Some facts and figures from the world of Betfair

Punters regularly ask us about some of the amazing bets and market swings that in-play betting throws out on Betfair. Let's hope you weren't on the wrong side of any of these transactions!

What a few weeks its been in the world of sport. And when that happens it normally means all hell has broken loose on Betfair's markets too.

Let's start Down Under in mid-February. You've just been white-washed in the Ashes, lost your last four ODIs in a row, need to win your two remaining matches and hope that another match not involving you goes your way. Assuming all this happens, you then need to beat the winners of the last two World Cups and number one-ranked team in the world in a best of three-final. In other words: what price England to win the Commonwealth Bank Series at this stage? 25, 50, 100? Try 220. That 's the price some backers got on Flintoff to steady the pedalo and lead England to Commonwealth Bank Series glory. And that's precisely what he did.

It certainly wasn't a good month for punting on Ricky "Punter" Ponting's protégées. Having been turned over in the CB Series, they were then humiliated 3-0 by Stephen Fleming's men next door in New Zealand in another ODI Series. Who says good neighbours always become good friends? In the third and final match Australia posted 346 courtesy of Matthew Hayden's 181 not out and had New Zealand at 41-4. What price Australia? You guessed it - 1.01. What happened next? New Zealand chased down the mammoth score with three balls remaining. Serves Australia right for having Andrew Symonds in their side, who was born in Birmingham. Kevin Pietersen reckons that shouldn't be allowed.

At the Qatar Tennis Open you will have done well to have given Swiss Miss Martina Hingis a 1.01 miss. That was the price the former world number one was matched at against Daniela Hantuchova before losing in three sets. But 1.01s being turned over like Swiss clockwork weren't limited to Hingis. Enter Roger Federer. The Fed Express was derailed not once but twice in the space of three weeks and on both occasions was matched at 1.01. Not unusual enough? And what if we told you that on both occasions he lost to Argentine Guillermo Canas? A few people owe that man a drink...

But overcoming the odds isn't just limited to tennis and cricket. It also happens in golf. And it certainly happened to a certain Mark Wilson. After incurring a two-stroke penalty for an infringement caused by his caddie, Wilson was matched at Betfair's maximum price of 1000. All he had to was to recover a few strokes in a world-class field, hope Boo Weekley missed a three-foot putt to win the tournament and then win a four-man play-off. Plain sailing then for Wilson who motored to success at the Honda Classic, in the process picking up a cheque, a trophy and an apology from his caddie.

But big upsets also happen on the biggest stages and what bigger stage than Augusta, where the US Masters is held? Going into the tournament Zach Johnson was matched at 460 on Betfair and played in a relatively conservative manner for three rounds. But then Zach went on an animal attack. First he shot down the Goose (matched at a low of 2.5) and then he hunted down the Tiger (low of 1.6). With Johnson in the clubhouse at +1, Tiger ran out of lives and holes to pull shots back on and Augusta had a new winner. Phil Mickelson may be married to a former underwear model but the only fabric he got his hands on come Sunday night was the Green Jacket he helped Zach Johnson into as the 2007 US Masters winner.

I've always wondered why a team from East London is called West Ham. I've also always wondered how at 3-2 up with one minute of normal time to go its possible to lose a football match. Try telling that to the punters who backed Spurs at 160 to win at Upton Park in that very situation. As Paul Stalteri prodded the ball past Robert Green deep into injury-time, the last thing on the Spurs layers' mind was the origin of West Ham's name.

And that's all from the intriguing world of Betfair. Till next time.