England v New Zealand Second Test betting preview
April 17, 2008
CRICKET – May 27-31 – Old Trafford – Second npower Test – England v. New Zealand
HISTORY
New Zealand’s First Test Win in England (Nearly!)
At Trent Bridge in 1973, the New Zealand first innings total of less than 100 (97) was viewed as unremarkable. The visitors had not won against England in over 40 years and everything appeared to be going to plan. Batting fourth, needing 479 for a remarkable win, New Zealand were 16 for 2, and lost another 2 wickets for a further 100, bringing captain Bev Congdon to the crease. Both he and Vic Pollard made centuries, 176 and 116 respectively. New Zealand was eventually bowled out for 440, some 39 runs short. John Arlott wrote in the Guardian, “Never before in Test cricket have one of the lesser powers forced their way up from humiliation to come so close to beating a major country.” Nonetheless, New Zealand still had to wait another ten years for their first win in England.
First Series Win in England
An eight-wicket victory in the second test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, in August 1986 gave New Zealand a 1–0 series win, their first on English soil. Richard Hadlee, who played county cricket for Nottinghamshire was effectively at his second home. His familiarity with the surroundings certainly showed, with him returning match figures of 10 wickets for 140 runs, and scoring 68 (he only batted once).
Tennis: French Open Betting preview
April 15, 2008
TENNIS – FRENCH OPEN – May 26 to June 8
Tournoi de Roland-Garros, commonly known as the French Open, is a major tennis tournament held over a fortnight between late-May and early June in Paris, France. It is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments and the most prestigious clay court tennis tournament. The slower clay playing surface and the five-set men’s singles matches with no final set tiebreak, lead the tournament to be considered the most physically demanding event in the tennis calendar.
HISTORY
The event began as a national tournament in 1891 as the Championat de France International de Tennis. The first women’s tournament was held in 1897. Both events were played on grass. In 1912, the tournament was held played on a red clay surface (”terre battue”), made up from the crushed wastes of red brick. In 1925, the French Championships was opened to international players, with the event held on a grass surface, alternately between the Racing Club de France and the Stade Français. In 1927, the famous “Mousquetaires” (René Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, and Jacques Brugnon) won the Davis cup, in America. For the 1928 Davis Cup renewal, a new tennis stadium was built at Porte d’Auteuil, named after the World War I hero, Roland Garros. The new Stade de Roland Garros hosted the Davis Cup challenge and ever since the tournament has gained prestige. In 1968, the French Championships became the first Grand Slam tournament to allow amateurs and professionals to compete alongside each other.
THE FRENCH OPEN TODAY
In comparison to grass or hard courts, clay courts tend to slow the ball down producing a higher bounce. As a result, certain players, whose skills are suited to the surface, develop into clay court specialists. Such players often prevail at the French Open. For example, Pete Sampras, who won fourteen Grand Slam singles titles, never won a French Open. Similarly, Roger Federer, the current World Number One, has won Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open, but never a French Open. Contrastingly, “clay specialists” like Rafael Nadal and Gustavo Kuerten have won the French Open, but no other Grand Slam event. Of the last fifteen Men’s Singles titles, thirteen have been won by players who have not won any other Grand Slam event. The story is similar in the Ladies’ game, with the likes of Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis, prevailing in the other three Grand Slam tournaments, but failing in Paris.
Recent Winners
The most recent winners of the Men’s and Ladies Singles titles have been, respectively:
2007 Rafael Nadal, Justine Henin-Hardenne
2006 Rafael Nadal, Justine Henin-Hardenne
2005 Rafael Nadal, Justine Henin-Hardenne
2004 Gasón Gaudio, Anastasia Myskina
2003 Juan Carlos Ferrero, Justine Henin-Hardenne
2002 Albert Costa, Serena Williams
2001 Gustavo Kuerten, Jennifer Capriati
2000 Gustavo Kuerten, Mary Pierce
BETTING ON THE FRENCH OPEN
Just about all online betting sites will be offering prices on the French Open. Best prices at 17th March.
Men’s Outright
4/6 R. Nadal (Blue Square), 7/2 R. Federer, 7/1 N. Djokovic, 20/1 D. Nalbandian (all vcbet), 24/1 D. Ferrer (Stan James), 33/1 N. Almagro (Boylesports) 40/1 BAR. Each-way terms 1/2 the odds 1, 2.
Ladbrokes also offer a special bet of 5/2 about a Nadal-Federer final.
Ladies’ Outright
13/8 J. Henin (Paddy Power), 7/1 M. Sharapova, 8/1 S. Williams (both vcbet), 10/1 A. Ivanovic (Blue Square), 14/1 V. Williams (vcbet), J. Jankovic (Blue Square), 16/1 A. Mauresmo (vcbet), 20/1 BAR. Each-way 1/2 the odds 1, 2.
Online betting sites will offer a vast array of opportunities to bet on the ultimate Championship winners, individual matches or any of the other available markets.
The playing surface invariably leads to some unexpected results, making The French Open Tournament an exciting prospect on which to bet.
