THEBERNIE THE HOTTER THAN JULY!
To paraphrase Stevie Wonder and as an homage to his plat- inum selling album this month’s sports action is “Hotter Than July!”. I can scarcely remember a month which encompases The Open Golf Championship, the beginning of The Ashes test series, Glorious Goodwood, and the end-game at Wimble- don. This gives us ample opportunity to make a killing! So let’s look at our options...
THE ASHES
ANOTHER MOMENTUS SERIES begins in July with the first test commencing on the 10th and the balance of power may well be tipped in England’s favour. Unlike 2005, the Aussies have re-grouped over the last few years and have steadily reached the top of the world rankings. But their ini- tial form is sketchy at best and this time there is no Hayden, Ponting, Warne or Gilchrist to turn to. England too are walking with a swagger and I believe under English conditions they will ultimately prevail. My first bet centres on the correct score and my feeling is that the change in test cricket over the last decade, with quicker scoring, has resulted in fewer tests ending as draws. Even when the weather is inclement, the natural time al- lowed to extend a day’s play results in not that much play- ing time being lost and so I think the correct score will be 3-1 TO ENGLAND. This is universally available at 6/1 with most firms. My other two bets on the series centre on the top batsmen market for both sides and my two picks are (partially based on the opportunity of most innings accrued) DAVID WARNER for Austrailia and ALISTAIR COOK for England. I suggest the following;
As to stakes I would suggest 2x £20 WIN Singles and a £10 Double, which with Paddy Power will return £390 for a £50 stake. David Warner can hardly blame an excess time at the wicket if he fails in light of his punishment for punching Joe Root, but in a strange way, even though he will miss the one day series, this might be bene- ficial with regard to the Ashes for which he will be back.
PAGE 72
BOOK WIMBLEDON - LADIES
If SERENA WILLIAMS can destroy all before her on the red clay of Roland Garros then what price Wimbledon? Well rush down to Ladbrokes now because they are still tips on (10/11) which represents outstanding value. Now that her hunger has returned and she seemingly has recovered from that worrying blood poisoning 18 months ago, she is simply unopposable. It doesn’t really matter which side of the draw she is, and I would suggest a maximum bet of £110 (to win a ton). The draw might matter for my alternate who is ANGELA KERBER. She is widely available at 40/1 at present, but as the each way terms for Wimbledon are half the first two, if you are going to back Angela each way it might be politic to check if she’s in Serena’s half of the draw. Alternatively check her performance out on one of the exchange plat- forms.
Sergio Garcia
WIMBLEDON - MENS
As for the mens, the performance of Rafa in the French (tipped up as my maximum bet in last month’s column at 6/5) has meant that my main tip has lengthend in price. That was to be the Fed Express himself - Roger Federer, but he unexpectedly fell foul of an inspired Ukranian in round 2. I confess that I actually backed the Ukranian in running at 6/1 but obviously my ante-post on Roger fell. The Men’s will be decided come Sunday between Andy and Novak, but obviously for tipping purposes we cannot place a bet. My only tip at this late stage is to tip up Andy in 5 sets which if he faces Novak in the Final will be around 11/2.
GOLF - THE OPEN
The Open returns to Muirfield on the 18th and one thing is for certain (like it was when Faldo triumphed most recently at the course with a final round of 18 straight pars) the course is unlikely to be taken apart and therefore we need to look at golfers who play tee to green well, rather than streak putters. My number one pick is SERGIO GARCIA who is available uni- versally at odds of double carpet (33/1). Over the last year he has continually performed well in the Majors and now that his putting touch (if not fully returned) is manageable, I think his accurate ball striking will stand him in good stead. The Australians together with the South Africans always do well at The Open, and two Australians catch my eye. Firstly JASON DAY is a golfer who has so far slipped under the radar but that merely means that he is priced up currently at 66/1. However my main alternate fancy is ADAM SCOTT who is available at between 20 and 25/1. The Masters Champion certainly exorcised last year’s demons, where he gifted The Open to Ernie Els, by winning
PHTM JULY 2013
TOP AUS BAT
DAVID WARNER 9/2 PADDYPOWER
TOP ENG BAT ALISTAIR COOK 11/4 PADDYPOWER
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
