this new phase of his career in which he's solely the Test captain off to the best possible start. Strauss is in pretty decent nick too, having already scored two centuries for Middlesex this season, one of which was against Sri Lanka in a warm-up match. That means he's not only had a good look at their bowling line-up, he's also taken them apart! He's the sort of captain who likes to lead by example at the top of the innings and, at [4.8], looks the outstanding choice in this market.

As for Sri Lanka, you could make a case for any of Tillekaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara or Mahela Jayawardene. They're the class acts in this batting line-up and the ones who have previous experience of playing in conditions where the ball will swing. My preference goes for the latter of the three at [4.9]. Dilshan will have the pressure of the captaincy weighing him down a bit given he's just taken up the role, not to mention the fact he'll have to face a new ball that may be moving around early on. Sangakkara bats at three so he might have to face a swinging ball too and I've seen him struggle in the past when that's been the case. I've said already that batting might get easier as the match progresses so because of his class and the fact he'll come in at four, I'm siding with Jayawardene.

Recommended Bets:

Back Andrew Strauss to be first innings top England batsman at [4.8]
Back Mahela Jayawardene to be first innings top Sri Lankan batsman at [4.9]

Michael Vaughan tells us why England were right to go with Eoin Morgan over Ravi Bopara ahead of the First Test....

Former England captain Michael Vaughan gives us his take on the challenges Sri Lanka face in this Series, why Kevin Pietersen can come good this summer and how to approach the betting for the First Test....

Betfair is delighted to announce that Michael Vaughan has signed up to become our full-time cricket ambassador....

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