The first Test between West Indies and England takes place in Barbados on Wednesday with both teams looking to get a fast start in the three match series. The Kensington Oval is a fitting host venue to kick things off at and hopefully we get a good match as a result.
Whoever wins this first match will go one up in the series and be in complete control of it so this is probably the biggest match of the lot. That should ensure plenty of early intensity and no lack of competition.
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West Indies
You would think that West Indies will go into this match fired up with the ball and I would expect them to deliver the goods in that department, so it might come down to the batsmen to decide whether the home side win or lose. There are some special players in the West Indies batting line up so if two of three of them can deliver the goods things could get very interesting.
This is usually the best batting wicket in the Caribbean with pace and bounce so it might be the one that suits the home side the most. They will hope that is the case so that they can get the upper hand in the series. The concern is that they lack an all-rounder to offer them decent balance so how they fare towards the end of days will be intriguing.
England
The tourists are probably in the same boat in that their batting can be very hit and miss but where the difference could lie for them is both in the number of all-rounders that they have as well as the quality of them. They have also been in trouble early in their innings so often in the recent past that if they get into it again they know not to panic and that they can get themselves out of it.
If England are going to return to where they want to be then they should really be dominating these kinds of matches. This isn’t a part of the world that allows them to bring out their best stuff naturally but that was the case in Sri Lanka recently and they came out on top there and actually looked pretty good in doing it. They need to ensure they perform to those standards here.
Team News
It remains to be seen whether Alzarri Joseph is fit enough to take his place in the side. If he isn’t then Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel will take their place alongside Jason Holder. Shimron Hetmyer is expected to bat at six with Darren Bravo returning at four.
England have evaluated the pitch and are set to go in with two spinners in which Adil Rashid is expected to partner Moeen Ali. Jonny Bairstow is likely to have kept his spot at number three which means Ben Foakes will keep the gloves.
Kensington Oval
This will be the 54th Test match to be held at this Barbados ground with West Indies having a decent record here. They have won 24 matches and lost just 12 with 17 draws in that time. England have featured in 15 Tests here and have come out on top three times. They have lost on five occasions and have drawn seven matches.
You have to go back six matches for the last time there was a score of 400 or more on this ground. Some of that is down to the teams involved here but the wicket has certainly taken a turn for the worse in recent times. There is said to be a sluggish look to this one which might make batting difficult and will almost certainly assist the spinners.
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Betting
I’ll go with a couple of bets on this match with the first one coming in the form of a performance market for Moeen Ali. I expect Ali to have a big series here and he can start that in style on a Barbados wicket which should suit him perfectly. He has a line of just 109.5 for this match which isn’t that high when you think five wickets and a few runs cover it but I fancy him to go well with bat as well as ball. However he does it, Moeen should be a leading player for England in this series. He can start that out by covering this line with plenty in hand.
Jos Buttler is primed to take this West Indies attack apart throughout the series and given that England still have issues at the top of the order I’ll chance the Lancashire batsman at 9/1 to lead England’s run scoring in the first innings. Buttler has been in belting form this winter for the Sydney Thunder and finished the Sri Lanka Test series off with a 50. Since returning to Test cricket, Buttler has six 50s and a ton in 18 innings with another four scores of 30 or more. I like his chances here at 9/1.
Tips
Back M.Ali’s Performance – Over 109.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back J.Buttler Top England 1st Inns Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 10.00 with 888sport
Back him here:
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