Australians Pass The Big Test With Punters

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday December 22, 2000

John Schell

Betting on Test cricket became a punters' paradise as Australia continued their dominance against the West Indies in Adelaide last week.

Keen punters were able to back every outcome, and still come out way ahead, at various stages of the third Test, with the fluctuating fortunes of both teams sparking plenty of interest.

``For people who stay at home and watch the Tests there is good money to be made, especially when we are betting live on the match," said SportOdds spokesman Geoff Edwards.

``It was heaven for punters last week. When Brian Lara was firing in the first innings, you could have got $5 about Australia winning. The West Indies were at $11 before the game started and into the second last day the draw was at $101. If you played things right how can you lose?"

There is no $5 available about the Australians racking up win No14 in a row in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, though.

``We had a punter have $20,000 on Australia at $1.33 to win again," said a spokesman for Bill Hurley.

Australian opener Matthew Hayden has been well backed with SportOdds to score the most runs in the five-match series, firming from $7 to $6.50 after bets of more than $1,000.

The women's World Cup final is played this weekend, with Australia dominant favourites to account for New Zealand.

``We have Australia at $1.22 and the Kiwis at $4," Edwards said.

``And we've taken a bet of $4,000 on Australia already. On form, the Aussies should crush New Zealand."

Shockwave is the pronounced favourite to take line honours in the Sydney to Hobart race.

Despite being at $1.40 with Hurley and SportOdds, Shockwave has attracted plenty of interest among punters.

Hurley took a $10,000 bet on the maxi, while SportOdds has also taken bets totalling more than $9,000 on the favourite.

Other boats favoured by punters are Brindabella ($12 with Hurley) and last year's winner Nokia ($23).

National Basketball League games this weekend have been the subject of some big bets.

Bill Hurley, now betting flat lines on the NBL with no 1/2 point starts, said the Sydney Kings were expected to easily account for Cairns.

Hurley took a $10,000 bet on the Kings to win giving away 16 points start at $1.90. He also laid a bet of $10,000 on Melbourne, -3 points, against Perth.

Edwards said SportOdds had had plenty of punters wanting to back Melbourne against Perth, with the Tigers price firming from $1.60 into $1.57 after some big bets.

``We've also had interest in Wollongong, the team that hit the deck last weekend, in their match against Canberra," Edwards said.

``We've taken a bet of $6,000 on Wollongong giving away 161/2 points start at $1.90."

Carlton's demise in the National Soccer League has affected betting on the competition, with SportOdds not framing markets on this weekend's matches.

Edwards said the agency was waiting to see where some of Carlton's key players resumed their careers before setting their prices.

But Hurley, Davidson's and SportsTAB do have markets available, with Hurley's spokesman saying Parramatta were the team to be on. The Power have firmed from $2.45 into $2.40 with Hurley for tonight's match against Auckland.

Defending Super Bowl champions St Louis are in a difficult position in their bid to to retain their title this season.

They are now out to $21 and must win against New Orleans this weekend to keep their hopes alive.

Tennessee are at the top of Super Bowl betting, with Minnesota, Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Oakland the other teams under double-figure odds.

A Hurley client did things tough watching an NBA game on Fox Sports yesterday afternoon.

The punter had backed Utah, at $2.40, to defeat Philadelphia and was glued to the television screen with the scores level and only two minutes of the game remaining.

Just as the tension was setting in, Fox decided to end their coverage and cross live to their exclusive telecast of Ian Healy's testimonial cricket match.

But the match hadn't started and with an interview with Healy being shown, the punter was left in the dark about the result of the basketball match, which Utah eventually won.

THE BEST BETS

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

New York Giants at $1.90 with SportOdds giving away 31/2 points start against Jacksonville in the NFL.

BASKETBALL

Melbourne at $1.87 with Bill Hurley giving away 3 points start against Perth in the NBL.

SOCCER

Parramatta at $2.55 with Davidson's against Auckland in the NSL.