West Indies and England continue their T20 series on Saturday evening when the two sides meet in the third of what are five scheduled matches with this latest game coming from Grenada, the same venue as the second match was played on Thursday.
West Indies won here on Thursday to go two up with three to play in the series so England will be desperate to win this match and keep a competitive element to proceedings when they get to Trinidad as both teams continue their preparation for the T20 World Cup next year.
West Indies
I would imagine West Indies will be delighted with the position that they are in at this point in the series. They are 2-0 up against a dangerous side and there is an argument to be made that they haven’t been completely at their best. The big positive for West Indies is that they have won in this series chasing a score down and they have won when posting a total which will give them a lot of confidence because the one thing they have no control over is the toss of the coin.
In both matches West Indies have shown why they are going to be a danger at the World Cup next year. They have insane batting power down the order and they can turn the most seasoned bowlers into gibbering wrecks and take good totals into extremely good ones. The one concern will be that they have a tendency to go around the park at the death themselves and that is something they will need to address in the coming months.
England
If England were going to use this tournament to launch the start of getting a squad together for the World Cup then things certainly haven’t gone to plan so far. They have been pretty well beaten in both matches so far in the series and the worry is that at no stage really has there looked like a consistent plan is in place or a brand of cricket is in operation. If there is then there are mixed signals because their batting order has been all over the place and consistency looks a mile away.
The other problem is England are still picking some players on reputation rather than form. On paper it looks like they have plenty of depth to their batting but when it comes to utilising that depth they fall in a bit of a heap. It is a huge problem if they can’t find some form players down the order because this set of seamers looks cannon fodder at the times they need to be strong and solid. One positive is their spinners who have at least gained some control of the situation in the opening two games.
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Team News
The pitch in Grenada on Thursday offered up plenty for the spinners which could lead to West Indies bringing Roston Chase into their starting XI. Jason Holder has only faced one ball in the series so far so he would be an obvious replacement.
You would imagine England will continue to change as they look for the perfect combination. Chris Woakes has only had a fringe role to play so far so it would make sense to give Reece Topley a go or even a debut for John Turner.
Betting
I’m not sure a great deal will change from the first two matches to this third one. I expect West Indies to go after the England bowling and the outcome of the game will be determined by whether England can finish both innings better than they have done so far. There have been times in both games where England were on top but they haven’t got over the line however there are enough match winners in their team to deliver the goods if given the chance.
So far in the series, West Indies have hit 13 and 14 sixes in the first two matches and Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer, the power in the middle order, have combined for just one six in their four innings. That makes me think there is more to come from the West Indies batters, especially as England have unleashed the best that they have got with the ball. This West Indies side have had Alzarri Joseph down to come in at number 11 in this series such is the insane depth they have with the bat. I think the 10/11 that they hit another 10 sixes in this innings is too big especially as they have covered this line with two moderate totals.
Tips
Back West Indies – Over 9.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Betway
