Australia v West Indies Test Series....No Whitewash In The Outback

By Bigjoe

Commences Midnight GMT 25th November.

Richard Nixon famously stated that there would be no whitewash at the Whitehouse. In this Test series I say there will be no whitewash in the outback.

Thu Nov 26 - Mon Nov 30	1st Test - Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane
Fri Dec 4 - Tue Dec 8	2nd Test - Adelaide Oval
Wed Dec 16 - Sun Dec 20	3rd Test - Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth

The markets seem to disagree though and they make it odds on that the Aussies will win this series 3-0. I believe the markets have got it wrong and the Windies will prove to be a tougher nut to crack.

The last year has seen an alarming slide down the Test rankings for the Aussies. They are now languishing in 4th place, a very unfamiliar sight for a team that made No1 their home for so long. The main reason for this slump

Vital to West Indies chances Chris Gayle

has been that, though their batting remains strong, their bowling is proving to be inconsistent and cannot be relied on to take 20 wickets on a regular basis.

The rot first set in when they lost 2-0 away to India followed by home series defeat to South Africa. Though they went onto avenge that defeat by South Africa in the return series, they took another giant step backwards by coming out 2nd best in the Ashes to England.

West Indies remain the lowest ranked of all the top teams. But there have been encouraging signs in the last couple of years that they could be on the way back. A rare Test match win in South Africa was followed by a spirited home series win against England.

The last few months has seen the top Windies players involved in contractual disputes with their Board culminating in them going on strike and the Windies fielding severely weakened teams for recent games.

The dispute now seems to be resolved and the Windies will field their strongest side for this series. Chris Gayle has instilled self belief and a bit of steel into his team in the last year and he, along with Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Bravo and Ramdin, gives this Windies team the batting that can dominate any attack on their day.

I will be surprised if this batting lineup does not click at least once in this series. The minimum I would expect from them against this Aussie bowling attack is one drawn game. However, if the Aussie batting lineup has an off day or two, a Windies win in one of the tests cannot be ruled out.

Ok so what’s the bets?

Fundamentally, this Aussie bowling is too inconsistent to win all three Tests in this series and therefore the 3-0 score in the Correct Score market has to be laid. I like the look of the 1-1 scoreline, but only for minimal stakes.

I also feel that, for minimal stakes again, it’s worth taking a chance and laying the Aussies in the outright market.

My suggested bets for this series therefore are:

In the Series Outright Market:

LAY Australia for 1point liability @ 1.12 on Betfair

In The Series Correct Score Market:

LAY Australia to win 3-0 for 5 points liability @ 1.85 on Betfair

BACK 1-1 drawn series for 1 point @ 13.0 at Skybet.

Join me because, though Richard Nixon was proved wrong about no whitewash in the White House, I will be proved right about no whitewash in the Outback.

Bigjoe