After taking it up to India away from home, Australia will continue their T20 World Cup preparation on home soil by hosting the West Indies for a two-game series.
The history is stacked against the visitors – the West Indies have defeated Australia just once in an international fixture since 1997 – however, you can never underestimate the talent they bring to the table.
Josh Nevett takes a close look at the contest with his free preview and cricket betting tips below.
Australia vs West Indies 1st T20 Preview & Betting Tips
Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast, Wednesday October 5th, 7:10pm (AEST)
Squads
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
West Indies: Nicholas Pooran (c), Rovman Powell, Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Obed Mccoy, Raymon Reifer, Odean Smith
Match Preview
Despite losing 2-1, Australia were impressive in the highly competitive series against India.
Cameron Green was a revelation as an opening batsman, hitting two half centuries to bring his omission from the World Cup squad into question. Veteran wicketkeeper-batsmen Matthew Wade also stood out with the bat, guiding Australia to a record-breaking win by hitting 45* (21) to chase down 208 in Game 1.
On the bowling front, Adam Zampa was at his wicket-taking best, while fringe selections Tim David and Daniel Sams showed plenty across the three matches.
In the lead up to this short and sharp series, the West Indies played in two losing limited overs series’ against New Zealand, both three-match contests ended in 2-1 defeat. Since then, players have taken part in the Caribbean Premier League T20 competition, with tournament standouts Johnson Charles and Raymon Reifer earning selection in the national squad.
Unable to qualify directly for the Super 12 stage of the World Cup, the West Indies will have to do things the hard way, so it’s important they get the most out of their short stay down under.
Notably, star batsman Shimron Hetmeyer will not feature in either this series or the World Cup after he was dismissed for behavioural reasons.
Australia’s squad has also been tweaked – Mitchell Starc, David Warner and Mitch Marsh are back – however, the latter will play solely as a batsman. As such, it will be interesting to see how the hosts line-up in this series… will the likes of Green and David continue to play?
With their added firepower, it is no surprise that Australia are short-priced favourites to get the job done in Game 1 tonight at Metricon Stadium.
The home team has a dominant record against their opposition and will play at close to full strength, so it’s hard to see a disjointed West Indies side going close, although there's no value in the short price.
Prop Bets:
This could be a good alternative play to backing Australia head-to-head. I envision the Aussies winning this game in a canter, so especially if they bat first, it makes sense that the hosts will clear the boundary more often with their powerful batting line-up.
Most Sixes – Australia ($1.91 at Ladbrokes)
As the #1 spinner, Adam Zampa takes on plenty of responsibility in the T20 format and has been repaying the faith, regularly taking multiple wickets. Zampa comes up against a WI side with plenty of right-handers which should suit him, as will the drop-in Gold Coast pitch which could hamper the quicks.
Australia Top Wicket Taker – Adam Zampa ($4.33 at Ladbrokes)
