England’s tour of the West Indies has been a difficult one to date, with the hosts dishing out a few harsh lessons during the Test Match series which ended in a 2-1 win for the locals. The scores suggest a tight clash; however, Windies tied things up at the earliest opportunity before taking their foot off the gas in the third instalment with the job done and their point made. Here are our West Indies v England 1st ODI betting tips.
The sides enjoyed a brief rest, allowing both sets of players to dust themselves down, recover and plan to go at it again. We move on to the One Day International series next week with the opener played to a conclusion on Wednesday 20 February at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.
Will we see the visitors blast their way back into the tour, putting the disappointment of an unexpected series defeat behind them to land a blow on their hosts and boost confidence in the camp? That’s certainly the plan as we near the coin toss and followers can watch the action live on Sky Sports with a viewer-friendly 3.00pm GMT start time.
This five-leg series starts on Wednesday and the schedule ensures there’s no time wasted with the series completed on Saturday 2 March; five games get crammed into 10 days. That’s great news for sports fans and it’ll catch the eye of punters wishing to boost their betting balance with a few shrewd wagers placed on the outcome.
Take a Chance on the Bigger Price
Bookmakers have priced up their books, allowing us to add a bit more spice to the occasion with a bet on each of the five ODI matches or on the winner of the One Day International series outright. Take your pick from a list of interesting options, such as 2/9 at Bet365 on England to bounce back with a series win; or there’s the 7/2 for further joy for West Indies – both prices available when betting with Bet365.
That would suggest this is a foregone conclusion; however, we saw from the Test series, Windies can’t be taken lightly on their own patch. A very different form of cricket and England are to be respected in the snappy ODI format; however, we’d rather have the better price about WI and take a chance. If the home team can remain competitive during the first two or three matches, it should be possible to cash-out for a profit.
Leaving the series outright to one side, we look towards the all-important 1st ODI, taking a peek at what bookmakers expect, where punters can find the bets worth having and the bookies offering best price.
What We’ve Learned So Far
West Indies exploded out of the traps for the Test Match series and there will be a fair share of punters willing to trust them with their stake money to do something similar here. The hosts won the 1st Test without too much difficulty, upsetting the odds to ran out victors by an astonishing 381 runs. They left England battered and bruised, not too sure what went wrong.
The final scores tell the story of what went on, WI 289 all out and 415-6 dec against the miserable 77 all out and 246 all out of their opponents. Those watching back in the UK were surprised, to say the least.
A major fightback was expected in the 2nd Test; however, it failed to materialise with West Indies tightening their grip and winning again to push themselves 2-0 in front with the series tied up after two games. The 2nd leg was much tighter, certainly in terms of scoring and England improved across the board, but not quite enough.
10 wickets the difference, the scores West Indies 309 all out and 17-0 against 187 all out and 132 all out. Every time England score under 200 there’s real disappointment in the camp, and so there should be. They didn’t do themselves any favours, handing Windies the series.
Confidence Booster
England finally got off the mark at the third and final time of asking when bagging the 3rd Test. They fully deserved the result; however, the edge was taken off it by the fact the series was already out of their hands by that point. The damage was done and, in reality, they beat an opponent who had nothing to play for. The scores were settled at England 277 all out and 361-f dec vs 154 all out and 252 all out.
Is it the confidence booster to the away camp needed to be competitive in the ODIs to come? Followers will find out soon enough and we’re guaranteed a fiery match on Wednesday which should set the tone for what’s to come over the next 10 days. But, what should you bet on to secure a profit?
Bookmakers expect that to carry onto Wednesday and they have priced an England win as convincing favourite. If you agree with traders on that call and expect the visitors to shine, you’ll have to make do with Coral’s 2/5 as there’s not a lot better available at the time of writing. Tight, so that looks one for your accumulators, or could force backers into the specials.
WI Could Be for You
Are you a punter who prefers to go against the grain in the hope of landing a value bet? Does backing the outsider afford you more enjoyment when watching the live TV coverage? Then West Indies to win could be for you. Back the locals to continue their form at a cracking 2/1 – top price with Coral. Again, judging by what we saw during the Test series, we’re more than happy to play that as a super single for interest stakes.
Even if you don’t fancy England to win you can still support them through the top batsman betting. Root is 3/1 favourite to score most runs for his country, ahead of Bairstow at 10/3 and Morgan’s 9/2 – all three quoted from the Bet365 site.