West Indies players warm up for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League season over the next few days when they play South Africa in three T20 internationals in Trinidad, the first of which takes place on Friday.
These two both had good World Cup campaigns in this part of the world earlier in the year where South Africa knocked West Indies out in the final group phase match so the home side might be out for a bit of revenge here.
West Indies
This is always the format of the game that West Indies are most expected to deliver strong performances in and although this series doesn’t really have much in the way of meaning or importance to it other than financial purposes, they will want to put up a good showing and get everyone in the mood for what is going to be a decent month of T20 cricket in the region with the latest CPL campaign getting underway on Thursday.
Generally West Indies look to overpower teams with the bat in hand but it will be interesting to see if they can do that here because during the World Cup the pitches on this ground where very tough to bat on and spin was a real factor in the matches. Some of that was down to associate teams being on show but even the ones between full member nations weren’t high scoring so the former world champions may need their bowlers to come to the party here.
South Africa
After claiming the Test series, South Africa will be looking to depart the Caribbean with a T20 series win to their name as well. They were so close to winning the World Cup on these shores earlier in the year when only India in the final could get the better of them. Here they have a chance to show that run wasn’t a fluke and that they can be a force in the T20 game for the foreseeable future leading up to the next World Cup in a couple of years.
The positive thing for South Africa in the World Cup that will serve them well here is that they didn’t bat at all well throughout the competition but they still made it to the final. That tells us that if the wicket plays tough here that they can still be more than competitive, although it should be noted that after the Test series they have chosen to rest one or two bowlers for this series. This is a good chance for South Africa to build on that positive World Cup campaign though.
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Team News
West Indies aren’t quite at full strength for this series. Andre Russell has been rested for the series as has Jason Holder while there is no Brandon King either. The likes of Matthew Forde and Shamar Joseph get another chance to impress.
South Africa are also a little short of full strength. There is no Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen or Tabraiz Shamsi while Heinrich Klaasen has been given a rest as well. Nandre Burger and Rassie van der Dussen get another chance to show they can be regulars in the squad.
Betting
I’m not going to go too big on this opening match while we assess the conditions and the way the teams are going to line up and things but there is enough of a discrepancy in the Bet365 sixes line for West Indies compared to their rivals that I can’t avoid a little bet on them to cover 8.5 sixes. The line is 10.5 in most other places so we are immediately getting a good thing. The doubt comes in the form of the pitches here not always playing great but the one match West Indies played here in the World Cup they hit 10 sixes against a full strength New Zealand bowling unit.
The positive for the bet is not only do we have brutal hitters such as Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford batting for us, among one or two others who are no strangers to clearing the ropes, but they are going up against a second string South Africa bowling unit. That isn’t to say that the likes of Nandre Burger and Lungi Ngidi are cannon fodder but we are more likely to get sixes off them than the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje for sure. I think this is a line West Indies can cover with the respective personnel on show.
Tips
Back West Indies – Over 8.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Bet365
