Hussey heroics means draw at 5/2 is the best England can hope for
Published:Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin produced one of the greatest Ashes partnerships of all time as Australia put themselves in command of the opening test in Brisbane.
Hussey’s 195 and Haddin’s 136 have shortened the Aussie’s odds of winning this first test to 4/11 – but it could have been so different.
All the early momentum was with England as James Anderson took the new ball and bowled brilliantly with it. Time and time again he just missed the bat of Hussey and in the seventh over appeared to catch him plum on the pads with the Aussie on 85.
Umpire Aleem Dar rejected the appeal though and England – having used all their reviews on Friday – were forced to endure a few more hours of Hussey’s exceptional batting before the tail were skittled out by Steven Finn with Australia on 481.
All is not lost though. Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook survived the end of the day despite two appeals for lbw and England can look back to the first test of the 2009 Ashes in Cardiff for inspiration.
Australia declared for 674/6 after their first innings, leaving England a mammoth task to get anything out of the match.
They battled through though and the last man partnership of James Anderson and Monty Panesar batted England to a lead and hung on for the draw.
If you’re feeling optimistic, backing England to hold on for another draw at 5/2 could certainly be worth a couple of quid.
A £10 bet on England to win the test pays out £120. New Ladbrokes customers can sign up here for a free £10 bet.
