No Hope of a repeat performance?

Does lightning strike twice in the world of sports betting? The answer, it would seem, is an emphatic 'no', if the pre-match odds are anything to go by ahead of the third Investec Test between England and West Indies.

A stunning West Indies win at Headingley last week left a raft of pundits and ex-pros with egg on their faces, and transformed an anticipated 3-0 whitewash into a rather more frantic fight to the finish of the Test summer.

But Bet365 are confident that order will be restored at the home of cricket this week. England are a comfortable 2/7 to seal the win that takes the series, with West Indies a more distant 9/1 to back up their earlier efforts.

The identity of the anticipated Man of the Match is another clue as to where the smart money lies. Despite his historic achievement at Headingley, where he became the first batsman in first-class history to make back-to-back hundreds in the same match at the famous old ground, Shai Hope is a distant 22/1 to pick up another match award.

Joe Root, who is gunning for a fifty-plus score in his 13th consecutive match, leads the betting at 6/1, with Ben Stokes and Alastair Cook behind him on 8/1. James Anderson, who needs three wickets to reach 500 in Tests, is 9/1.