England odds-on for 2nd Twenty20

England outplayed New Zealand in the first of the two Twenty20 matches on Tuesday and bet365 now make them odds-on to do the same in the second match, to be played in Christchurch on Thursday.

Having said that it was not worth betting on these two matches, England showed enough in the opening match to suggest that they can indeed go on to win on Thursday, particularly against a hotch-potch of a New Zealand side missing captain Daniel Vettori.

Jacob Oram did his best to win it on his own with a strong innings late on but the damage had already been done at the top of the order and England were always in control.

With Oram out of the second match through injury, bet365 have cut England to 4/7 (1.57) to win Thursday's second and final match and give them a nice confidence boost going into the one-day series. New Zealand are 5/4 (2.25).

The top batting markets are not too dissimilar from those for the first match, which means top billing for Kevin Pietersen, who rewarded backers by top-scoring in the first game.

Pietersen is 3/1 favourite to produce a repeat performance, while Alastair Cook is 4/1 and Ian Bell a 9/2 chance. Makeshift opener Phil Mustard is 5/1, with captain Paul Collingwood and Luke Wright both 11/2. Owais Shah is 13/2 and Dimitri Mascarenhas, who hit four straight sixes in match one, is a 7/1 bet.

Brendon McCullum again tops the New Zealand list, at 4/1, with Scott Styrios just behind at 9/2. Jamie How and Ross Taylor are both 5/1.

Twenty20 matches are more difficult to predict than any other form of international cricket, but I'd be surprised if England don't win this one.