Rugby League & Football

So only 50 overs were bowled at Lords but it was enough for England's price to be chopped in half as the Burnley Burglar exploited very favourable conditions to ensure his central contract renewal for next year. Need to knock these two over early and they won't get 250, but Oram and Vettori are capable of seeing them to 300 otherwise.

7.30 Warrington +6 to beat Wigan 10/11 (LOST 38-14 +0.73 - Wigan were on song, dirven by Trent Barrett and maybe the good times are returning for the Warriors...)
Much has been said and written about Wigan putting a century past Whitehaven in the Challenge Cup last weekend, but that's not Super League, and there is a reason they are closing off promotion and relegation. If you come back to the Super League, Wigan have lost their last three, including a 57-16 spanking by St Helens, and you have to go back 9 games to find a victory for the Warriors by more than 6 points. Granted Warrington had a poor run before edging Huddersfield 36-34 a fortnight ago, but they were only beaten by 8 points by the Saints and defeated Wigan 32-20 at home back in March. Both sides have 14 points but the Wolves points difference is 3.5pts per game better than Wigan. So a 6 point start tonight has to be taken advantage of, especially when some bookies are only offering +2 at similar prices.

7.45 Southend +0.25 Asian handicap v Doncaster 16/13 (LOST 5-1! -.27 - Well it all went wrong, and lets leave it at that, and get behind Donny for the final!)
Only three of the nine playoff matches so far have been won by the home side, and two of those are where the home side had an advantage from the first leg. This carries on the trend from last season, and suggests to me that the pressure and expectation of a home crowd becomes too much for many sides and they fail to perform as they have for the previous 46 games that have got them into this lottery. Tonight's game is another very much in the balance after a 0-0 draw at Roots Hall, but the late sending off of Doncaster centre forward who has scored 7 in 18 games for Rovers may leave short of firepower - neither James Hayter or Lewis Guy have scored in their last 10 appearances. A draw wouldn't surprise me, but Southend won 10 games on the road in the regular season, third to Swansea and Dirty Leeds, so a victory for the Shrimpers shouldn't be discounted. So to get the best of both worlds, lay Donny on Betfair, or play the Asian handicap.