For those contemplating a bet on the French Open, primary considerations should be:
Seeding
It goes without saying that the tournament is not necessarily won by the top seed. However, highly seeded players do have a good record, though unseeded players have occasionally prevailed.
Form
Current form is also a key factor in making a selection or selections for The French Open. Beware players recovering form injury, as this may still affect their performance.
Stamina is often an important attribute in performing well in the French Open. From an online betting perspective, avoid players who have played in a lot of tournaments prior to Roland Garros. Additionally players who have been involved in long matches in previous rounds of the championship itself may also be fatigued.
Style
Style of play is perhaps the most important consideration when weighing up prospects for an online bet at the French Open. Players with a history of success on clay courts tend to perform well. “Baseline” players tend to perform better than “serve and volley” players.
Calzaghe v Hopkins betting preview
April 14, 2008
On Saturday 19th April the welsh legend that is Joe Calzaghe will take on Bernard Hopkins in a Boxing match which is going to be very tough for either to win. The fight which takes place in Las Vegas will be screened on Setanta Sports, the premium satellite sports channel commencing at 2230hrs UK time.
If you are looking to place a bet on the Calzaghe v Hopkins boxing match, then read on for our analysis of the betting markets and for the best odds for Calzaghe v Hopkins. We also have a special half price offer on the Setanta sports package for our readers.
Betting markets on the Calzaghe v Hopkins include Outright Winner, Fight Outcome, Number of Rounds and End Round betting. We will look at these in turn:
Outright Winner
The Calzaghe v Hopkins fight proves to be a very close battle. Commentators have provided analysis which suggests that for most areas, the two boxers are deemed evens, some however place Calzaghe at an advantage. Credit has to be given to Calzaghe for his speed, there are very few boxers who can match the speed and number of punches that he can throw in a round, which famously totals over 1000! To counter this Hopkins is blessed with greater accuracy, but will this win against the sheer number of blows, only the match will tell. If we take a look at the best odds for the Calzaghe v Hopkins fight,we can see that the bookmakers put Calzaghe in the frame to win this fight. As you can see below, the difference is only marginal - but I guess a lead is a lead.
How did the bookies arrive at their odds for this match? Well like us they have to trawl through all they can about each boxer and make an informed choice as to the odds on each fighter winning. Another indicator of how they set their odds are the way that other punters are making their bets. Until now this has been the priviledged knowledge held closely by the bookmakers. We are able to see this information ourselves now thanks to our partners at Searchum. We can see from the chart below how punters are placing their bets, and at the time of writing, the split between Calzaghe and Hopkins is marginal, as it has remained over the past month.
If you’re after more statistics to help you with your bet, then Searchum has a number of other charts and graphs relating to the likelihood of the outcome of this match. Needless to say, this one looks (although with some caution) as if Calzaghe is going to win, the only questions left to answer are based on a couple more markets available for this boxing match.
How will it end?
The bookmakers are favouring the fight will go through to the last round, this holds some weight when you consider the fact that both men have strong stamina, are evenly placed and short of a freak punch knocking out their opponent, they are likely to be able to last the distance. The table below lists the possible outcomes, and as you can see, they are expecting Calzaghe to walk away with the title based on the judges decision.
As to which round the fight will be over, there are a variety of options available from the different bookmakers. skybet are offering 2/7 over 10 rounds and 5/2 under 10 rounds; totesport are offering 1/4 on rounds 10.5 and over and 11/4 10.5 an under; Bet365 offer 1/3 on rounds 11.5 an over, with odds of 5/2 uner 11.5 rounds. All these odds are pointing to the boxing match reaching the final round, and towards a judges decision.
This is our interpretation of how things stand with regards to betting on the Calzaghe v Hopkins fight this Saturday, remember the odds are constantly changing so make sure you check your betting slip before placing the bet. To get the latest odds on this Calzaghe v Hopkins fight check out the tables above or our partners at Searchum Odds.
Useful Links:
Match Analysis by Sporting Life
Buy Ringside Tickets from Seatwave
Order Setanta Sports
Joe Calzaghe Official Site
Check latest Calzaghe v Hopkins Odds
Monaco Grand Prix Betting preview
April 10, 2008
MOTOR RACING – May 25 – MONACO GRAND PRIX
HISTORY
As with several other European Grands Prix, the Monaco race predates the current World Championship. The principality’s first Grand Prix was organised in 1929 by Anthony Noghès, under the auspices of Prince Louis II, through the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM). In order to attain full national status, Noghès proposed the creation of an automobile Grand Prix in the streets of Monte Carlo.
The first Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco was an invitation only event, but not all the invitees decided to attend. Maserati and Alfa Romeo drivers decided not to compete but Bugatti was well represented. Mercedes sent their leading driver, Rudolf Caracciola, to drive a Mercedes SSK. Caracciola drove a fighting race, bringing his SSK up to second position at the end of the race, despite starting in fifteenth. The race was won by “Williams” (pseudonym of expatriate Briton William Grover-Williams) driving a Bugatti Type 35B painted in what would become the famous British racing green.
