Australia v West Indies Second Test Tips: Starc to shine under lights

• Starc is pink-ball king

• Back batters for tons

• Brathwaite form strong

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Australia v West Indies
Thursday 8 December, 04:00
TV: Live on BT Sports

Team news

Australia lost captain Pat Cummins to injury. Cummins has a minor strain and it would have been an unnecessary risk to pick him. Steve Smith will lead.

Scott Boland stands by while Queesnland tyro Lance Morris and Michael Neser have been called up. It would be a surprise if Boland didn't get the nod given his brilliance in the Ashes series.

Probable XI: Warner, Khawaja, Labuschagne, Smith, Head, Green, Carey, Starc, Boland, Hazlewood, Lyon

West Indies are expected to be without Nkrumah Bonner with concussion. Kemar Roach, Kyle Mayers and Jayden Seales have also emerged as doubts with niggles. Mayers, for example, will play as a batter only.

Shamarh Brooks was Bonner's sub in Perth. Anderson Phillip might come in for Seales and quick Marquino Mindley, who only arrived on Tuesday from Jamaica, might have to play.

Possible XI: Brathwaite, Chanderpaul, Brooks, Blackwood, Mayers, Holder, Da Silva, Chase, Joseph, Roach, Phillip

Pitch report

The Adelaide pitch is usually reliable for batting. Under lights, however, it is trickier as borne out by the average runs per wicket stats. In the five day-nighters the average is 28.6. In day Tests since 2013 it's 36.8.

No visiting team has made more than 259 in the first-innings in a day-nighter. Australia's first-innings scores read: 442-589-473. We might be able to get 3.02/1 about Australia posting 475.

How to play

West Indies showed fight and gumption in the first Test in Perth. And they have been giving themselves a slap on the back for it. Still, they lost by 164 runs and never even offered a trade chance.

They are 16.015/1 for this one with Australia 1.152/13 and the draw 13.525/2. The latter can come down sharply if Windies are able to show the resolve with the bat as they did in the fourth day in Perth.

We expect this to be a home win and will look for prices of around 1.75/7 that this doesn't go to five days.

Tops value

Mitchell Starc is the king of the pink ball. He takes a wicket every 36 balls in day-nighters from a string study sample of 10 games. Sportsbook's 11/4 that he is top Aussie wicket-taker in the first-innings looks a bet, particularly as he's not been cut after Cummins was confirmed as out.

Sportsbook go 5/6 that he busts 110.5 performance points (1 point per run, 10 per catch, 20 per wicket). He has busted that mark in six of the ten day-nighters and has an average make-up of 144. Starc is 11/1 for man of the match.

Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith look in great touch with the bat and Usman Khawaja has an excellent win rate on top Aussie bat. However, on a possible road it maye be wiser to play the first-innings fifty or ton market for the player of your choice. The trio are 16/5, 3/1 and 9/2 for tons in the first dig respectively.

Kraigg Brathwaite has seven wins in 24 for the Windies on top bat and his ton in Perth in the second will make Sportsbook's 13/5 popular.