Pietersen now favourite for top England bat

With two Tests to go in the Ashes series, the battle for top England batsmen appears to be a two-horse race with Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood scrapping it out for top honours.

Pietersen, who heads the run list with 398, is the 4/9 (1.44) favourite, while Collingwood is second favourite at 9/4 (3.25), having managed 345 runs to date.

There is a big gap then to Ian Bell, at 14/1 (15.00), who has 223, while Alastair Cook could get a bit of support at 16/1 (17.00) having scored 221 so far and fresh from an excellent century in the second innings in Perth.

It will take something pretty spectacular for anyone else to get in the reckoning. Andrew Strauss, who has made just 113 runs to date, albeit with more than a dose of bad luck, is 28/1 (29.00) while captain Andrew Flintoff, who has 120 runs, is 50/1 (51.00).