Spreadwiser Wiser Spread Betting and Other Thoughts

England's Adelaide adventure off to dream start. What now?

England maintained the momentum of their 517-1 at the Gabba by dismissing the Aussies for 245 on day one. What can we tell from this day's play that might help spread punters betting in-play on the Adelaide Test?

It is a batsman's pitch and England are bowling well

The pitch is flat and hard as expected, there was clear blue skies and Ricky Ponting was right to choose to bat first. It was disciplined length and line from Jimmy Anderson and his colleagues that accounted for Australia. The hosts couldn't manage it, but England have all the conditions to rack up a big score.

It's England's to lose and a result should be expected

Supposing England do manage to bat for a couple of days, Australia won't stand a chance on a day four pitch if conditions stay as they are.

Graeme Swann is a class act

Anderson got the headlines - and with figures of 4/51, no one should be surprised. But Swanny bowled well in long spells on a day one pitch, so expect him to do the business in the second innings. He also took a couple of impressive catches at slip so his match performance spread has got to be worth a look.

England really want the urn

OK, so there's a lot of cricket left, but dominance in this Test could effectively decide where the urn will reside for the next couple of years. Expect the series spreads to swing England's way if they keep it up.

Seems like a long time ago