England an outside bet for Colombo

If England win the third Test against Sri Lanka it will be against the odds according to bet365's latest markets. England are 9/2 to win the match and the series. A third draw is favourite at evens, with Sri Lanka 13/10.

In the deciding fixture in England's 2000-2001 tour of Sri Lanka it was an unbeaten Graham Thorpe hundred that laid the foundations for the England reply. This time round, Thorpe is 7/2 favourite alongside skipper Michael Vaughan. Marcus Trescothick's lack of runs has meant that he has slipped down the pecking order, and is available at 4/1 to top-score in the England first innings. He has looked fluent in the series to date but weight of runs has eluded him so far - could this Test match see form finally turn into runs? After a similar slump in the summer series against South Africa, Trescothick fought back in the final Test with a superb double-hundred so a repeat of this could be on the cards.

Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff also represent good value at 10/1. Collingwood has been instrumental in both of England's draws so far and if his steady progress in the one-day game is anything to go by he could be on the brink of a big innings. Flintoff has disappointed so far with the bat, but you never know when he will come off, so a 10/1 price remains attractive.

For Sri Lanka, Mahela Jayawardene is a good bet at 4/1. His return to form in this series has been a welcome boost to Sri Lanka. Tillakaratne Dilshan had a productive comeback at Galle - he was 14/1 to be top batsman there - and comes in to 6/1 for Columbo.