mvaughan

[b]It's the second day and England are already out of sight but in a rain shortened Test do the home side have the time to win? Michael Vaughan has an idea.[/b] Betfair customers may make the draw odds-on at 1.47 but I am a confident backer in a fourth and final win for England to round off a Test series they have dominated. And I see it all happening in classic Test style on the final afternoon of the fifth day at The Oval. For me, the second day has been a microcosm of the series. England have been positive, while India have disappointed. Centurions [b]Ian Bell[/b] and, in particular,[b] Kevin Pietersen[/b] have been exceptional. They have concentrated and played in the bubble, doing what they have to do, with Pietersen getting the team going by playing quick and forcing...

[b]England go into the fourth and final Test looking for a series clean sweep. With fortunes unlikely to improve for the beleaguered tourists, Michael Vaughan expects another victory for Andrew Strauss' men.[/b] England were [b]absolutely devastating[/b] in their third Test victory over India and, with the fourth Test set to get under way on Thursday, the tourists will be feeling thoroughly demoralised. [b]England[/b] have the momentum, the depth and ability to make it a 4-0 clean sweep series win and, at a generous 2.64, I will certainly be backing them to do so. If the clouds are out above the Oval, which they may be on day one, then the ball could seam and swing but I struggle to see 20 wickets in this Indian attack. Saying that, I do anticipate a longer game this time. India's...

[b]It's been another punishing day in the field for India as England have piled up the runs and Michael Vaughan expects an even earlier finish for the Third Test...[/b] There is absolutely no way back for [b]India[/b] in this game; [b]England[/b] will go on and score 600 and I can see India then being bowled out for around 250. There is enough life in the pitch to suggest that they will once again struggle against England's swing bowlers. But with England trading at around 1.25 there is no value in the Match Odds market, so I'm going for an [b]early finish again[/b] (Michael correctly predicted a Day 4 Evening finish in the Second Test) There have been some cracks in the pitch so it could even be a Day 4 Morning finish, currently trading at 8.2, but my money is going on a [b]Day...

[b]Not even the return of Virender Sehwag is likely to change India's fortunes as we move on to Edgbaston. England will like the conditions and we have to back them to carry on winning.[/b] [b]Tim Bresnan[/b] is expected to keep his place with [b]Chris Tremlett[/b] still out injured and he's a great player to have as cover. I always felt that the early criticism about him carrying a bit too much weight was slightly unfair. He's a big, strong lad who's never going to be wafer thin but if there were any concerns from the England management that he was carrying a bit too much timber, he certainly dealt with them and looks a superb athlete these days. He bats, bowls and fields and is right up there with the handiest numbers 8s in the Test game. He's fortunate in that he's come into...

There were four obvious candidates for the man-of-the-match award at Lord's in the form of Kevin Pietersen, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Matt Prior. I don't think anyone can argue with KP getting it after a double-century in tricky conditions but with an aggregate of 174 runs across the two innings plus five catches, one could have made a really good case for Prior. Especially when we recall that England were in total disarray when the Sussex man came to the crease. His brilliant century turned the game around and meant India were never in with a chance of chasing a score of over 400. How do we define Prior's role within the team? He's an all-rounder. When it comes to wicket-keepers I define them as that if I feel they're capable of batting somewhere in the top five. As it happens...

We're in profit for this Test series courtesy of England's superb win. None of our top batsman bets came good but a pre-match back of England at 3.5 plus another mid-match top-up at 2.7 ensured we have some winnings in the bank to re-invest for the second Test. There were endless positives to take from England's performance. The fact they took 20 wickets on a traditionally good batting track against arguably the best batting line-up in the world; the manner in which the bowlers worked together as a unit; and the way England fought back in their second innings from 62-5 down to post a target that India were never going to be able to chase. People will remember this match for Kevin Pietersen's double-century and England's bowling display on the last day but the passage of play in which Matt...

I've spoken already about how I think India will be a little under-cooked coming into the First Test after having played just the one three-day warm-up match. I'll make no apologies for constantly talking about playing in 'English conditions' throughout this series but we simply can't under-estimate how different they are to conditions found anywhere else in the world. If Test cricket is almost a different game to One-Day Internationals for example, so is playing in conditions that are alien to certain teams. Especially when that team is India. Back home they're used to playing on some of the flattest wickets in the world where the ball simply doesn't misbehave and provided you're in good nick and don't do anything stupid, you can score big and score quickly. Not so over here. Take...

When looking at the most likely winner of a Test series we need to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the two sides when it comes to the three disciplines of batting, bowling and fielding. To this I'll add an assessment of who has the better captain. In limited-overs cricket the skipper has far less time to think on his feet and requires a quick brain but in Test cricket you need to get the big decisions right. Bat or bowl? Enforce the follow-on or bat again? Take the new ball or hope the old one starts to reverse swing? In Test cricket he needs to be at the very least 10 overs ahead of the game and he's often the man who can sway the game one way or another through his decision-making at crunch time. On paper India have the better batting-line up. Heck, two of their batters - Sachin...