Cricket back in the Caribbean begins on Friday when the West Indies and England do battle in the first of three ODIs. This first match comes from Antigua where both sides will be eager to draw first blood in the series and go one up with two to play.
There will be a lot of references to the World T20 final, some good cricket and some indifferent stuff in what should be an entertaining afternoon.
West Indies
This isn’t the West Indies’ strongest format of the game in recent times but their new coach Stuart Law was a fine one day player himself and he will aim in time to get them functioning in the 50 over game. West Indies haven’t qualified for the Champions Trophy later in the year so they will have plenty to prove in this match.
It is almost a given what we’re going to get from the West Indies. They will mix big shots with some average batting and they will send down plenty of fire with the ball and that will be tinged with a fair amount of rubbish mixed in. They will need their best stuff for long periods to handle this England side I believe.
England
England aren’t too unpredictable in this format anymore either. We know they are going to go hard with the bat and come in all guns blazing with the ball and that makes them hard to beat these days. Conditions might not be completely to their liking but we’ve seen them adapt fairly well recently which bodes well.
I don’t think England’s bowlers will need any reminding after that amazing end to the World T20 final but they will need to ensure they don’t let up until they have bowled the West Indies out as the West Indies do bat deep. If England bowl well in this series they should be fine because their batting depth is incredibly long too.
Team News
West Indies are without a number of star players in this format of the game. Kieron Pollard is probably the biggest miss. He is playing in the Pakistan T20 tournament while there is no Chris Gayle or Sunil Narine.
England will be missing some big players themselves. David Willey and Mark Wood have been ruled out of the entire series while Alex Hales and Jake Ball miss this opening match. Tom Curran has been added to the squad but he isn’t expected to play. Sam Billings is set to open.
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
This ground has held 13 previous ODIs and neither team have the best record here. West Indies have a horrible record on this ground. They have played here nine times with two wins and seven defeats while England have won two and lost three of five matches.
The strip is usually good for batting here and with the boundaries on the attainable side scores are often decent. I’m expecting another high scoring match here.
Betting
England are widely expected to win the match but I’m not sure I’m at the stage where I can trust their bowling attack to deliver the goods at the best part of 1/3 odds just yet so I’ll head to the side markets for a punt on this series opener.
It is the sixes I like here where the line at 11.5 looks on the low side. Both these batting line ups just love to get the ball in the air and clear the ropes and there is nothing in either bowling attack that is going to stop that. I’ve heard rumours of one of the straight boundaries being around 60 yards and if that remains the case then sixes are going to get peppered all day. As it is I fancy a dozen of them regardless of where the boundary is.
Tips
Back Over 11.5 sixes for a 5/10 stake at 1.73 with Paddy Power
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