West Indies and South Africa continue their preparation for the World Cup which is beginning to close in on Saturday when the two sides battle it out in the second of three T20 matches scheduled in Jamaica this week.
West Indies drew first blood in the series on Thursday and have the first of two chances to get over the line in this match but the overriding priority for both teams will be to continue to finalise plans for the upcoming tournament.
West Indies
There was a lot to like about the West Indies in that opening game and when you consider the amount of players they were missing who will be available for the World Cup you immediately have to mark them down as a genuine contender for the World Cup, particularly with the tournament being on home soil. It remains to be seen just what part many of those on show here will play when the main competition begins but they have another chance to show they can be useful in the tournament.
What I liked most about West Indies in that opening game was although they got off to a very good start with the bat, they were smart enough to realise the pitch wasn’t as good as they were making it look and just made sure they got a score on the board rather than chase the score it looked like they might get. That meant that they could go through their options with the ball which they were able to do and in the end they ran out pretty comfortable winners.
South Africa
I think South Africa were always going to need the run in that opening match given that these aren’t natural conditions for them to thrive in but I think they would have wanted, and probably have expected, to be more competitive in the game than they were. The margin of victory was large enough anyway but had it not been for a few big hits when the game had gone they would have lost by an even more convincing number so they need to improve here.
In hindsight, South Africa lost the match with the ball in the first 10 overs when they were unable to restrict Brandon King from getting away from them. Although their bowlers did well to pull it back in the second half of the innings, when at one stage it looked like they could be chasing 200 and more, it soon became apparent that all they did was revert to the conditions they had. Their batting effort never got going until the game was gone so there is a lot of improving to do for the Proteas here.
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Team News
West Indies surprisingly left Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd out of their squad for their opening match of the series. The latter only just got back from IPL duties which could be a reason. Both will be in line to come in here.
Tabraiz Shamsi was a surprise omission from the South Africa team for that first game given the spin friendly conditions. He might well come into the side while Anrich Nortje could be unleashed at this West Indies side too.
Betting
It will be interesting to see what South Africa offer up in this match. The one thing you would have to level at them in that opening game is for all the disadvantages which came their way, they just looked a batter light before a ball was bowled, especially with a couple of the bigger names either out of form or having not had much cricket in recent times. That is exactly how it proved so I would imagine there will be a change in balance here.
We don’t know how they will reshuffle though so I’m going to bet without them in play and take West Indies to hit more than 8.5 sixes in this one. We know how West Indies bat. If it is up it is off and they hit 10 sixes in the opening game despite completely losing their way in the last eight overs of that innings. It is a general rule that West Indies hit more sixes than fours on home soil and this line doesn’t look that high unless South Africa bat first and stink the place out. I’m not convinced that happens though so I’ll play West Indies over 8.5 sixes.
Tips
Back West Indies – Over 8.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with Betway
