The second T20 international between West Indies and England takes place in Barbados on Sunday evening with the tourists looking to make up for a terrible performance in the opening game on Saturday to level up the series.
West Indies weren’t flawless in the first game but they were far too good for England and if they can back that up here then they know they will go 2-0 up with three matches to play and be in a very good position to claim the spoils.
West Indies
When you consider how easily they were beaten by England in the T20 World Cup, their overall performance in that tournament and then how smoothly Pakistan were able to brush them aside just prior to Christmas, the first game was a really good effort from West Indies. What made that even better is they went into the contest off the back of a confidence drainer in terms of their ODI series defeat to Ireland.
One of the big issues they had in that series was their bowling but that was brilliant against England on Saturday and if they bowl like that again in this one they will give themselves a wonderful chance of following up their win. We couldn’t really judge their batting in that opening game because they were only chasing five runs an over but you sense there is a fair bit more to come in that department should they need it.
England
The last thing English cricket needed was a shambles of a performance to follow hot on the heels of the disappointment from The Ashes and that is exactly what they delivered. They were so ordinary with the bat it was untrue and while they were up against some good bowling, there was still enough stupid batting that committed to their own downfall. When you consider it is generally the batting which is the strength of this England side, that was a huge concern.
It goes without saying that England are going to have to bat a lot smarter if they are going to win this match and level up the series. The other thing they could do is use their varieties much better when they get the ball in hand. They didn’t really utilise many of them because they had so few runs to defend but if they can do that then it would give them a better chance. A series all-round improvement is needed from England though.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account to get up to £25 in free bets! Perfect offer for this series! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Team News
It might be that West Indies give the XI they picked for the opening game an extended run to prove themselves but should they want to look at one or two others then Kyle Mayers and Hayden Walsh Jr are waiting in the wings.
England might have a look at risking Liam Livingstone for this match both to bolster the batting and offer another spin option with the ball. George Garton, Reece Topley and David Payne are also waiting patiently for their chance to shine.
Betting
I can’t believe England will bat as terribly in this match as they did in the first game and I’m not convinced West Indies will bowl as well as they did in that opener either. The fact England batted like pillocks and still smacked six sixes makes me think I was on the right line for my bet on the sixes in the first game and I’m going to back them again in the hope that this time the two teams deliver the goods like we expect them to.
The good things with regards to the sixes is that there is a stack of pace and bounce in the wicket and the boundaries here are tiny as we saw when Chris Jordan was going mad so as long as the team who bats first doesn’t do anything stupid then I expect a lot of sixes to be hit here. The line has remained at 11.5 for this match and with seven of them in a game where neither side made 110 on Saturday, just a normal scoring game should see this line battered let alone if either of these teams hit top form.
Tips
WON – Back Over 11.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Coral
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022
