Stokes the best value as England seek series win

In a reflection of the strides they made in last week's agonising defeat in Chittagong, Bangladesh's odds to secure a Test victory over England have been hacked back from 13/2 ahead of the first Test to 9/2 ahead of tomorrow's second at Dhaka, by the bookmakers at Bet365.

That doesn't mean Bangladesh are anything close to being favourites, however. England remain a meagre 7/10 to extend their record against Bangladesh to ten wins out of ten, even though they came within 22 runs of suffering a huge embarrassment.

The man who did the most to rescue England's record remains one of the best bets going into the Dhaka Test. One of the features of the Chittagong match was the frailty of the top order, particularly against the spinners armed with the new ball. It was the middle order who bailed the team out - in particular Ben Stokes, who made 103 runs in the match including a vital 85 not out in the second innings.

He is 6/1 to be England's top scorer once again, which is definitely worth a punt, especially if Alastair Cook (3/1) doesn't rediscover his best touch after missing the warm-ups to attend the birth of his first child. He made 16 runs in total in the first Test, although he will presumably be better prepared for his second outing of the winter.

Bangladesh's middle order is also a solid source of value. Mushfiqur Rahim was in fine touch for his scores of 48 and 39 at Chittagong, and he and Shakib Al Hasan are both 5/1 to be Bangladesh's top scorer. Don't ignore the claims of Sabbir Rahman either. He was a revelation on debut, making a valiant half-century that all but sealed victory for his team. He may come in late in the order at No.7, but 7/1 for a man in form is worth a thought.