Batting concerns lengthen England's odds

Vaughan & Fletcher will be looking for a solid display from the England batsmen to set up a series win in Pakistan © Getty Images

Whether it was Michael Vaughan´s knee injury or the poor efforts of the rest of the England batsmen in the opening two tour games, the bookmakers have lengthened the tourists to come away from Pakistan with victory in the three-Test series.

Having originally installed England as 6/5 (2.20) favourites, bet365 now make them 11/8 (2.37) to win it and there is every chance they could drift even further before the first Test, which begins in Multan on Saturday.

The home side have been cut from 7/4 (2.75) to 8/5 (2.60) to win the series, while the draw, which has to be a strong chance given that three of the seven series have finished 0-0, is likely to get plenty of interest at 5/2 (3.50). In fact, there has never been more than one match in the series between the two in Pakistan.

Indeed, a 1-1 series result remains the favourite, though it has drifted slightly, from 3/1 (4.00) to 100/30 (4.33), while a 0-0 is a relative outsider at 10/1 (11.00). England are 9/2 (5.50) to win 1-0, as they did in 1961/2 and last time round in 2000. It's 11/2 (6.50), from 5/1 (6.00), that they win 2-0, while if you fancy a whitewash, it's 12/1 (13.00) for England and 22/1 (23.00), from 25/1 (26.00) that Pakistan win the lot.

The favourite Pakistan scoreline, if you think they can win it, is 1-0, at 11/2 (6.50), from 6/1 (7.00), as they did in 1983/4 and 1987/8.

The draw is the obvious favourite for the opening Test in Multan, at 23/20 (2.15), from 11/10 (2.10), mainly because only four of the 21 Tests between the two sides, on Pakistani soil, have produced a result. Fragile batting performances may change that, but at the moment, England are 11/5 (2.20), from 21/10 (2.10) to take an early lead. Pakistan are now 9/4 (3.25), from 5/2 (3.50) outsiders to take a lead to Faislabad for the second Test.

In Multan, Pakistan have won two of the three matches there, but that is not overly impressive when you consider that they were both against Bangladesh and that they lost to India last time out. They have won 51 of 138 Tests on home soil and lost just 21, while England have only ever won two Tests in Pakistan.