England scent whitewash as Australia search for answers

Stock up on Dulux and creosote the fence. There's a whitewash looming in the fifth ODI between England and Australia at Old Trafford. And if the odds-setters at Bet365 are any indication, there's not a lot of prospect of it not occurring.

England are 2/5 to seal their fifth win of the series, with Australia a slightly more generous 2/1 to avoid it. But the evidence of the first four matches is that not even Australia's best efforts are likely to derail a team with quite so much power and confidence to fall back on.

And that is reflected in the market for the individual honours. Each of the first five picks for Man of the Match are English - with Joe Root leading the odds at 8/1, despite having had a reasonably quiet time of it while his bigger-hitting colleagues have taken centre stage.

The best-priced Aussies come in at 14/1, including Aaron Finch, whose century at Durham was, remarkably, his sixth in ODIs against England - no player has managed more. But it will surely need some more support from his team-mates if he is to translate his form into a consolation win.

It's not really a contest in the sixes market either. England are 4/6 to top that table; Australia are a distant 13/8. Buckle up!