The West Indies will look to surprise old nemesis Australia when the two sides meet in the finals of the tri-nation series in the Caribbean. This match will be played at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Sunday night.
In what was a closely-fought series, all three teams – including the eliminated South Africa – have been stacked close together right until the end. It is a tribute to the quality of cricket that until the last couple of games, no team was sure of a finals place.
The West Indies started the tournament upsetting South Africa and qualified to the finals with another victory over the Proteas in the final round. They lost to Australia twice while winning once in the three-leg round-robin tournament. The Windies team still has an air of unpredictability to them with chances of an upset win in the finals as good as the chances of a debilitating loss.
The form of Sunil Narine with the ball and Marlon Samuels with the bat has been the shining beacon for the Windies. The mystery spinner has recaptured his guile after the remodeling of his action and looks set for another interesting duel with the Aussies. For Samuels, he’s finally letting his bat do the talking and he always finds an extra notch of motivation to perform against Australia.
Australia have not been as consistent as they would have hoped, but nevertheless have been efficient in the series so far. While they too had to wait until their last league match to confirm their place in the finals, the World Champions have a more settled look to their line-up than the hosts.
Captain Steven Smith has led the batting in the absence of an injured David Warner while Usman Khawaja continues to blossom as an international batsman. With the ball, it’s all about the returning Mitchell Starc who looks as if he’s never been on the side lines. Key question will be the presence of Adam Zampa in the final XI, who could provide variety for Smith.
Australia look hard to beat, but as $1.44 favourites at Ladbrokes, there isn't a whole lot of value there, so we'll look to the individual player performance markets.
Samuels adds experience and patience to the West Indian lineup and should relish the sight of the Aussies. At odds of $5.00 at Ladbrokes, back him to be the top West Indies batsman. For the Aussies the same could be Khawaja who at odds of $4.00 at Ladbrokes is a worthy punt. Narine looks a good bet as the hosts leading bowler at odds of $2.75 at Ladbrokes.
A match-up between World Champions of the two short formats is bound to grab attention and provide a game of full entertainment!
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
