Haddin is best bet after Clarke to top score for Aussies at Gabba

Given his glowing batting stats, Australia’s captain and talisman Michael Clarke is the standout choice to top score for his country in virtually every Test match he plays.

However, in the first Ashes Test of the series at the Brisbane Cricket Ground it may just pay handsomely to have a punt on the much less heralded Brad Haddin at 12/1 to be the Aussie’s first-innings hero with the willow.

Considering the Gabba is one of a pair of Australia’s famed cricketing auditoriums at which Clarke averages over 100 in Test cricket, it’s fairly easy to see why he’s the market leader at 3/1.

In fact, barring injury or uncharacteristic poor form, it’s fairly safe to assume that Clarke will be the market principle ahead of every Ashes Test match of the upcoming series.

At odds such as 3/1, backing Clarke at every venue to top score may indeed prove to be a financially rewarding exercise, especially at Brisbane, where his average with the bat is just shy of 115.

Nevertheless, it often pays to do a little more research and in this case, Australia’s understated wicket keeper/batsman Haddin is another prime candidate for the hosts, despite a relatively quiet Ashes in England.

From the five Test innings Haddin has compiled at the Gabba he has averaged a whisker shy of 56, the second best in the current Australia squad, while he also recorded his own second highest ever Test score of 136 there.

That match happened to be the first innings of the first match of the last Ashes to be held in Australia, in 2010.

Furthermore, Haddin’s innings of 71 at Trent Bridge this summer, represented his best knock of the series which arrived in the first Test and provided the glue to Australia’s best attempt at winning one of the five matches.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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