England 6/5 favourites to win NatWest Series

England are 6/5 favourites with bet365 to win the NatWest Series, which begins with a day/night match at Old Trafford on Thursday. West Indies are the outsiders at 9/4, with New Zealand second favourites at 15/8.

After New Zealand's woes in the Test series, now it's England's turn for injury worries. Their talisman Andrew Flintoff will miss the series, and Marcus Trescothick is struggling with an ankle injury. Michael Powell comes in as batting cover, with Ricky Clarke looking to fill Flintoff's size 12s. England look good at 6/5.

Meanwhile, the New Zealanders seem to be on the road to recovery. Stephen Fleming is likely to play, and even their key man Daniel Vettori has a real prospect of being involved in the series. Fleming will be keen for his side to give a good account of themselves, and with players like Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan - along with allrounders Chris Cairns and Jacob Oram - it is New Zealand who represent the best value at 15/8 in the NatWest Series winner market.

West Indies are very much an unknown quantity, in spite of England's familiarity with them during the one-day series in the Caribbean just over a month ago. Their patchy form in Ireland - they crashed to an embarrassing defeat in the second match - means that the warm-up matches aren't much value as a form guide. Chris Gayle and Brian Lara form an intimidating batting bulwark, and with the hard-hitting Dwayne Smith in the side, the white ball could be flying into the stands at regular intervals. The bowling is much more of a concern, lacking the control vital for the one-day format. West Indies are justifiably outsiders at 9/4, but could still spring a few surprises along the way.

Other markets in brief...

Top series batsman
Brian Lara is 5/1 favourite to score the most runs in the NatWest Series. Other worthwhile bets in this market include Michael Vaughan at 17/2, and Nathan Astle at 12/1. For an outside bet, why not consider Jacob Oram at 28/1.

Top series bowler
Steve Harmison stands tall at 11/2 to take most wickets during the tournament. England bowlers occupy the first four places, and with Andrew Flintoff (8/1) out, punters should cast around for other likely lads. Chris Gayle is 20/1: he was the leading wicket-taker in the recent one-dayers against England in the Caribbean, and he looks a great bet.