West Indies and England meet again as the second Test starts at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Wednesday. After a somewhat inevitable draw in Antigua, it’s all to play for with two matches left in the series. Read our free predictions and betting picks for the game here…
England’s reputation in the Test arena has sunk since their last series win in Sri Lanka a year ago. The recent Ashes embarrassment followed home and away series losses against India and at home to New Zealand.
Joe Root’s team are seeking England’s second series win in West Indies in 54 years (W1, D2, L7). Many seem to suggest West Indies are there for the taking, but neither side are much above mediocre and Root’s team will do well to unsettle their hosts. A couple of wins over the next fortnight would take some pressure of Root, who is under fire as skipper.
If anything, England had the momentum when the draw was confirmed in Antigua. Can they take that into the second Test?
The pitch in Bridgetown will offer much needed pace and bounce after a soporific five days in Antigua.
Kensington Oval offers an averages first innings total of 330. In 54 Tests played at the famous old ground, West Indies have won 25, the away side 12 and 17 matches have been drawn.
16 matches have been played between the teams at Kensington Oval between 1930 and 2019. West Indies have won six times, including the last twice in 2015 and 2019. England have won three matches there (1935, 1994, 2004) and there have been seven draws.
? ?
? #WIvENG ??????? pic.twitter.com/buw5BrUavP
— England Cricket (@englandcricket)
England to make changes
The tourists are forced to make at least one change with Mark Wood (elbow) sitting out and Ollie Robinson expected to return. Robinson will face scrutiny over his fitness which has been criticised in the last few months.
Chris Woakes and Craig Overton may survive. Their ineffectiveness in Antigua can be largely attributed to the pitch, but neither bowled with any consistency.
When England left Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson out of the squad interim managing director Andrew Strauss said: “We feel that it is important to look at some exciting new bowling potential and give some added responsibility to other players who have featured previously.”
That desire to explore potential could see Lancashire’s Saqib Mahmood make his debut and add some pace to the attack. Matthew Fisher has 63 first-class wickets at 27.52 and may also get his chance.
Alex Lees became the 22nd opener tried since Andrew Strauss’ retirement a decade ago. He made only ten runs in Antigua but is likely to be given the three Tests in the series.
Don’t jump on the Leach train
Jack Leach arguably played his best Test in Antigua. There was no turn for the left-arm spinner, but he settled into rhythm, long spells and provided the biggest wicket-taking threat.
He deserves to play again on this trip, although it will be interesting to see whether leg-spinner Matt Parkinson is ever going to get the nod to debut after being taken twice around the world over the last two winters.
Leach may tempt some punters in Barbados. But remember, the last time the sides met there in 2019, Jimmy Anderson claimed five first innings wickets and Roston Chase’s off spin claimed 8/60 in England’s second dig.
Top bowler markets are decided on first innings wickets and therefore pace bowlers are the players to pick.
Zak’s back, but is he backable yet?
England’s Zak Crawley (121), Joe Root (109) and Jonny Bairstow (140) all scored centuries in Antigua as a beleaguered batting unit took a step forward, albeit on a flat track.
Crawley has experience highs, like 267 vs Pakistan in August 2020 and last week’s 121. But there have been sustained lows – a run of 21 innings over 18-months where he averaged a mere 15.71.
If your glass is half empty, Crawley is a flat track bully that struggles on better tracks against Test bowling. A half-empty thinker however knows that Crawley has plenty of potential and existing attributes. The test will be whether the 24-year-old can add consistency to his international game.
Until Crawley has proved that reliability, look elsewhere for a top batter bet.
Joe Root’s 109 in the second innings was a hark back to 2021 when he was the standout batter in world cricket. Regardless of his shorter price and others finding form, Root is the sensible England batter to back, until someone else goes past him. A shorter-priced winner is better than a longer price you cannot trust as much.
Bonner the best home batsman
Nkrumah Bonner was the outstanding home batsman in Antigua with 123 and an unbeaten 38. His first innings century was his second in his ten Tests. He has now scored 738 runs in 18 innings at an average of 49.20.
Bonner did not make his Test debut until the age of 32. That was a decade after first playing a handful of white ball internationals.
He was a model for England’s batsmen and how to construct a Test innings. Struggling to find his timing early on, he doubled down and ultimately scored his 161 match runs across over 12 hours.
It’s that concentration and technique that makes him a great betting play to top score in the second Test.
West Indies ready to win
The hosts have named an unchanged squad ahead of the second Test and are likely to replace their spinner Veerasammy Permaul with batting allrounder Kyle Mayers. Permaul was wicketless in Antigua and looked toothless.
One thing that England have struggled to achieve in Test cricket in recent years is consistency. Statistics at Kensington Oval favour the hosts, as does the history of this series.
There is no way England should be 1.95 favourites to win the second Test. Sometimes in betting you seek the value and it rests with West Indies at a tempting 3.10.
West Indies Test squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales.
England Test squad: Joe Root (captain), Jonathan Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Matthew Fisher, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.
Single: LostTest match14:00/16 marWest Indies vs England 2nd TestBet: West Indies winto:50% players believe that this bet will win!Single: LostTest match14:00/16 marWest Indies vs England 2nd TestBet: Nkrumah Bonner Top West Indies Batterto:50% players believe that this bet will win!Single: WonTest match14:00/16 marWest Indies vs England 2nd TestBet: Joe Root Top England Batterto:50% players believe that this bet will win!