Sports Betting: England Backed For Ashes Glory

Sports betting firms prepare for busy summer of cricket with the Ashes series.

Although Australia remain favourites to win the Ashes series this summer, bookmakers have already seen plenty of support for an England victory.

With the Australians announcing their 16-man squad on Wednesday (May 20th), William Hill announced that many punters seem to think Andrew Strauss' side have a good chance this year.

The visitors are the 4/6 favourites but will be without several key men from the Ashes battles of recent years, as Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist have all now left the fold.

Spokesperson for the betting firm Rupert Adams said that British punters are "far less daunted" by the Australian line-up this time around.

"We expect England to be well backed as a result," he added.

However, the presence of Phillip Hughes in the Australia squad is likely to cause England's bowlers some concern.

The 20-year-old Middlesex player has scored 882 runs in 13 innings this season and can be backed at 5/1 with Sky Bet to hit a century on his Ashes debut.



Meanwhile, Strauss is 10/11 to outscore his opposite number Ricky Ponting in the series.