Plunge on England to claim T20 series in UAE

PUNTERS are reported to be piling into England to win the Twenty20 series with Pakistan in the aftermath of the ThreeLions completing a 4-0 ODI clean-sweep in Dubai on Tuesday.

The original best-prices for the three-game contest that begins this afternoon at the same International Cricket Stadium, have flip-flopped. Misbah-ul-Haq's men are now out to 11-10 and Stuart Broad's side at 10-11.

Hills spokesman Joe Crilly said on Wednesday: “We thought that both sides were relatively similar, with Pakistan maybe just shading it, but our punters thought otherwise and are backing England to continue their one-day form into the T20 series."

The firm offer 16-1 about Kevin Pietersen hitting his first shortest-format century in the first game - a 4-5 England v evens Pakistan affair - following his back-to-back tons in the Dubai 50-over games. Hills also go 5-1 he reaches three figures at any time in the series.

Bet365 confirmed the plunge and make KP 9-1 joint-favourite with Shahid Afridi to claim the game one man of the match honours. He is 5-6 with the firm to get 28 or more performancce points (1 point per run, 10 for a catch and 20 for a wicket with his off-spin).

Four consecutive England centuries in the ODI series cost Ladbrokes a reported £150,000 inreturned losing match-result stakes and they continue the offer if a batsman from either country reaches three figures in the T20 series.

Read Thursday's Racing Post for Pakistan v England Twenty20 series and latest ODI tri-series betting preview packages