The first Test Match between West Indies and England begins tomorrow in Jamaica, with England the 4/7 favourites to win the series.

England have not lost a test series to West Indies in 15 years, and it is difficult to make a case for the home side. Punters hoping for an 27/10 upset in the first test will need Chanderpaul to be at the top of his game, who is 11/4 to be the Top West Indies Batsman, just ahead of 9/2 Chris Gayle.

England drew their tour match with West Indies A, which was fair enough as they were only given 4 sessions in which to bat.  Andrew Strauss thought that it was a pretty good work-out, but still admits that his side needs to sharpen up.

In the betting for the 1st Test Match, there has been a bit of money for the draw, which has been cut from 5/2 into 9/4. If Andrew Flintoff stays fit, England will be good value to cover totesport’s 1.5 test match handicap at odds of 5/4.

I won’t be having an interest in the Man of the Match market, because the bookmakers are betting to 150%. Chanderpaul and Flintoff are the 10/1 co-favourites in that market, whilst Flintoff is 11/4 to be the top series wicket-taker.

Kevin Pietersen is pretty short at 11/4 to get the first English Century, so backers could be tempted by either 7/2 Strauss or 4/1 Cook. Alastair Cook is 4/1 to Hit a Six and Matt Prior is 6/5 to make a stumping.

bookies.com is your best bet for comparing odds on cricket markets:

West Indies v England Series Betting

West Indies v England 1st Test Match Betting

West Indies v England Specials

Kevin Pietersen has left his position as England Cricket Captain today, following a row with coach Peter Moores. Although the details are still not clear, it looks like Moores has quit as England coach. That means there are 2 new markets this Wednesday on bookies.com, Next England Captain and one for the Next England Coach.

Paddy Power must have made a mistake by offering 11/10 on Andrew Strauss, as he is now 2/5 favourite with Ladbrokes. The markets have been shambolic this morning, with Kevin Pietersen priced up at varying prices from Paddy Power’s 11/8 and Coral’s 14/1. Unsurprisingly, Coral and Paddy Power have taken down their markets whilst things calm down a little.

Check the terms with your bookmaker before placing a bet, because although most are taking bets on the captain for the 1st Test against West Indies, William Hill have specified that their market is on the captain for the 1st Ashes Test. Meanwhile Ladbrokes will void bets if Pietersen is captain for the West Indies Test Series, so their 2/5 about Strauss is probably a better price than other firms’ 8/13.

Andrew Strauss has enjoyed some great form recently and is a well respected player who deserves his place in the side. That said, we may well see 2/1 KP return as captain under a different coach. Pietersen is currently the 7/4 second favourite on Betfair, so perhaps there may even be value in 2/1 with Stan James.

Other contenders are 8/1 Flintoff and 20/1 Collingwood. As for 33/1 Michael Vaughan, it looks like his time is up. Robert Key has had some interest in the market, 20/1 from 40/1.

In the Next Coach market, Andy Flower is the 2/7 hot favourite, who may take over as an interim coach. He was made assistant coach in May 2007, and the bookies reckon that he’ll be promoted. Ashley Giles is 6/1, but 5/1 Graham Ford is probably more of interest, in from 12/1.

This turmoil means that Australia have shortened for the Ashes, with Boylesports offering the stand-out price of 6/5, although some bookmakers go odds-on.

bookies.com compares odds between the top UK bookmakers on hundreds of cricket markets:

Next England Captain Betting

Next England Coach Betting

The Ashes 2009 Betting

Will Shane Warne bowl a ball in the Ashes? Betting

West Indies v England Test Series Betting

New Zealand v West Indies 4th ODI Betting