England v West Indies ODI Series.... Warming To The Task.



Starts Thursday 21st May, Leeds 09.45 GMT
Sky Sports 1

In the Test Series just finished, West Indies put up one of the most lacklustre performance by any touring team against England.

Their demeanour and overall attitude appeared to indicate that their heart was not in the job and it was no surprise to see England wrap up an emphatic 2-0 Series result.

Their main problem was dealing with the cold, wet, and miserable conditions. These were a million miles from the heat of the Caribbean that they are more accustomed to. These conditions were ideal for the swing bowling of England and Anderson, Onions and Broad made the most of them to inflict two heavy defeats.

If the conditions were not bad enough, the build up to the series was dominated by Chris Gayle’s ill timed comments regarding the future of Test cricket with the emergence of Twenty20. He indicated that he would not be too sad to see the demise of Test cricket. Whilst some oh his team mates, or indeed the opposition, may have agreed with him, it was not the time and place to air those views and it led to an uneasy atmosphere between the teams.

Any player that undermines the build up to a test series in this way would be out of order, when that player is the captain, it makes it even more serious. Gayle arrived for this series from his stint in the IPL and it was the fact that he left it till only two days before the start of the series to arrive that raised eyebrows.

England v West Indies: One-Day Internationals in England

Prudential Trophy	1973		West Indies	1-1 (2)
Prudential Trophy	1976		West Indies	3-0 (3)
Prudential Trophy	1980		West Indies	1-1 (2)
Texaco Trophy	1984		West Indies	2-1 (3)
Texaco Trophy	1988		England	3-0 (3)
Texaco Trophy	1991		England	3-0 (3)
Texaco Trophy	1995		England	2-1 (3)
NatWest Series	2007		West Indies	2-1 (3)

So now we come to this ODI series. Will it continue to be a one sided contest and England coast it, or will the Windies put up a more spirited effort and do themselves justice?

This is a completely different format. A completely different approach and different tactics are required and I believe this format will suit the Windies a lot more. The weather will again play a key role and if we get all three games dominated by overcast, damp conditions, then I can see more of the same and England winning comfortably.

ODI Fixtures

Thu 21 10:45 local, 09:45 GMT	1st ODI - England v West Indies Headingley, Leeds
Sun 24 10:45 local, 09:45 GMT	2nd ODI - England v West Indies County Ground, Bristol
Tue 26 10:45 local, 09:45 GMT	3rd ODI - England v West Indies Edgbaston, Birmingham

 
The games are being played at Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol. I expect the weather to be a lot better then it was in Durham and the pitches to offer less swing to the England bowlers. Any improvement in the weather or restriction on swing movement increases the Windies chances significantly.

Another major factor that will aid them is the arrival into their squad of Dwayne Bravo, big hitting Kieron Pollard and the all rounder Darren Sammy. These three will make a world of difference to the balance of the Windies side and each is a potential match winner in this shorter format of the game.

England could also make a couple of changes for this series with Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Dimitri Mascarenhas and the exciting youngster Eoin Morgan included in the Squad.

England won the ODI series in the Caribbean and will be confident of repeating the feat at home, especially after the emphatic manner of their Test win.

So what’s the bet?

Both these sides are at the lower end of the ODI rankings. This is a refection of their inconsistency in this format and I believe either side could win this short three match series. I make it even stevens between the two, but the market makes England short priced favourites.

I feel the value here is to Lay England. We could back Windies instead, but in a three match series it’s prudent to keep a drawn series onside in case one of the games ends in a tie or is washed out.

I am also going to suggest a small stake in the correct score market. The value again lies with Windies to win 3-0 at a big price.

My suggested bets therefore on this ODI Series are:

In the Series Outright Win Market:

LAY England for 4 points liability @ 1.65 on Betfair

In Series Correct Score Market:

BACK Windies to win 3-0 for 1 point @ 10.0 at Ladbrokes.

Join me and lets all see the Windies finally warm to their task.

Bigjoe