ODI preview / Ed Hawkins / 23 May 2009 / Leave a comment

Slow and low, the County Ground pitch in Bristol should benefit the visitors more than the hosts, says Ed Hawkins.

After the damp and disappointment of Headingley, England and West Indies head to Bristol for the second one-day international. They should be greeted by a rare sight in the port city: sun.

West Indies have been waiting to see it since they arrived in England a month ago and it might just bring the best out of them. Temperatures could touch 20C and although that is not warm enough to get a heavy sweat on, it is the pitch which could provide most of the perspiration.

The County Ground surface is slow and low - similar to a subcontinent wicket - which could make chasing a target a nailbiting affair. That should provide inspiration for a wager. England are as short as 1.69, but West Indies are 2.44, a price worth taking because of the trading opportunity.

England, of course, struggle on wickets which do not allow them to use the pace of the ball. If they have to work it into gaps for ones or twos more than usual they often struggle. Witness their defeat to New Zealand in the last game on this ground a year ago.

They managed to restrict the Kiwis to 182 but collapsed horribly to 160 all out as they felt a familiar strangle around their necks. It was the bowlers who took the pace off the ball which England could not cope with - Daniel Vettori claimed 1-32 - as they suffered their fourth defeat in six in Bristol. Far from ship shape.

If West Indies were to have the pleasure of batting first and were able to better the first-innings average of 225, they are likely to be trading at much less than the odds currently on offer. Indeed, if the Windies nick a couple out early, they could go sub [2.0].

It is a risk to rely on West Indies showing such nous on the field. We can't be sure that they have the ability to put pressure on England in the field. What we would give for some of the local knowhow. Gloucestershire have proved to be brilliant at it on their home patch. They won nine one-day titles in seven years from 1999 because the way their slow bowlers tied batsmen in knots.

They could make it 10. In this year's Friends Provident Trophy, slow left armer Vikram Banerjee took six wickets in three games to propel his side to a quarter-final. Graeme Swann and Sulieman Benn, not to mention Chris Gayle, could be key players today.

Gayle's bowling could well be more important that his batting. Thanks to the slow nature of the pitch, it is tough for the strokeplayers to hit through the line off the ball with confidence. Those that rely on their timing could struggle with the nudges and nurdlers coming to the fore.
Proof of this is that only three opening batsmen - trying to force the pace in the opening powerplays - have top scored in the last 20 innings. The runs are coming from the middle-order. Eight times the top scorer has come from Nos 5-6.

Paul Collingwood, a king of tip and run, top scored for England in that defeat to New Zealand so he may be a bit of value for a repeat at [7.20]. Middlesex man Eoin Morgan, who should replace the injured Kevin Pietersen, is a similar player and may too be worth following at [7.00] on his debut.

Morgan, a former Ireland player, has scored runs at Bristol before. He averages 61 in two List A games there and in first-class cricket he has an unbeaten 137 to his name with 213 runs at 106. If backing him for top bat is too much of a stretch, perhaps taking him in a runs bet against Gayle is the way to go. He is [2.16] with a 0.5 run start.