Match 10 of the ICC Cricket World Cup sees Australia clash with West Indies at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Thursday and both sides are looking to make it two wins from two outings.
Australia:
Australia’s first action of the tournament came against Afghanistan in Bristol on Saturday and they came out on top with a 7 wicket victory. Afghanistan won the toss and perhaps surprisingly they opted to bat first. Starc and Cummins both struck in their first overs of the game and Afghanistan were all out for 207 in 38.2 overs. Cummins and Zampa both claimed 3 wickets with Cummins the more economical; Stoinis took 2 wickets and Starc 1.
Australia made no mistake in the chase with Warner finishing unbeaten on 89. He shared an opening partnership of 96 with Aaron Finch who made 66 and although 3 wickets fell Australia got home in 34.5 overs.
In the outright tournament betting Australia are currently trading at around 7/2 to retain their World Cup title.
This was how Australia lined up against Afghanistan.
Aaron Finch (capt), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa
West Indies:
West Indies opening match of the tournament was also staged at this venue and they made short work of Pakistan last Friday, coming through with a 7 wicket victory. West Indies won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat first and the decision paid off as Pakistan were all out for just 105 in 21.4 overs. Oshane Thomas claimed 4 wickets, skipper Jason Holder took 3, Andre Russell 2 and Cottrell 1 in a clinical display.
Sensing an opportunity to boost the net run rate Chris Gayle hit 50 off 34 balls and Nicholas Pooran made 34 not out off just 19 as Windies got home in just 13.4 overs.
In the outright tournament betting West Indies are now trading at around 9/1 to be crowned champions.
This was how West Indies lined up against Pakistan in their opening match.
Chris Gayle, Shai Hope(wk), Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Jason Holder (capt), Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas
Head to Head
The teams have met 139 times with 73 wins for Australia, 60 for West Indies with 3 ties and 3 no results.
The most recent meeting between the sides came in West Indies back in June 2016 and Australia won a 4 match series 3-1.
The Betting, Click here for all markets
Australia 40/85
West Indies 7/4
Note prices quoted are correct at the time of publication but are subject to change.
Verdict:
This has the makings of a good game with confidence high on both sides. Pat Cummins gets the vote to be top Australian bowler and additional interest comes in the total match 6’s market.
This is traditionally a high scoring ground and although West Indies blew the Pakistan batting line up away at this venue in Match 2, England’s game against Pakistan at this venue on Monday produced a total of 682 runs. However the total 6 count in that match was 11 and whilst the firepower on both these sides is hard to ignore, the current line of under / over 16.5 looks a touch high to me.
Suggested Bets:
Top Australian bowler Pat Cummins at 33/10
Total match 6’s under 16.5 at 9/10
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