Sports Betting: Parrott is the Crucible value

THERE ARE times when it is best simply to listen to the experts. And Tim Pickering, the Tote's odds-compiling genius who has an encyclopedic knowledge of everything from indoor bowls to snooker, reckons John Parrott is a good each-way bet with Ladbrokes at 25-1 for the World Snooker Championship, which starts at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield this weekend.

Pickering says: "John Higgins is a solid favourite and looks sure to reach the quarter-finals, but he will find it tough from there and is no value at the odds. The best bet lies in the other half of the draw where Parrott has a fairly straightforward task until being scheduled to run into Ronnie O'Sullivan - who is completely unreliable - and Stephen Hendry - who is eminently beatable nowadays - in the quarters and semis.

"Parrot played well enough when reaching the quarter- finals of the British Open recently and always raises his game at the Crucible. At 12-1 (half the odds) to reach the final, he looks a decent wager." Enough said.

Meanwhile, tomorrow, Arsenal and Manchester Untied must be a fair bet to fight out yet another draw in 90 minutes in their FA Cup semi-final replay. Newcastle are favourites to win the FA Cup outright simply by virtue of the fact they are already in the final.

Whoever wins tomorrow night will most certainly be the favourites at 1-2 to beat the Magpies at Wembley.

SNOOKER

C H L S T

J Higgins 13-8 13-8 11-8 7-4 6-4

S Hendry 5-2 7-2 4-1 10-3 7-2

M Williams 13-2 9-2 6-1 6-1 5-1

R O'Sullivan 8-1 11-2 8-1 8-1 8-1

K Doherty 10-1 14-1 12-1 14-1 11-1

J Parrott 16-1 20-1 25-1 20-1 20-1

TO WIN FA CUP

C H L S T

Newcastle 11-8 11-8 5-4 11-8 6-4

Man Utd 7-4 13-8 7-4 13-8 7-4

Arsenal 2-1 9-4 9-4 11-5 2-1

TOMORROW

C H L S T

Man Utd 6-4 11-8 6-4 11-8 11-8

Draw 2-1 2-1 9-5 2-1 2-1

Arsenal 13-8 7-4 9-5 7-4 7-4

C Coral, H William Hill, L Ladbrokes, S Stanley, T Tote