The Swalec Stadium in Cardiff is the venue for the beginning of the 2009 Ashes series, something which few could have predicted would be the case when England were victorious four years ago. Quite whether this Welsh ground should be selected ahead of Old Trafford or Trent Bridge is a question for another day, although it's the draw price that's currently the bookmaker favourite for the first Test match of five. Firms have taken a look at the latest weather forecast and decided that the expected rainfall might halt proceedings to the degree where there is no result come Sunday evening. Stan James offer a best price 13/8 that this happens.

England will have plenty of patriotic money behind them and are currently available at 5/2 (Coral) to draw first blood in south Wales. The selectors have controversially decided to omit 2005 hero Steve Harmison for the match, instead putting their faith in Graham Onions to take some Australian wickets. The latter is an 11/2 chance (bet365) to be top English bowler, with James Anderson the 5/2 favourite (Blue Square) for this accolade. It was Andrew Flintoff who took the most wickets for the home side four years ago, and with the Lancashire all-rounder seemingly near full fitness, there might be plenty of takers for the 3/1 (William Hill) currently around.

Batting-wise for England, it's no surprise to see Kevin Pietersen topping the market to score the most runs during his team's first innings. The Hampshire dynamo is a best price 7/2 (Paddy Power) to demonstrate that he's put all captaincy issues behind him with the best knock. Current skipper Andrew Strauss is a 4/1 chance (Ladbrokes), although there could instead be value opting for Ian Bell (6/1 Victor Chandler). After all, he's arguably the most natural batsman that England have, and he'll have a point to prove after such a disappointing performance during the 2005 series.

Nevertheless, the Aussies are still a formidable Test side, as they demonstrated when whitewashing England eighteen months ago. Brett Lee might be missing for the tourists, although some might be still be piling in at 2/1 (Sporting Bet) that Australia take a 1-0 lead. They might well encouraged by the controversial choice of venue, and in Mitchell Johnson (2/1 Ladbrokes), they have a potential star in the making. This bowler is very fast and is likely to cause problems for the English batting order. It's tougher to call which batsman might score the most runs during their team's first innings in Cardiff, although captain Ricky Ponting (7/2 Paddy Power) might be hard to oust.

There are lots of other markets available, including Man of the Match, where the likes of Andrew Flintoff (12/1 Ladbrokes), Kevin Pietersen (12/1 William Hill) and Michael Hussey (16/1 Ladbrokes) all make for interesting betting propositions.