West Indies 8/1 to win the third Test

The prospect of a West Indies Test win becomes ever more distant, according to the latest odds from bet365, Cricinfo's betting partner. The bookmakers are offering a generous 8/1 on Brian Lara's men turning the tables to win the third Test at Old Trafford, with England at 21/20.

The Test history of Old Trafford shows that 50% of matches there are drawn. And recent history supports this - five of the last ten matches have been drawn. A draw is narrow favourite at 20/21.

England won the most recent Test at Old Trafford, against Sri Lanka in 2002, when a frantic last-session run-chase by Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick capped a solid performance. That game was remarkably similar to the first two matches of this England v West Indies series: England batted first, scored over 500, then bowled the opposition out cheaply. England's leading wicket-taker in that match was their forgotten hero Alex Tudor, with seven, while Ashley Giles chipped in with 4 for 62 in the second innings. Giles is 16/1 to win the Man of the Match award here.

The last match between England and West Indies at Old Trafford, in 1995, ended in a draw, with Brian Lara scoring a match-saving century in West Indies' second innings. And Lara is 9/4 to score most runs in West Indies' first innings, and 13/2 to be Man of the Match. England's hero back in '95 was Alec Stewart (he also scored a ton in 2002 against Sri Lanka). Stewart's heir-apparent is Geraint Jones - a generous 14/1 to be top England runscorer, and 25/1 in the Man of the Match market.

Jones has been developing a formidable batting partnership with England's talisman Andrew Flintoff, and Freddie - the local hero at Old Trafford - is 7/1 to win a second successive Man of the Match award, and 5/1 to be England's top first-innings runscorer.

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Click here to bet on England v West Indies at bet365

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