Collingwood still a good price

England's second innings collapse in Hamilton - Ian Bell apart - was a disaster for Michael Vaughan's side and their batsmen will need to step it up if they are to win this week's second Test in Wellington.

Of the performances on show in the first Test, Vaughan, Collingwood and Bell all made 50s at one stage or other, but no one looked in sensational form, leaving bet365 with a bit of a minefield of a top series batsman market.

Bell leads the way at the moment with 79, seven ahead of Vaughan, with Collingwood on 68.

But bet365, predictably, are sticking to their guns in belief that Kevin Pietersen will come good sooner or later. KP managed just 48 in the first Test but he is the 11/4 favourite to come out on top in the end.

Obviously those at the top of the order have a slightly better chance in theory as they are almost certain to bat twice, which explains why opener Alastair Cook is second favourite at 3/1, even though he managed only 51 runs in Hamilton.

Vaughan and Bell are both 7/2, Strauss, who has 45, is 11/2 and Collingwood, who played pretty well in the first innings, is 6/1.

As the first Test showed so painfully, England are still more than capable of collapsing, and when that happens, Collingwood is usually the one who has to pick up the slack. He has the patience to bat well with the tail and the class to hit the bad ball when it comes, so he is still a good bet, though the 6/1 is not quite so good as the initial 8/1 on offer when it was tipped on these pages.