It was disappointing to see England lose the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Thursday. That’s four defeats in a row this winter and the knives seem to be being sharpened, especially for the batsmen. This is often when the England team are at their best – with their backs to the wall. I have no doubt the England are a much more talented side than the Sri Lankans, though clearly find it hard in these conditions.
The second Test starts in Colombo on Tuesday and England are well capable of winning it, though the toss will be absolutely vital. Hold fire with your bets until after the toss as will be crucial to bat first. If Andrew Strauss calls right then England will be a great bet to win the match and draw the series. Just like in Galle, laying the draw at anything under 3 on Betdaq makes sense. I struggle to see these two brittle batting line-ups playing out four days cricket let alone five.
I’m heading to White Hart Lane to host Super Sunday. First up on the show is an intriguing clash between Newcastle and Liverpool, with the pressure all on the latter as they trail the Geordies by eight points in the table. Liverpool may have scored more goals (73) against Newcastle than against any other Premier League club and only won more Premier League points (69) against Aston Villa (71) but Newcastle have been brilliant this season and have no pressure on them as even if they lost every game heavily from now on, they will still have had a superb campaign. They looked irresistible going forward at West Brom and have always been a tough nut to crack at home. Fabricio Coloccini will be a big miss at the back but the front three of Hatem Ben Arfa, Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse up front looks potent. Liverpool have been better on the road than at home (six away wins, five at Anfield) but I’m still surprised to see them trading as short as 2.4 favourites on Betdaq and Newcastle look decent value to me at 3.15.
After that it’s Tottenham against Swansea, which should be a good game to watch. It’s amazing to think that just nine years ago (March 22nd 2003), Swansea were lying bottom of the Football league after a 2-2 draw at Kidderminster. They have been THE story of the Premier League season for me and it would be no surprise if they confound the critics yet again and pull off a shock win at 9.6 on the Daq. After all they have won four of their last six Premier League away games and Tottenham’s style will suit them.
I’ll then be in the Monday Night Football studio with Gary Neville for Blackburn against Manchester United with revenge on the cards. I hope you can join us from 7pm on Sky Sports 1HD.
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