The T20 series between New Zealand and West Indies concludes on Monday and although the series has already been decided, a World T20 is less than a year away should the world get back to normal by then, so there is still something to play for.
Two very controlled performances by New Zealand have already seen them win the series with a match to spare and they will go after a whitewash here. The reigning world champions in this format will be out to avoid that happening.
New Zealand
I probably did New Zealand a disservice by saying they have produced a couple of controlled performances. They have been dominant throughout and apart from the opening three overs with the ball in hand in the first game at no stage really have the Kiwis been under pressure. They have put together that excellent combination of being assured with the bat and bowling to their plans against a very dangerous batting line up.
To do this without two of their best players will be immensely satisfying but the other thing that will have pleased them is that the newcomers to the side have hit the ground running and delivered the goods. International cricket is going to be a squad game for the next few months at the very least so the more players the Kiwis have that can deliver the goods at this level the better. Winning is also important so it will be interesting to see if they keep their foot down here.
West Indies
There is no getting around the fact that West Indies have been disappointing in this series although to be fair to them they have had the rougher end of the conditions, especially in the second game where they were made to bowl three-quarters of their innings with drizzle and rain coming down and then the sun came out and conditions were perfect when it came to New Zealand having the ball in hand. Even allowing for that though, their bowling effort was extremely disappointing.
If West Indies are going to come out of the series with a consolation win then they are going to have to offer off something better with the ball rather than just banging it in and hoping for the best. The other thing they need to do is start building partnerships with the bat in hand rather than expecting to smack everything out of the ground. While these boundaries aren’t big enough to contain them the Kiwi bowling is too good to all them to do that.
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Team News
Kyle Jamieson, Ross Taylor and Tim Southee have been left out of the New Zealand squad for this final match of the series. Mitchell Santner will lead the side while Doug Bracewell, Mark Chapman and Scott Kuggeleijn will be looking for their first outings of the series.
West Indies are yet to play Romario Shepherd and Hayden Walsh Jr in this series so if they are going to get an outing that needs to happen here. Should they get given a run out you’d think Keemo Paul and Oshane Thomas could be the vulnerable ones.
Betting
The theme of this series so far has been a barrel load of sixes and now that there isn’t a competitive pressure on this match I see no reason why that won’t continue here. We saw on Sunday that the boundary on this ground isn’t anywhere near big enough to contain these two sides. Sixes in the second match weren’t just clearing the ropes by a few inches they were going miles over and while it is probably asking a lot to get another 28 sixes, I’ve got to think 18 is well within range for these two sides.
When you consider that Tim Seifert, Brandon King and Shimron Hetmyer never hit a single six on Sunday and Jimmy Neesham never even got to the crease – all big hitting batsmen – there is a natural reason to think the sixes will continue to flow, even allowing for the fact that Phillips isn’t likely to play the same innings again. Ultimately for 18 sixes we only need nine sixes each here and that feels very much in range on what we know is a good batting track.
Tips
VOID – Back Over 17.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with BetVictor
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