Ladbrokes preview the NatWest series between England, Australia and

If the one-day series proves to be as exciting as the two Tests between England and Pakistan, we are in for a real treat. At lunch on Monday, Ladbrokes priced the Test match at 9/4 England, 8/15 the draw and 5/1 for a Pakistan victory.

Ladbrokes make current World Champions Australia favourites at 4/5 to win the series. I believe Steve Waugh's team will win the series, but at 4/5 there is no value backing them.

The series curtain raiser is between England and Pakistan on Thursday at Edgbaston, and as with the Test series Ladbrokes cannot split the pair. They are both 5/6 to make a winning start.

With a number of England batsman already amongst the runs this summer, top bat for the first one-day game poses many questions. An obvious choice would be Graham Thorpe and Michael Vaughan after they made impressive hundreds in the second Test. However Marcus Trescothick was outstanding last summer in the One-Day Internationals and at 4/1 could well be worth a flutter.

Ladbrokes have also released series specials on top run scorer and top wicket-taker.

If Marcus Trescothick gets off to a flyer on Thursday there could be no stopping him and at 9/1 he represents very good value. As always Australia have a strong batting line up, and as they are most likely to reach the final it may be worth siding with one of their batsman.

Choosing a bowler to be top wicket-taker can be a bit of a lottery, as many wickets can tumble if the team chasing a total needs to up the run rate. With this in mind, considerations should be made on bowler that bowls well with both new & the old ball.

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