The T20 series between Australia and West Indies continues on Sunday when the two sides head to Adelaide for the second game of the three, the first of which where the hosts have a chance to secure the series.
Of course, the bigger picture here is preparation for the World Cup which is closing in on us but the longer matches can have a competitive edge to them the better so there is plenty to play for from a West Indies point of view here.
Australia
There were good signs and bad signs for Australia in the opening game of the series but they probably won’t mind that too much. The good was how they blasted out of the traps with the bat in hand and while they hadn’t won the game in that time, they took a major step towards doing it. There was no real let up in the batting effort even though the middle order were generally all out cheaply and the result was a daunting score.
Where Australia probably won’t have been happy with their performance was with the ball in hand. West Indies got away from them up top, although to be fair with the amount of runs they were chasing there was an element of them batting with freedom. The good thing for Australia was when their bowlers they knew they could rely on took the ball they delivered the goods and pulled the innings back. Australia will want a more complete performance here though.
West Indies
Even though most of the West Indies players had been playing in the various T20 competitions around the world coming into this series, they still needed to adjust to the conditions so they will be quite happy that they took Australia as close as they did in the opening game. They won’t be happy that they lost but they will have known that the chances are they would have had things to tidy up on and if they do that here they are in with a chance.
They will be keen to get off to a better start with the ball. It will be interesting to see if they give the new ball to a couple of seamers this time after the move to open with Akeal Hosein never really worked. West Indies will be keen for early wickets and they will like to finish their batting innings off much stronger as well. They were in a good position when the opening pair got them off to a flier but they didn’t really play the leg spin well and that is where they need to improve.
Special Offer
Open a new Sporting Index account and bet £10 on this 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
You would imagine that Australia will look to get the series won before they make any changes to their side. If they do decide to rotate then they have the likes of Travis Head, Aaron Hardie and Nathan Ellis waiting in the wings.
West Indies aren’t short of options should they want to make changes for this match. Kyle Mayers, Roston Chase, Gudakesh Motie and Oshane Thomas were all omitted in the opening game and might get a go in this one.
Betting
I see no reason why this won’t be another high scoring match like the first game of the series was. There was over 400 runs in that contest and while we might not get to those levels here, if you go back to the Big Bash which recently concluded, this was a high scoring ground. The first two first innings here were over 200 runs and while the second two were only 153/7 and 165/7 they were both chased down with the minimum of fuss so the wicket has been playing well.
I mentioned in the opening game that both these teams have batting depth. West Indies could have had Alzarri Joseph coming in at 11 and he has plenty of runs in him while Australia sent Sean Abbott in at eight and he smashed a century in the T20 Blast last season. We also saw that with the exception of Adam Zampa there isn’t anything of any note in these two bowling attacks so I see no reason why this won’t be a high scoring game and one which goes beyond 361.5 runs.
Tips
Back Over 361.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
