West Indies vs England: First T20I tips and suggested bets
- James Richardson
- 11 December 2023
Planet Sport offers tips and suggested bets for the first T20 International between the West Indies and England from Barbados.
After winning the ODI series that seemed to be plagued by neither side really finding their best cricket, the West Indies shift their attention to a five-match T20I series.
The first of those five matches will take place at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, which hosted the third ODI.
It will be the ninth time that England face the West Indies at the venue and their 12th T20I at the Kensington Oval overall. England have won six of their 11 T20Is at the ground. Hosts West Indies have won eight of their 14 matches at this stadium.
Jason Holder's return should be a big lift for the West Indies as in any given match he is a good candidate to be the top-wicket taker or top runscorer. Holder's ability to end on top in terms of runs will depend on how he is used having often operated in a floating capacity.
For England, you'd be a little foolhardy to look beyond Jos Buttler as the man who will be out to take out a few frustrations in his favoured format. Buttler showed signs of getting back to his best in the ODIs. Another batter to consider backing is the consistent Harry Brook, but he, too, will need enough balls to end up being the main contributor, and if Buttler really gets going, he might not be needed at all.
Preventing Buttler from getting any momentum will be foremost in the West Indies minds, and they may well turn to Romario Shepherd, who has had a bit of a golden arm of late and is likely to continue to take the new ball as well.
Tymal Mills is possibly in line to play his first international in over a year, and he has had a low-key build-up playing most recently in the Abu Dhabi T10s, where bowlers only send down 12 legal balls. On the sluggish and sometimes two-paced Barbados wicket, a bowler like Adil Rashid might have the most say.
Suggested bets
