Aussies defy the odds

Australia defied odds of 100/1 to win the Ashes Down Under by a 5-0 whitewash.

Australia defied odds of 100/1 to win the Ashes Down Under by a whitewash, as the bookmakers misjudged the threat of the hosts prior to the tournament. The Aussies were available to back for a 5-0 win at three figures with Sky Bet before a ball had been bowled back in September, but were odds-on (10/11) by the start of the fifth and final Test. Following England's 3-0 win in August last year, the tourists opened the latest series as 11/8 favourites to win the first Test, with Australia priced at 7/4. By the fifth Test, which finished on Sunday morning (GMT), England were 7/2 to avoid a whitewash but Australia duly completed the rout by 281 runs. Additionally, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen all underwhelmed in the total runs market for England, with each man failing to cover their respective handicap. Sky Bet's cricket trader Tom Warburton said: "We layed 5-0 Australia steadily throughout, and with it being originally priced at 100/1, it cost us come England's decimation in Sydney." The old rivals will next meet in England in 2015 - a series for which each side has been priced up at 6/5, with a draw rated 5/1. Warburton added: "Australia's bowling unit is going from strength to strength, key players with huge potential were missing from the 5-0 romp. "England's attack, heavily dependent on James Anderson, is ageing and not showing the same potential and this could be key going into the 2015 series." Australia can be backed to win the next series by another whitewash at 33/1 with Sky Bet.