Its been a long eighteen years, but England do look like they are finally going to secure the ashes back from the Aussies. Even though Glenn McGrath is back, he has only played a minimal amount of cricket and looks to be a little short of match fitness. Another factor is that England have scored more than 400 runs in each of their first innings and this is unheard of against a team such as Australia. They are even scoring at over four an over.

Paul Collingwood has come in for a Simon Jones, and he should strengthen the batting line up. The Australians are favourites to win the test at 13/8, while England are a surprisingly long 5/2. There is betting in running available.

This game could go either way, and much depends on who wins the toss. A lucrative market could be the 'performance' market. If we take a look at the top England Batsmen, one man that stands out is opener Marcus Trescothick.

The man from Somerset has had a remarkable series, averaging over 44 runs an innings. Even though he has not yet hit a century in the series, its well known that he like the Oval pitch, and he has a history of runs here. Trescothick has an average of 85 runs from his previous five innings, with his last score at the Oval a mighty 219.

At 7/2, his price looks just about right, and all the signs point him being amongst the runs today.