West Indies have no time to dwell on losing the T20 series with South Africa last weekend as they kick off another five match T20 bonanza against Australia on Friday night with both sides doing battle in St Lucia.
Conditions in Grenada probably ended up going against the home side but on a fresh pitch in St Lucia they will be looking to show why they are the world champions in this format. Australia have their sights on that title in a few months and can lay a marker down here.
West Indies
The South Africa series probably ended up being a good one for West Indies because it gave them a chance, if they needed it, to see where they have to improve if they are to make a successful defence of their World T20 title later in the year. It also showed them who they can move forward with and the areas where they might need to have a look at other options and gave them a final to prepare themselves for knockout action.
They won’t have been happy to lose the series and where they would be disappointed is that their defeats all came the same way – a lack of nous against the spin. If they go on and win the World T20 then losing that series won’t have mattered. It will be interesting to see how they go here though, especially in those disciplines where they struggled against South Africa. Everyone can accept faults as long as they are acknowledged and improved upon.
Australia
This is the first time we will see Australia in action since the end of their summer when they went to New Zealand. They have had a few issues with players going over to the Caribbean so they are not at full strength, and much like a lot of the other cricket action we’ve seen across the world since the pandemic struck the only practice the Australians have been able to get in since they have been in the Caribbean has been between themselves.
They played a couple of squad matches between themselves and their batsmen have all got runs under their belt which bodes well for them here. Those matches are all well and good but you only really know where you’re at as a side when you have a competitive opponent in front of you. Generally regardless of who they pick Australia are usually good in the bowling department so their success or otherwise will be down to how they bat.
Special Offer
Open up a BetVictor account and bet £5 to get £30 in bonuses! Click the image below for this standout new account offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Responsibly
18+ New Customers only. Deposit, opt in and place a £5 qualifying bet at odds of 2.00 or greater within 7 days of opening a new account; excludes cashed out bets. Receive 2x £10 Free Sports Bets, valid on set events only at odds 2.00 or greater, expires in 7 days. Plus a £10 Game Show Bonus, selected games, wager 40x to withdraw a max of £250. T&Cs Apply. Please Gamble Responsibly.
Team News
West Indies didn’t name their squad until the morning of this opening match but they are continuing to rest Jason Holder. Fabian Allen has recovered from the injury which forced him out of the decider against South Africa while Hayden Walsh Jr is in the squad.
Australia look set to pack their side with batting depth with Dan Christian and Moises Henriques likely to come together to be the fifth bowling option. Riley Meredith and Josh Hazlewood look to be battling it out with each other to be the other seamer alongside Mitchell Starc.
Betting
We saw the sixes totals get lower and lower as the series between West Indies and South Africa went on but I expect them to flow here for a couple of reasons. The first one being that this Australia side look a much bigger hitting side than that South Africa one was and it has a lot more depth to their batting so there isn’t a period where they will need to slow down. The other reason why I like sixes here is the fact that the pitch at St Lucia is always a good one for batting.
The sixes line for this match is 14.5 albeit a shorter price than the normal odds we would take on a bet like this but I’m happy to get on. Australia have some good bowlers but when West Indies are on it that isn’t going to make a difference. There is no shortage of power in this Australia side either so I’m expecting the big shots to come quite regularly. There is more pace and bounce in this St Lucia wicket than we saw in Grenada so everything points to that line being covered.
Tips
Back Over 14.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Betfair
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
