Ireland will be looking to wrap up their ODI series against West Indies on Friday when the two sides meet at Clontarf for the second time in the scheduled three matches with a much more competitive affair expected.
The first game was very one-sided in the Irish favour and they now have two chances to win the series. West Indies were terrible in that first game and will know they need a much better showing if they are going to force a decider.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the TNT Sports 1 channel with the build-up getting underway at 10.30am ahead of the first ball at 10.45am.
Ireland
I would imagine if you had offered Ireland a 124 run win in the opening match of the series they would have snapped your hand off but they would also probably have thought that you were joking. They would have expected a much stronger showing from West Indies but to be fair to the Irish they forced such a poor showing out of their opposition with some excellent cricket and if they can win this second game and secure the series with a match to spare it would make a statement.
Ireland were excellent with the bat in that opening game. Any time that you post over 300 in an ODI game you are going to be in the contest even though it did only look like a par score at the time. Where Ireland did surprise was with the ball. To shoot out the top order like skittles without their best new ball bowler was a wonderful effort and if they can back that up it would certainly be no bad thing for them. That is a big question but if it comes with a positive answer this could be another great day for Irish cricket.
West Indies
There is absolutely no way that West Indies will be happy with any part of their performance in the opening game of the series. You can cut them some slack in that this was their first match of the tour and a number of players arrived in at short notice but even with that caveat in place, they could not have expected to be as bad as they were in that opening game. There wasn’t really a period in it at all when they could have been considered to be on top.
It goes without saying that there is a whole lot more to come from the men from the Caribbean in this match and it might well do so with them coming on for the run but they will want to bowl much better than they did in the first game, especially in the last 20 overs of the innings but they will have to bat so much better. There isn’t a situation where that top order should be reduced to 31-5 and those five players will need to stand up and be counted much more if they are all given another run out.
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Team News
After such a dominant and emphatic performance in the opening match of the series it would be a surprise were Ireland to make any changes to a winning team. It might be that they do that for the third game if they can win the series here.
West Indies in contrast could decide to make a host of changes. Jewel Andrew would be an obvious player to come into the side with the bat while Jayden Seales has been competing for Sussex and should be able to strengthen the bowling unit.
Betting
There weren’t many players who could come out of the first ODI in credit for the West Indies but Roston Chase would definitely be one of them and given how composed and correct he looked at the crease it wouldn’t be a complete surprise were he to move up the order one or two spots and get a better role in the side. We might also see him bowl his full complement of overs as well if the seamers go around the park again.
Chase has a performance line in this match of 31.5 points and that feels very accessible to me. The one thing West Indies didn’t have in that opening game was many all-rounders but Chase is one. He showed how good he is with the bat with he 55 he made and he also took a wicket when he bowled. He is a tall guy so he is going to field in key positions so a catch can’t be ruled out of the equation either. Chase scored 75 points in the opening game and with a combination of bat, ball and in the field I struggle to believe he doesn’t make 32 points here.
Tips
Back R.Chase’s Performance – Over 31.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
