The ODI series between England and West Indies comes to a close on Tuesday when the two sides head from the capital of Wales to the capital of England for the third and final match of a get together already won by the home side.
England have shown dominance in both matches and will be looking for a whitewash here for ranking implications while West Indies will also be looking to help out their ranking but also find something for the upcoming T20 matches.
England
This series has probably been more uncompetitive for England than they would have expected but that isn’t a bad thing. We have been waiting for a while for England to play some smart cricket and dig themselves out of awkward situations and look balanced and relaxed in doing so and they were given the opportunity to do that in the second game. I think it is fair to say that England will have tougher challenges under Harry Brook but for an opening couple of games in a new era this will be perfectly acceptable.
The one thing which will please Brook is how even when his side were in a bit of a hole in that second game they were able to get out of it. They have passed 300 with the bat with ease in both matches and while he would have liked his bowlers to have more pressure on the opposition for longer in that game in Cardiff, they came back well so even taking into account the indifferent level of the opposition, there are positive signs in this new era for England.
West Indies
West Indies arrived in Ireland prior to the England leg of this trip looking for ODI wins to bolster their ranks as the focus on qualifying for the World Cup in 2027 begins to increase. They could only share the three matches across the Irish Sea 1-1 with a washout and are 2-0 down here so this trip hasn’t gone to plan. They will feel they let that second match of this series get away from them though and that might leave a bit of a bitter taste in their mouth.
West Indies know that if they are going to avoid a whitewash here then they need to bowl much better in the second half of their bowling innings. It could be argued that they are a little toothless with their attack in these conditions but these players have been successful in other parts of the world. The other thing they have to do is finish their batting innings much better. To be bowled out with 15 balls to spare from the position they were in was bordering on criminal in Cardiff.
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Team News
With the series won England might choose to have a look at Tom Banton and Tom Hartley in this match with Ben Duckett maybe coming in for a rest as he is at the start of what is an incredibly busy summer in all formats.
West Indies will be hoping that a reinforcement has arrived in the form of Sherfane Rutherford and if he has he shouldn’t have too much trouble making his way into the side. Gudekesh Motie has been expensive in the series so far and could make way.
Betting
It looks as though we are going to have to wait for a band of rain to pass through before we can get the action underway on Tuesday so we are likely to have a shortened match here and that might just play into the hands of West Indies a little more. We know that they are much happier playing the 20 over format than the 50 over one and it would be hard to see too many more overs than a 20 over game here, maybe slightly more towards 25 but that brings West Indies much more into the game.
There is no competitive pressure on the tourists in this match and their batting is set to be bolstered by the arrival of Sherfane Rutherford and there is also a chance that Evin Lewis will be available too. England might choose to rest one or two with this being the beginning of their summer but with the West Indies batters able to play with more freedom in an expected shortened overs match the value certainly lies with them at 4/1 here.
Tips
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