The Test series between England and West Indies was much more competitive than many had expected and that has set the limited overs matches between the two up nicely. They begin with a one-off T20 match in Durham on Saturday evening.
It has been played down in the lead up to the match but I expect when both sides get on the field the carry over from the World T20 final will resume. That is another thing which sets this up well.
England
The World T20 finalists have won four and lost four since that disaster in Kolkata last year. That means they are hard to assess in this format of the game. Their home series generally only being one match each makes it equally as difficult too as does the fact that apart from Finals Day none of the players have played a T20 in a month and only three of the squad played in that.
Usually England have a good bowling attack who are hard to score against and then they bat deep which makes opposing sides push harder with the bat and come unstuck. That is how the majority of the wins come about. When they are beaten it is usually down to a lack of runs so all eyes will be on them when they bat.
West Indies
This is the one format of the game that the West Indies currently excel in. They have won five of their last six matches in this format and will head to Chester-le-Street confident of another success. There are a couple of reasons for that not least the fact that their star players have returned to feature in this format.
Another reason for them to be optimistic heading into this contest is because their squad arrive here off the back of the Caribbean Premier League which finished just a week ago. That means they will be fine-tuned and rehearsed in the nuances of the format. They should be a much stronger outfit than the Test side.
Team News
England will rest Ben Stokes for this match which denies us a repeat of the final over drama from the World T20 final and denies the Durham faithful the chance to see their star in an England shirt. Mason Crane, Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad have been rested.
West Indies have a full strength side available here with the exception of Samuel Badree who is out in Pakistan. In Durham at this time of year they were only likely to play one spinner anyway. Ronsford Beaton could make his international debut.
Riverside Stadium
This will be the third T20 international to be held at this ground. England have won one and lost one in the two matches here so far. West Indies will be playing here for the first time. They haven’t had a warm up match either.
Scores at Durham tend to be on the medium side. The boundaries can be huge here although that is not likely to stop the West Indies batsmen. The pitch has been known to get sluggish in the second innings.
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Betting
I think with England choosing to rest players in this match ahead of the ODI series it shows where they place this game in the grand scheme of things so this could be the right time to take on Eoin Morgan’s men.
It is definitely the time to be backing the West Indies. This is the format that they excel in and their squad comes here fully practiced in the T20 art after the Caribbean Premier League. The fear is they will freeze in the conditions, quite literally as it turns out, but I suspect the likes of Gayle, Pollard, Samuels et al will want to lay a marker down and the tourists are a great price with the squad they have here.
Tips
WON – Back West Indies to beat England for a 4/10 stake at 2.38 with Ladbrokes
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