Britain’s Graham Hill won the race five times in the 1960s and became known as “King of Monaco.” The 1965 race is considered to have been his best performance. Having gained pole position, Hill led from the start. On lap 25, to avoid a slow backmarker, he detoured via an escape road, and rejoined the race in fifth place. Hill then proceeded to set several new lap records on the way to winning the race. The race was also notable for the debut of Honda in the World Championship, and for Paul Hawkins’ Lotus ending up in the harbour!
For the decade from 1984 to 1993, the race was won by only two drivers - Frenchman Prost and Brazilian Ayrton Senna. Prost gained his first Monaco win in 1984. The race was delayed by 45 minutes, following heavy rain. Prost led briefly before Nigel Mansell overtook him on lap 11. Mansell crashed out five laps later, letting Prost back into the lead. On lap 27, Prost led from Ayrton Senna and Stefan Bellof. Senna was catching Prost and Bellof was catching both of them. However on lap 31, the race was controversially stopped. Later, FISA fined the clerk of the course, Jacky Ickx, $6,000 and suspended his licence for not consulting the stewards before stopping the race. The drivers received only half of the points that would usually be awarded, as the race had been stopped before two thirds of the intended race distance had been completed. Prost lost that year’s championship by only half a point, less than the points lost by the early stoppage of the race.Senna holds the record for the most victories in Monaco, with six, including five between 1989 and 1993, as well as eight podium finishes in ten starts.
THE MONACO GRAND PRIX TODAY
In 1996, Michael Schumacher took pole position before crashing out on the first lap. Damon Hill led the first 40 laps before his engine expired in the tunnel. Jean Alesi took the lead, but suffered suspension failure 20 laps later. Olivier Panis, who started in 14th place, moved into the lead and stayed there until the end of the race, being pushed all the way by David Coulthard. It was Panis’ only win, and the last for his Ligier team. Only four cars finished the race. Seven-time world champion Schumacher would eventually win the race five times, matching Graham Hill’s record. In his last appearance, at the 2006 event, he attracted criticism while provisionally holding pole position with the qualifying session drawing to a close, by stopping his car at the Rascasse hairpin, blocking the track. A result of this was that yellow flags were waved, so that competitors were obliged to slow down, thus meaning they would not be able to beat Schumacher’s lap time. Although Schumacher claimed it was a genuine accident, the FIA disagreed and Schumacher was sent to the back of the grid.
Recent Winners
2007 Fernando Alonso, McLaren Mercedes
2006 Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
2005 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren Mercedes
2004 Jarno Trulli, McLaren Mercedes
2003 Juan Pablo Montoya, Williams-BMW
2002 David Coulthard, McLaren Mercedes
2001 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
2000 David Coulthard, McLaren Mercedes
The 2008 race, scheduled for 25th May, forms the sixth leg of this season’s eighteen-race championship.
BETTING ON THE MONACO GRAND PRIX
Some interesting statistics are that three of the four winners at Bahrain since the race was first held in 2004 have gone on to win the Drivers’ Championship, while seven of the last ten winners in Spain have won the World Championship. Contrastingly, only three of the last ten Monaco winners have gone on to win the World Championship. The Monaco Grand Prix is the undoubtedly one of the showpieces of the Formula One motor racing season. Drivers would not necessarily agree due to the difficulty of the track. Only the British Grand Prix generates as much UK betting interest. Qualifying is critical. Position on the starting grid will have a great bearing on the race outcome and hence any online bets placed thereon. The narrow 3.34 kilometre circuit, in the streets of Monte Carlo, is notorious for the difficulty of overtaking, and is rated the most difficult test for drivers in Formula One.
As with any other race, there are many online betting markets associated with the Monaco Grand Prix. Betting on the outright winning driver is the most popular market, but the punter can find added interest in markets such as winning constructor, podium finish, points finish, number of finishers, first retirement, amongst an array of others. The Monaco Grand Prix is an excellent vehicle for Grand Prix “in running” online betting since things can (and often do!) change very quickly.
England v New Zealand First Test Betting preview
April 9, 2008
CRICKET – May 15-19 - Lord’s - First npower Test – England v. New Zealand
HISTORY
Formal cricketing contact between England and New Zealand began when the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) sent a team to New Zealand in the 1906–07 season.New Zealand became the fifth national team to achieve “Test” status in 1930 (after England, Australia, India and South Africa). It played England in 19 of its first 22 tests over the following 21 years.
New Zealand suffered many humiliating defeats against England. However, at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, in February 1978, New Zealand beat England for the first time. Despite needing only 137 in the second innings, England capitulated with the humble total of 64. Richard Hadlee took 6 wickets for 26 runs. This inaugural victory, at the 48th time of asking, was enthusiastically welcomed by the New Zealand cricketing authorities as proof that the team could at last compete with its former colonial masters. The series was drawn 1–1. Normal service was resumed when New Zealand toured England later that year, a 3–0 England whitewash.
New Zealand’s first Test victory in England came in the second test at Headingley, Leeds, in July-August 1983. Medium pace bowler Lance Cairns claimed 10 wickets in the match for 144 runs. New Zealand’s premier bowler, Richard Hadlee, was wicketless, though he did score 75 runs in the first innings. A winning series remained elusive, England winning 3-1.
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