It only seemed yesterday that England’s cricket team paraded through London in an open top bus in front of thousands of fans after their historic win of The Ashes. The fact that the majority of those players on the bus had been on a 24 hour bender just added to the festivities and images of a ruddy faced bleary eyed Freddie Flintoff will live with me for a long time.

The fact is a long time has passed since that late summers day back in 2005 and my memory isn’t so good when trying to wipe from my mind the Aussies demolition of England on home turf two years later in 2007. The 5-0 crushing series win has been mainly overlooked by the British press, who have decided to concentrate more on the Aussies slow demise over the past 12 months with the retirements of stalwarts Gilchrist, Hayden, Warne and McGrath.

There’s no doubting that England’s chances of a series win will have been aided by these great names departure from the sport and the odds reflect this, with Australia an easing 4/5 shot in the series outright market with totesport. The hosts are 15/8 to win the series and the draw is a 4/1 chance.

So, on Wednesday at 11am in the unfamiliar surroundings of South Wales this sporting rivalry will resume in earnest, with the Aussies again edging favourtism with totesport at 7/4. The visitors are on the drift though with news that Brett Lee will be missing from the attack and totesport are currently best price England at 9/4. The draw is 11/8.

A lots been made of the pitch in Cardiff and how it will favour the spinners. We’re yet to see if England will deploy a two-pronged spin attack for this match although the squad selection suggests that both Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar will make the lineup on Wednesday morning. Australia on the other hand have no such concerns as they have yet to replace Shane Warne and in Nathan Hauritz, the only spinner in the Aussie Camp he won’t fill the English top order with dread.

In terms of other markets to bet on in the first test, the top batsman is always a popular bet. Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss head the betting in the England team at 7/2 each a two whilst Ricky Ponting is also a 7/2 shot in the Australian team.

Totesport are offering an excellent promotion around the top batsman market, as they’ll pay out on your selection as a winner if they score 100+ in the match, regardless of whether they’re the top batsman or not.

For all your Ashes and cricket betting visit totesport.