England kicks off lengthy white-ball tour
After a disappointing red-ball tour to Pakistan, England’s travel continues as they reach West Indies for a white-ball tour with the ODI series kicking off first.
Ahead of the first ODI in North Sound, here’s our match preview and predictions.
West Indies vs England 1st ODI | England tour of West Indies 2024 | 23:30 IST, October 31
While England ended their Pakistan tour on the back of two ordinary performances, this though is a completely different format which means its a new bunch of players, who wouldn’t have that Pakistan performance on the back of their mind.
England will be missing the services of their regular captain Jos Buttler, who is still recovering from a calf injury and it will be Liam Livingstone leading the squad in Buttler’s absence. The English batting line-up might not have a ton of experience but there is a lot of firepower and talent with the likes of Phil Salt, Will Jacks and the young Jacob Bethell having to do a lot of the heavy-lifting. Jofra Archer will be leading the bowling attack with the spin unit being led by Adil Rashid and it should be a strong series for the spinners, with Rehan Ahmend, Bethell and Sam Curran set to be key for the visitors.
The hosts on the other hand will see Shai Hope lead with the likes of Evin Lewis, Brandon King, Sherfane Rutherford and Shimron Hetmyer making up a strong batting line up. The bowling unit will see Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales, Shamar Joseph led the pace bowling unit while Gudakesh Motie, Hayden Walsh Jr and Roston Chase will be the key spinners,
Apart from having the home advantage, the Windies squad is a bit more experienced and at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium at Antigua, expect a lot of runs and the slow bowlers to come into play, and we have hosts as the favourites to start their home series with a win.
Fantasy XI: Phil Salt, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Liam Livingstone, Roston Chase, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie
Venue: North Sound
Winners Prediction: West Indies
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