Paddy Power are betting on The Queen to be saying “Arise, Sir Freddie” with Andrew Flintoff 7/2 to be knighted in the next New Year’s Honours List.
The cricketing hero bowed out of Test cricket in style yesterday with an Ashes win along and the crucial run out of Australian captain Ricky Ponting just as England nerves were starting to twitch. Flintoff is 8/1 to be named BBC Sports Personality of the Year with captain and Man of the Series Andrew Strauss at 6/1.
Sir Freddie?
As in 2005, the Australian’s will be looking for revenge when the contest returns to their soil in winter 2010 and Paddy Power make the Baggy Greens 8/15 favourites with England 11/4. Ricky Ponting, having been backed by Cricket Australia is 8/15 to still be in charge when the two teams next meet in an Ashes battle.
Darren Haines, spokesman for Paddy Power, said: “With Australia’s aura finally wiped away once and for all by Andrew Strauss’ boys, the big challenge now will be to finally win an Ashes Tour down under – and it looks no easy task if the betting’s anything to go by.”
How The Ashes Were Won
The Ashes pendulum has swung more times this summer than Ravi Bopara’s bat as Australia and England exchanged betting favouritism on four occasions across the five Test series.
A look at Paddy Power’s Ashes Betting Graph below shows all the fluctuations of the closely fought series, highlighting the moments when Australia held the upper hand but, crucially the key moments when England won the urn – most notably Jimmy and monty’s last stand at Cardiff (point 3 in graph), Australia’s collapse at Lords and Stuart Broad’s series-winning performance on the second afternoon at The Oval (11).
The Key Moments In The Series
1. Opening skirmishes, England score 336 runs on First day (for 7) to just bring in their odds a little
2. Australia pile on the runs with England facing a big defeat
3. Monty and Jimmy Anderson’s last stand saves the match and give England renewed hope
4. Australia collapse on Day 2 of the 2nd Test to put England in the driving seat and favourites to win the urn for the first time since 2006
5. The second innings fightback by Clarke and Haddin at Lords give England a few wobbles
6. England finally wrap up victory to go 1-0 up in the series and Australia, epitomised by Mitchell Johnson’s problems look all at sea…
7. A key word in the Series – momentum – proves beneficial to England as the rain effected Edgbaston peters out to a draw and Ricky Ponting is left with two Tests to save the Series putting their odds out to as big as 13/2
8. But the whole series is turned on its head at Headingley’s 4th Test. England’s first day collapse put Australia back in the driving seat and their odds to win the series plummet from 11/2 write offs when the two teams arrived at the ground to just 7/4 by lunch
9. England lose inside three days for Australia to level the series. That word momentum is all with Australia now, the heavy favourites to wrap up victory at The Oval.
10. England make a steady start to the 5th Test and there is little to choose between the two teams
11. The Series turns on it’s head again for the fourth, and surely last time, as Stuart Broad takes 4 wickets in 21 balls on the afternoon of day two at The Oval to put England within touching distance of the urn.
Ashes Betting
7/2 Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff to be knighted in the next New Year Honours
6/1 Andrew Strauss to be BBC Sports Personality of the Year
8/1 Freddie Flintoff to be BBC Sports Personality of the Year
Ashes Betting 2010/11
8/15 Australia
9/2 Draw
11/4 England
Ricky Pointing to captain Australia in the 2010 Ashes
8/15 Yes
11/8 No
Forthcoming ODI Series (starting Sept 4th)
11/8 England
8/15 Australia
