West Indies v England Second T20 Tips: Canny Windies fool England

West Indies v England
Sunday 23 January, 20:00
TV: live on BT Sport

Close series in offing

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard pleaded for patience before game one as they begin a rebuild. If the result in Bridgetown is anything to go by, they won't have to wait long for another dominant T20 side.

They razed England with the ball, knocking them over for 103. Jason Holder, on his home ground, took four wickets. In the 'chase', West Indies took their time with Bran-don King cruising to a half-century.

One of the most promising signs long-term for the series was the sharp turn Akeal Ho-sein managed to extract against England's right-handers. That suggests the series is going to be much tighter than expected.

Probable XI: King, Hope, Pooran, D Bravo, Pollard, Holder, Allen, Shepherd, Smith, Hosein, Cot-trell

England need to adapt

So much for England's white-ball crew restoring some pride. This was an Ahes-esque performance. England picked the wrong team, failed to read conditions and suffered two batting collapses.

Okay, perhaps the first one wasn't their fault. But if Liam Livingstone wasn't well enough to play on Saturday he may suddenly need to feel much perkier on the Sunday. He should replace Tom Banton in the opening slot.

Not adapting to a surface of variable bounce was a concern. Under Eoin Morgan England have had a habit of trying to pay only one way. Diligence on assessing a surface batting first is still required.

Possible XI: Roy, Livingstone, Vince, Moeen, Morgan, Billings, Dawson, Jordan, Rashid, Mahmood, Mills

Pitch report

The wickets for game one appeared to be a typical CPL version. Runscoring was tough because of variable bounce. Rather cannily, West Indies provided a road for England in their one warm-up. A piece of tactical brilliance and arguably the game was won when a Barbados XI was getting carted to all parts. They knew.

We expect another low-scoring game. Although the strip is not the same, both teams are ready for a similar surface. Liam Dawson confirmed England need to be more cautious.

If we can short 157.5 or more (or maybe 160.5) on the par line then we will do so. Do bear in mind, though, that the big runs come at the death. The strategy in CPL is to keep wickets in hand for a mad dash.

Bowling side to shorten

West Indies are 2.466/4 with England 1.695/7. That's some price shift but it may not have gone far enough.

As we said in game one an experimental England team must earn the right to be so short. The pitch is unlikely assist.

It should be a great leveller throughout the series and if the home team are smart they will re-use the surface as many times as possible.

The toss will be key. Morgan also said he would have bowled first. With sluggish starts expected, the bowling team is likely to shorten up on economy rate alone. That could provide a simple trade on West Indies' price.

Tops value

With low scores in the offing and openers given license to be circumspect, openers are likely to be poplar for top bat. King and Shai Hope are 10/3 and 3/1 respectively. Jason Roy is boosted to 3/1, Livingstone is 16/5 while Banton is toppy at 4s if he plays. Bet on our top bat and bowler analysis here.

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Bet on our top bat and bowler analysis here.