Outsiders England regroup for Kandy Test

After scraping a draw at Galle, England go to Kandy as 11/2 outsiders to win the second Test. Sri Lanka are narrow evens favourites, while the draw is 5/4.

Kandy was also the scene of the second Test of the last series, in 2000-01. It was a thrilling, tightly fought match which ended in a three-wicket victory for England. Star performers in the first innings of that game were Mahela Jayawardene (101) and Nasser Hussain (109), and it was Graham Thorpe's contribution in England's run-chase that sealed the victory. England's seamers, led by Darren Gough (eight wickets) and Andy Caddick (six), did the damage with the ball, although Robert Croft made one of the most telling contributions in the second innings.

In the Top Team Batsman markets, Mark Butcher is clearly the man in form. Singled out as a good bet in this column prior to the first Test, Butcher is 4/1 alongside his county colleague Graham Thorpe to top-score for England. Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick remain favourites in spite of missing out at Galle - both openers are 100/30 - and one or other could well return to form. England also have selection issues: Paul Collingwood (7/1) played an important part in salvaging the draw at Galle, but Nasser Hussain (5/1) - the first-innings centurion here in the corresponding fixture on that last tour - now stands by to resume his role in the batting line-up.

Marvan Attapattu is 3/1 favourite to lead the Sri Lanka scoring in the first innings. Hashan Tillakaratne had an impressive game as skipper at Galle, but failed twice with the bat. He is 7/1 to top-score for Sri Lanka, and probably represents the value bet in this market. As mentioned above, Mahela Jayawardene scored a ton in the Kandy fixture on the last tour, and allied with his impressive unbeaten 86 in the second innings at Galle, he looks a sound prospect at 4/1.

The Player Performance markets return in the pre-match betting, and punters could do a lot worse than back Michael Vaughan at 75 or over. Along with his batting - Vaughan is due a big score - he is always involved in the field, and could pick up a couple of catches, making his projected points total relatively conservative. With 1 point per run, 10 points per catch and 25 per wicket, Andy Flintoff is also a useful bet - his projected total is just 90. Given that he is England's best bowler, snaffles a few catches and is due to rattle up a decent score, getting on more than 90 at 5/6 could be a good move.