Richard Mann previews the third T20I between West Indies and England on Thursday night, when big runs could be on the cards.
West Indies and England renew hostilities at Gros Islet on Thursday night, 8pm UK time, and everything is pointing towards another high-scoring affair between these two power-packed sides.
England just look much better suited to the shorter format at present, something that has appeared to be the case for a while now, and they lead the series 2-0 following two bloodless run chases in Bridgetown.
In the first match, 183 was chased down for the loss of only two wickets in 16.5 overs, while the second game saw them easily pick off 159 in 14.5 overs. Big runs for the Phil Salt and the fit-again Jos Buttler across the two games were major positives.
But I wouldn’t yet write off the hosts, with bowling last having proved a definite disadvantage with the dew factor in Bridgetown, and their batting has displayed plenty of promise so far.
They bat incredibly deep, as demonstrated by Gudakesh Motie’s impressive cameo from number 10 in game one, helping West Indies rally from 69-5 in 8.2 overs to a final total of 182. The following night, they finished with 158 despite having slipped to 80-5 after 13 overs.
It seems both teams stack up pretty well in the batting department, England led by Buttler and Salt, the West Indies boasting T20 powerhouse Nicholas Pooran who is well supported by a host of hard-hitting all-rounders such as Romario Shephard and Sherfane Rutherford.
If conditions are good for batting, there is the potential for both sides to post big scores. And Gros Islet might just be the ideal venue.
When these two sides met here at the T20 World Cup back in June, West Indies made 180 batting first before England coasted to victory in a tournament where 180+ scores were very much the norm on this ground. 200 was breached three times in only six games played at Gros Islet in that World Cup.
Therefore, I’m keen to back BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 180+ RUNS again at 15/8, with a small bet on BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 190+ RUNS at 3/1.
Posted at 1115 GMT on 14/11/24
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