England Whitewash?
England's four match Test series against Pakistan comes to a conclusion at Lord's, as spread bettors look to profit from the final game. Pakistan's spread supporters will not have fond memories of the last time their side played here, when they lost to Australia by 150 runs in July. Spread bettors hoping to buy England's win index for the final instalment will be encouraged that Pakistan have not won in their previous two visits to the home of cricket. Buyers of Pakistan's win index have to look back to 1996 to see the last time the side triumphed on this ground against England - a match they won by 164 runs.
Those punters debating whether to buy or sell England's supremacy spread should note that the most common result between the sides at Lord's is a draw - which has happened in six of the twelve meetings. Supremacy spread buyers will have noted that Waqar Younis' side lost the opening two Test matches by considerable margins. The Three Lions' won the first match by 354 runs while the second Test was settled by nine wickets. Further concern for Pakistan's spread followers is the injury to Zulqarnain Haider. The wicket-keeper has been ruled out for the remainder of the series - a blow considering he scored 88 runs in his last outing against England. Younis will now have to recall Kamram Akmal, who England's spread buyers will remember for dropping a number of chances at Trent Bridge.
Sporting Index's Volcano market (a Team A/Team B supremacy prediction on match runs) often sparks debate among spread betting enthusiasts. Spread buyers of England's Volcano supremacy in the first Test will have made healthy profit. The Three Lions scored 354 and 262/9 declared at Nottingham for an Eng/Pak Volcano make-up of 354. Anyone selling the spread might like to know that Pakistan's highest innings score against England at Lord's, 445, came the last time the sides played each other. However spread buyers will be quick to point out that Pakistan's lowest total against England at Lord's is 87 which they posted in 1954.
Kevin Pietersen found his touch again to the delight of those that bought his runs spread at Edgbaston - he scored 80 runs in the second Test. The South-African born batter's highest score at Lord's is 151 from his ten matches since 2005. Pietersen's 50-up spread was settled at 30 in the last match and spread buyers for the final Test will be interested to find his average at Lord's is 64.71 runs. Buyers looking elsewhere for player performance spreads would do well to notice Andrew Strauss; the England captain is third on the list for most runs at Lord's with 1347 and he averages 64.14.
James Anderson has enjoyed playing at Lord's down the years and his player performance spread will be of interest. The paceman has taken 33 wickets in his 8 matches at Lord's and his best innings figures currently stand at 5/42.
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