Cricket Preview

All eyes are looking up (at the weather) in Birmingham ahead of the second test between England and Sri Lanka. My view is they should be looking down.

The pitch being prepared has not been used before for a test, due to depending on who you believe, a fireworks display last November or a cold and frosty start to the English spring not allowing enough grass growth. Whatever, an untried pitch coupled with inclement weather in the days leading up to the test has me very wary as to how it will be behave.

Underprepared pitches have the ability to become a bowler's friend - but on the odd occasion they do become a batsmen's benefit. More than ever, watching how the pitch behaves in the first couple of sessions is crucial to working out the likelihood of a result or draw in this test.

However all the pregame talk has been about the weather - the draw was riding high at over 3.0 some days ago and has collpased to a low of 1.95 while it is currently sitting at 2.10 with the forecast. I think the market has over-reacted to the forecasts and while bad light may also come into play, I'm quite happily laying it at this price.