Ponting and Trescothick heading the race

Marcus Trescothick's fine attacking form at the top of the order for England has seen him installed as favourite to top his team's batting © Getty Images

With just one match to go in what's perhaps been the most absorbing Test series in a generation, Ricky Ponting and Marcus Trescothick top the betting to end up as their team's top batsman over the five matches. Australia captain Ponting, who leads his side in terms of runs scored with 324, is an 11/8 (2.37) chance, while Trescothick, 33 runs ahead of the next England batsman, is an even money chance.

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Having almost single-handedly saved Australia at Old Trafford, Ponting will be smarting from his side's defeat in the fourth Test and will also be disappointed by his own reaction to his dismissal in the second innings last weekend, though he also stuck to his guns by insisting that England were using substitute fielders against the spirit of the game.

Regardless of that, though, the bookies clearly fear his talent with the bat as they make him favourite although his average of 40 at the Oval, the venue for the last Test, is well down on his overall mark of 55.

Michael Clarke, who's shown he is one for the present as well as the future, is next in the betting at 9/4 (3.25), having scored 310 runs so far, just 14 fewer than Ponting. Justin Langer, with 289, is a 7/2 (4.50) chance while Simon Katich (247 runs to date) is 9/1 (10.00) and Shane Warne, a revelation with the bat in this series having smacked 249 runs so far, is 20/1 (21.00). Adam Gilchrist, who's failed to fire, is a massive 50/1 (51.00), though having scored only 158 runs, he'd need a huge double hundred or even more to stand a chance.

Of course, the higher you are in the batting order, the more chance you have, logically, of getting more runs, especially as the openers are statistically more likely than anyone else to bat twice. That explains in part why Trescothick is favourite in the England betting at evens (2.00), though the left-hander's form, and attacking style, is also a contributing factor.

Andrew Flintoff, who averages 83 in his two matches at the Oval, is next best at 7/2 (4.50), having scored 322 runs so far. Kevin Pietersen, his fellow middle-order destroyer of the Australia bowling attack, is 9/2 (5.50), having made 301. Captain Michael Vaughan is 13/2 (7.50), while Andrew Strauss is 11/1 (12.00) and Ian Bell is 66/1 (67.00),. Geraint Jones, who took his tally to 203 at Trent Bridge, is the same price as Bell.

Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.

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