The Test series between Enland and West Indies concludes this week with the third and final Test match getting underway at Edgbaston on Friday under what is expected to be something of a heatwave the longer the game goes on.
England have already won the series so this match is purely about World Test Championship points while West Indies will be eyeing up a confidence boost ahead of their upcoming series against South Africa in the Caribbean.
England
While England have dominated the majority of the series so far, they were given more of a test in the second match in Nottingham than they were in the opening game so they are getting what they wanted from these matches now. The pitch at Trent Bridge was very flat which allowed the England hierarchy to see what their attack looks like on a deck resembling what they might face overseas down the line without Jimmy Anderson.
You wouldn’t say they bowled brilliantly in the first innings but it has to be said that a couple of the West Indies batters went well and it would be doing them a disservice to say that happened just because England bowled badly. England batted better at Trent Bridge than at Lord’s but they still don’t look like they are guaranteed to make the sort of big first innings scores that are paramount if they want to win away to the more established nations. That is something to work on.
West Indies
It was always expected that West Indies were going to improve for the run and play much better in the second game than they did in the first one and that is how it went. They started the game shambolically, firstly by choosing to bowl when the decision was to bat all day long and then their bowling for the first hour of the match was absolutely terrible and while they managed to recover in terms of the scoreboard, leaving themselves to bat last always felt like a decision which would come back to haunt them and it did.
In saying that, even in the run chase they were off to a good start but once one wicket went down they couldn’t recover and surrendered to a pretty tame defeat. There were certainly positives to take from that previous match but they need to find the confidence from within to make the right decisions and also the game recognition of when they are on top and to make sure that they ram home their advantage when they can, knowing that tougher times are ahead.
Special Offer
Open a new Sporting Index account and bet £10 on the series (min odds 1/2) to get £20 in free bets (2x£10 free bets) to use on any sports market! Click the image below to take advantage of this great offer! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Responsibly.
Team News
England were probably expected from the outside to make some changes to their XI for this match with the series wrapped up but they have chosen the same eleven which means that Matty Potts and Dillon Pennington will need to wait for the Sri Lanka series to get their chance.
West Indies will be forced into two changes from their XI with Kevin Sinclair ruled out of the match with a broken arm. Gudakesh Motie has recovered from illness to return to the side but Shamar Joseph has come down with it and is a doubt. Akeem Jordan will debut if Joseph doesn’t make it.
Betting
England have clearly asked for flat pitches for this series to be played on because it seems as though that is what has been delivered at Edgbaston so soon after similar at Trent Bridge so with that in mind I think that the 920.5 run line is a little on the low side here. This was covered very early in the third innings at Trent Bridge in a match that went on to have more than 1200 runs and I wouldn’t be surprised for something similar here. West Indies showed at Trent Bridge that they can handle this England attack on a flat pitch whereas England have had West Indies’ number with the bat all series. The pitch might do a bit towards the end of the match but it is expected to play well in the early days and I like over 920.5 runs here.
The other bet I think is worth chancing is the 6/1 on Shoaib Bashir to be the leading wicket taker in the first innings for England. Were England to bat first and bat into the second day of the match then the pitch might start to offer something for the spinners if not immediately in the West Indies innings then certainly the longer it goes on so even if it is only tailenders that Bashir picks up I do think he can take wickets. Even in the reverse scenario, he took two scalps in the first innings on a flat pitch which played the best for batting in the match during the second game so he isn’t out of contention were England to bowl first. With dry conditions expected, a few lefties in the West Indies ranks and way too many players not great at playing spin, Bashir could be the sleeper in the first innings.
Tips
Back Over 920.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back S.Bashir Top England 1st Innings Bowler for a 1/10 stake at 7.00 with Coral
