It may only be Wednesday but we’re already into the second One Day International match of the week between West Indies and England and the fourth of a rapid five-leg series which concludes on Saturday 2 March. Here are our West Indies v England 4th ODI Betting Tips.
The National Cricket Stadium, St George’s again provides the setting as these rivals go head-to-head with all to play for. There has been little between the teams so far, with followers not short on talking points. With the scores tied at 1-1, it’s anyone’s guess who will go on and take the advantage in this vital fourth leg. The winner of Wednesday’s match will come out of the series with no less than a draw and that should inspire a big performance from all players.
Armchair fans can follow the action live on Sky Sports from 1.30pm and the competitive nature of the tie means bookmakers have done the work to ensure there’s plenty to bet on. You can have your say on the winner of the series outright, or back a number of attractive markets in the 4th ODI, including match winner, top English batsman or bowler, top Windies run scorer or wicket-taker, even which team will have the highest opening partnership.
In the series winner betting, you’ll find England as favourites across the board, no more than bet365’s 3/10 available. That may seem on the short side about a team locked at 1-1 heading towards the home straight, but it’s a better price than you’ll get with most, 2/7 the general feeling in the betting ring at the time of writing. This seems much closer to a 50/50, so we wouldn’t put anyone off a bet on West Indies winning the series at as big as 17/2 with some firms.
England off to a Winning Start
England made an impression on their hosts when overturning a huge deficit in the opening ODI to get off to a winning start. Windies exploded out of the traps to set their guests a stunning 360-4, a jaw-dropping total in ODI cricket. The hosts were confident that would be enough to secure victory as England would need to score a record best to overturn it. The underdogs did just that, recording a record chase in One Day International cricket to stun their opponents and most watching the match. In-play backers were able to land a cracking price on the away win, but those who had it backed fully deserved their prize.
Centuries from Jason Roy and Joe Root propelled their side to a win against the odds, Roy smashing his way to 123 runs off just 85 balls, supported by Root who helped himself to 102 off 97. That made all the difference, but they needed Morgann and Buttler to get them over the line, the duo doing their bit to complete the job. An incredible day of cricket and although West Indies somehow ended as losers, they took plenty of confidence from their performance.
Windies Back in the Mix
Although they performed admirably in defeat, the pressure was now on West Indies to bounce back at the first time of asking to keep the series competitive and stop English hopes of dominating dead before they got out of hand. The locals did that, fighting back to level things at 1-1 thanks to a 2nd ODI victory by an impressive 26 runs. That was enough to put their opponents back in their place and open things up again. The final scoreboard road West Indies 289-6 (50.0) against England’s 263 all out.
It may have lacked the pulsating high scores of the match that went before it, but we lost nothing in drama as two talented teams put their bodies on the line for the win. Chris Gayle caught the eye for Windies in the first ODI and he played an instrumental part in helping his side to victory in the second. Man of the moment was, however, Shimron Hetmyer who scored his fourth ODI century in the last year and his confidence spilled over to the men around him. Captain Jason Holder told the waiting press the belief in his camp was the reason they got the result, crediting the way the team defended their lead when under pressure.
No Value on England
The 3rd ODI had us excited but it was called off due to heavy rainfall without a ball being bowled and that was disappointing for all concerned, not least punters who had their money down on the team they believed would come out on top.
That moves us onto the 4th ODI and the series draw is now a real possibility. Bookmakers have England as favourites with Coral pricing the away cheer at no more than 2/5. That’s tighter than we expected, given what we’ve seen already in this series, and we see no value in backing an odds-on shot in what should be another tight match. England were fantastic in the opener, but they haven’t played like 2/5 shots for quite some time now, so we’ll pass on that one.
The 2/1 chalked up by Coral on a West Indies win is easier to get excited about and for your bet you’re getting a talented side playing at home, one coming in on the back of a win and one carrying a cracking price. If the 3rd ODI had went ahead and Windies had won it there’s no chance you would’ve got anywhere near 2/1 on them here. We say grab the value with both hands, sit back and enjoy the show. There’s certainly enough there to hold our interest.
If Windies are to do us a favour and win the 4th ODI they will require another strong performance from key man Chris Gayle. Coral offer a price boost of 11/4 – boosted from 9/4 – on him scoring a 50. That will give those wanting to avoid picking sides a healthy interest and his form so far suggests backers will get a run for their money.
Our Tip: West Indies to win – 2/1 at Coral
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