Bell and Anderson could come good

If England are to win the forthcoming one-day series in New Zealand, the chances are that their big players will need to perform at or close to their best, which means Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood will take most of the strain.

Pietersen is obviously the stand-out batsman in the England team and it's no surprise to see him installed as the strong favourite to finish as his side's top runscorer in the series, with bet365 making him 2/1.

The Hampshire man has a habit of stringing centuries together, particularly in one-day cricket and will be keen to get back on track after a disappointing recent effort in Sri Lanka.

If he gets his act together, he is the obvious man to come out on top, not least because his one-day average of just under 50 puts him right up there with the world's best. He should love the conditions and with no Shane Bond to give them real pace, the New Zealand attack is pretty toothless.

If he doesn't perform, then Alastair Cook, Bell and Collingwood are all in with a chance. Bet365 can't really split them, making them all 4/1 to finish on top of the pile. Of those three, I think Bell is the man to go for. He seems to be growing in confidence all the time and though his one-day record is not up to the standards of his Test form, he has room for improvement and more potential than the others.

Behind them, Phil Mustard is next at 9/1, Owais Shah is 11/1 and Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright are 14/1 and Dimitri Mascarenhas is 25/1.

Who can swing it England's way?
England's bowling attack looks on the weak side, but Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad and James Anderson will not be found wanting in terms of effort.

Sidebottom is the perhaps surprising favourite at 2/1, while Broad is 11/4 and Anderson, the most experienced of the three, a 3/1 shot. Anderson has the ability to get plenty of wickets, particularly in the one-day game, and he could be good value, especially as a good effort in the series could force his way into the reckoning for a Test place.

Graeme Swann is an 11/2 chance but is unlikely to get that many wickets, in my opinion at least, and Chris Tremlett, who may not be first-choice, is 15/2.

If I had to pick one each, though, from the batsmen and bowlers, I'd go for Bell and Anderson to have a good series.