England on verge of victory

England dominated things again on day four of the second and final Test in Durham on Sunday and it seems that they will go on to win the match and seal a 2-0 series triumph, so long as the weather holds, that is.

Much will depend on how long Shivnarine Chanderpaul stays at the crease but it's asking an awful lot for him to stay there all the way through, and even if he does, it may not be enough to avoid defeat.

The forecast, though, is pretty dodgy, which perhaps explains why bet365 make the draw even money. England are narrow favourites at 5/6, while West Indies are 250/1, but I think we can rule that possibility out.

Chanderpaul, unbeaten on 18, is 5/6 to make 53 or more, while Lendl Simmons, who has three runs to his name, is the same price to get to 25 or better.

If there is enough time, I can't see anything other than an England win, but get the best weather forecast you can before diving in, just to be on the safe side.

Original preview
West Indies were absolutely woeful in the first Test so it's no surprise to see England installed as 5/6 favourites to win the second match. West Indies are 11/2 and the draw is a 17/10 chance.

Now the draw is probably lower than normal for the simple reason that England do not need to win the match to win the series - a draw will do. Often, in these circumstances, a side will play on the tentative side but I don't think that will be the case this week.

Not only do England have home advantage - they have won all three Tests to have been played at Chester-le-Street, including victory over West Indies there in 2007, they also are desperate to build up some sort of momentum as they prepare for the Ashes series against Australia.

It was interesting to see the selectors recall Ian Bell and Ryan Sidebottom for the second Test. Both men are experienced enough that it makes little sense to bring them back if they are not going to play, so we can expect to see at least one of them in the XI.

England may choose to play six batsmen this time, one more than at Lord's, while the tough choices could come in the bowling department. Chester-le-Street does not cry out as a place where spin prospers, but Monty Panesar did take five wickets there in the second innings when England beat West Indies in 2007.

Panesar, it seems, has some work to do to get back into the squad, for Graeme Swann clearly holds the No 1 spinner spot, and only one - at the most - will be used here.

Kevin Pietersen tops the betting to be England's top runscorer in the first innings, despite his duck at Lord's. The Hampshire man is 10/3 to come out on top, just ahead of his captain, Andrew Strauss, who is 7/2.

Alastair Cook, who to me looks like he could do with more time in the middle, is 4/1, with Lord's centurion Ravi Bopara 9/2 and both Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell 5/1 chances.

West Indies looked totally underdone at Lord's and it's doubtful that their batsmen will be any better this time round. Nevertheless they do have some class in the top order, and Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul share favouritism to top-score for their side in the first innings.

Both men are 11/4, while captain Chris Gayle, who if he gets going is one of the most destructive batsmen in the world, is 7/2. Devon Smith is 5/1, Dale Richards is 11/2 and Lendl Simmons is 13/2.

Even though England don't need to win, they still have plenty of incentive and West Indies don't look overly interested to me so providing the weather behaves, England look a generous price at 5/6 to complete a 2-0 win.