Richard Mann has a strong view when England take on West Indies in the second ODI from North Sound on Saturday afternoon.
Cricket betting tips: West Indies v England ODI
2.5pts No Century In The Match at 10/11 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
0.5pt No Fifty In The Match at 14/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
England slumped to a heavy defeat in the first ODI on Thursday, with the batting once again coming up short in spinning conditions that did not suit their standard all-out-attack approach.
The tourists will need to dust themselves down quickly, with the second instalment of the series coming on Saturday, 1.30pm, UK time. North Sound in Antigua once again plays host.
It remains to be seen whether this match will be played on the same pitch as Thursday, though I wouldn’t rule it out, but one thing is clear: spin will play a huge part.
Four wickets for Gudakesh Motie went a long way in winning West Indies the first match and with Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone the only wicket-takers for England, this has the look of another spin-dominated affair.
In fact, spin might be even more important with this match being played in the day when dew will not soak the ball and quicken up in the pitch in the second innings, as is usually the case in day/night contests. The pitch on Saturday afternoon might play even slower and take more spin this time.
That did lead me to consider rowing in again with Adil Rashid in the top England bowler market, or indeed jumping on the Motie train, and perhaps both can be seriously considered for Man of the Match honours.
However, they aren’t the only spin bowlers on either side, and conditions ought to bring the part-timers into things, so I’ll take a rain check on that.
It’s worth making the point that England only managed 209 batting first on Thursday, with a top score of 48. West Indies, for all they chased down their revised target with ease, were bowled out for 202 against England on this very ground last winter, incidentally in the second match of that ODI series, the first having also been played at North Sound.
That could be the pointer we’re looking for, and don’t be surprised if we see another low-scoring match in which batting proves very hard work. Those betting on innings runs might be wise to take a pessimistic view.
With England missing a host of big names from their first choice batting line-up, and West Indies hardly the most reliable, I’d be happy to chance very low scores.
At this stage, then, the best way in could be to back NO CENTURY IN THE MATCH and, to smaller stakes, NO FIFTY IN THE MATCH, at 10/11 and 14/1 respectively.
Posted at 1430 BST on 01/11/24
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