Australia v India CB Series ODI

Taken a look at the stats ahead of this match with a focus on the Brisbane ground.

The average opening in a ODI played there (this century) is 235 with a low of 115 and high of 294.

So I'll take 235 as par for the opening side today.

Interestingly the average opening score from which Australia win is 199 so even a big score can be chased down. The pitch should be good for runs, as a domestic match last week saw 285 runs almost chased down.

India have a good record against Australia at the Gabba with two wins but Australia are unbeaten there in 5 since 2008 (India).

I don't think this will change my strategy but it's good to have a ground specific data.

The series is a lot tighter than I, (and probably Australia) thought with a win separating all three sides. Australia are point behind India who top the table. In their first rain effected meeting it was all Australia as India failed to chase down 216, but in the second meeting India chased down 269 to win by a single run on the last ball.

In between, Australia have had a narrow victory and humbling (bonus point) defeat in their matches with Sri Lanka who've also lost and drawn with India which it makes it really hard to pick a winner.

The bookies have Australia as 1.66 favourites which feels too short but it all depends on  which Australia turns up.

India seem to be finding their form as Australia lose theirs and for me India's 'captain cool' just has the edge over Ponting's men.

Hopefully this will be close.

T20 Cricket - Australia v India Feb 1 (08.30)

India are coming of the back of 3 straight test defeats as they take on an Australian side where most of the team are fresh from the Big Bash T20 League which finished on Sunday. The odds strongly favour the home side who are bouncing around the 1.60 mark.

I'm not so convinced that this will be as one sided as the bookies suggest. India have the better T20 pedigree and the Aussie side is far from the finished product. The Indian selectors have moved away from their rigid (immovable) selection policy for the Test series and the large 17 man squad will feature some young players keen to secure a position for the World T20 later this year.

There will be some great talent on display in the form of Australia's batting legend David Warner and the recently recalled Brad Hogg who was in scintillating form during the Big Bash series. For India Tendulkar and Kohli will be the men to watch.

I think Australia will win this but I envisage some good trading opportunities along the way tomorrow morning.

Big Bash Cricket

The T20 series in Australia has been fantastic so far. The Aussies have really embraced the shorter format of the game and the international all-star lines ups are producing some games of incredible quality.

Fox Sports are doing a great job with the coverage which you can stream for free on Bet365. The commentators are providing as many laughs as the batsman are sixes. A particularly nice touch is the in play commentary from the players themselves, hearing a bowler talk about how he intends to take a wicket before he bowls really makes you feel close to the action.

The Big Bash tournament takes a league and cup format and we're near the end of the league stage.

From a trading perspective this is a very lucrative opportunity with very well matched teams needing to take points to secure a semi-final place creating massive swings. When trading T20, my strategy is based on one of three styles, lay the batting side, back the bowling side or a hybrid of the two. Because the games are so close there are often big swings in price. It's possible to see a side come in from 10's to 2's in few minutes or move out from 1.10. The swings will come from the key trigger points of wickets and boundaries. The amount of the swing will be determined by the run-rate, wickets lost and runs scored at the that point. Check the in-play stats at ESPN Cricket.

The good news is that you don't need to know anything about cricket to be able to make a profitable trade. The market will move when a wicket is taken or boundary hit or a six knocked out of the park. So lay or back accordingly.

Tomorrow's game is between  Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers respectively 2nd and 5th in the league. Perth are the form side with 4 straight wins whilst Sydney are coming of the back of 3 straight losses. Thunder  have been unlucky in losing to the Sixers in a rain affected match and taking top side Hobart close. They'll want to make the home advantage count and secure the points to take them into the play-off places. In Gayle they've got one of the biggest hitting batsman but Perth's top bowler Edmonson won't make it easy for him.

The opening odds have Perth (1.79) as favourite but I'm going for the home side (2.24). I think it'll be a close one which will make for excellent trading. It all gets under way at 08:00am and once we know who wins the toss I'll be laying the batting side.

Update: Some very questionable umpiring decisions (wrong) particularly when the umpire called Gayle not out but was overruled by the third umpire. What followed was a batting collapse. I only made one trade, laying Sydney at 1.95 but only for tiny stakes. It proved to be the right trade as after that the market only went one way as Perth cruised to 9 Wickets win. Not to take anything away from them, the Perth Bowling and fielding were first class.