Australia to finish off Pakistan

Two matches down, three to go and if there is not a miracle in the third one-day international between Australia and Pakistan on Tuesday then the hosts will have wrapped up the series with two matches to spare.

Australia are just 2/5 to win the third match, but given that they have been so, so much better than Pakistan so far, they clearly have the upper hand. Pakistan remain capable of turning it on for one match, maybe two, but it's way beyond them at the moment to put it together to win a series.

More importantly, it really looks as if Pakistan have already thrown in the towel and while the series is still theoretically alive, Australia will still give their all to win this one and even 2/5 has to be a reasonable price.

Shane Watson is 3/1 favourite to top-score for Australia in Tuesday's match, with captain Ricky Ponting 7/2, with Michael Clarke and Shaun Marsh each 9/2. You can get 6/1 on Cameron White making the top score, 13/2 on it being Michael Hussey and 10/1 Adam Voges, with Brad Haddin not out of it at 12/1.

Mohammad Yousuf is 10/3 favourite to come out on top for his Pakistan side, while Younis Khan and Salman Butt make more sense at 4/1 given how attacking they are. Kamran Akmal and Imran Farhat are each 9/2, while the talented Umar Akmal is 5/1. Shoaib Malik is 6/1 and Shahid Afridi, who can smash it around, is 8/1.

Original preview
Anyone who watched the Test series between Australia and Pakistan will surely have come away with the conclusion that Pakistan are just not up to it at the moment, which doesn't bode well going into a five-match one-day series, starting on Friday

Having made a complete hash of an obvious winning position in the second Test, they capitulated, predictably, in the third thanks in no small part to their catching, which was atrocious throughout the three Tests.

Bet365 make Australia 1/3 favourites to win the series, with Pakistan 9/4. Now the Aussies are obviously worthy of favouritism but Pakistan should not be written off completely because for a start they are talented, but also because on their day they can beat absolutely anyone at one-day cricket.

Their strength is in their bowling, particularly in the variety they have, from the ability of Umar Gul to bowl superbly at the death, to the changes in pace offered by the faster men and the spin they have in their ranks.

I can see them winning one, maybe even two matches, but it's probably asking a bit much of them to put it all together three times out of five. They just don't have the consistency or the application to do it, even if they did actually win the series in Australia in 2002.

More pertinent a statistic is that they have not won a series away from home of any note since 2006 when they won in Sri Lanka. It's tough not to think that they just want to go home by this point.

Bet365 think it might be close, too, for the favourite in the correct score market is a 3-2 win for the hosts, at 21/20, closely followed by a 4-1 win, on offer at 11/5. You can then get 10/3 that Pakistan edge it 3-2, while it's just 5/1 that the Aussies sweep the series 5-0.

It's 11/1 that Pakistan win the series 4-1 and if you're a little bit crazy and think Pakistan can go on to win it 5-0, then you'll get 33/1.

Easy as 1-2-3
Picking someone to come out on top in a one-day series, in terms of top runscorer, is a pretty straightforward task, in the sense that the winner will almost always come from the top three in the batting line-up.

It stands to reason that they are the ones most likely to have the most time in the middle, so their odds are often automatically skewed. But then generally the most attacking, and often the best one-day batsmen are in the top three anyway.

Nevertheless, it's a slight surprise that bet365 make Shane Watson the favourite to come out on top, at 3/1. Watson is an attacking batsman alright, and has the benefit of opening the batting, but at 7/2, Ricky Ponting is the obvious pick. He is back in form and the chances are that one or other of Watson and Shaun Marsh (the other opener), will fall to the new ball.

Marsh is a 4/1 chance while Michael Clarke is 9/2 and Michael Hussey is 11/2. I'd rather be backing Brad Haddin at the same price because of his greater attacking nature.

For Pakistan, the returning Younis Khan is favourite at 7/2 but it's asking a lot of him to hit form immediately. Mohammad Yousuf is 4/1 but for me does not score quickly enough, while Salman Butt has more appeal at the same price. He is in great form and can plunder the attack, especially in the early overs.

Umar Akmal is tempting at 5/1, while Kamran Akmal and Imran Farhat are both 11/2 but to be honest, Salm Butt and Younis Khan, who will bat No 3, should fight it out.

As said, I fancy Pakistan to win one or maybe two matches but they won't win the series, so take Australia to win it 3-2, or 4-1, if you want to back the correct score.