NEWS
Follow UsHaving received a proper hammering in the first One-Day International, West Indies will look to bounce back in the second encounter against Australia and keep the three-match series alive at the Kensington Oval on Thursday (July 22).
Australia were without their regular skipper Aaron Finch but Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood dismantled West Indies, reducing them to 27/6 before the end of eight overs. Chasing 253, the hosts were bundled out for just 123.
GROUND DETAILS AND TEAM COMBINATION
The Kensington Oval has hosted five ODIs since 2018 and the batsmen here have scored runs at an average of 31.2 and have lost a wicket every 33.8 deliveries. Fast bowlers have done well here in this time period but it would be ideal to have at least two spinners in your XI, especially after what Hayden Walsh did in the first ODI.
Pacers have operated at an average of 27.6 and a strike rate of 31.9 since 2018, while the corresponding numbers for spinners are 40.3 and 41.8 respectively. There are a number of all-rounders on offer and we suggest you to pick at least two of them. Finch and Shai Hope didn't play the first game because of their respective injuries, but if available, you could include both of them in your team.
SUGGESTED TEAMS
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Based on your preferences, the platform will guide you to create the ideal fantasy XI.
CAPTAIN
Mitchell Marsh has been in the form of his life and it's difficult to look past him when it comes to choosing your captain. The all-rounder smashed 219 runs at 43.80 in the five-match T20I series and also picked up eight wickets at an impressive average of 11. Marsh didn't do much in the first ODI, but still managed 20 runs and a wicket. The 29-year-old is someone who could get you points in all three facets of the game.
Our Criclytics Players Projector predicts Marsh can score 23-35 runs and pick 2-3 wickets in this match
X-FACTORS
Hayden Walsh has been picking wickets for fun against Australia. The legspinner took 12 wickets in the T20I series at an average of 11.66 and a strike rate of 10. He then followed it up with his maiden five-wicket haul in international cricket in the first ODI. Walsh took 5/39 and most of the Australian batsmen looked clueless against him. In short, Walsh is a pure wicket-taker and could prove to be a safe pick.
Our Criclytics Players Projector predicts Walsh could pick 0-1 wicket in this match.
Mitchell Starc looked rusty in the first two games of the tour but has now returned back to his best. The left-arm paceman took 5/48 in the first ODI and ripped through the West Indies batting line-up. When in form, Starc could run through any batting order and could once again be amongst wickets in the second ODI.
Our Criclytics Players Projector predicts Starc could pick 2-3 wickets in this match.
MATCH-UPS
Evin Lewis got out to Starc for a golden duck in the first ODI. The opener has struggled against left-arm fast bowlers in the past and averages 21.7 against them. You can check out more in-depth projections and key match-ups for this match here.
PROBABLE XIs
West Indies: Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Mohammed, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen/Akeal Hosein, Hayden Walsh, Sheldon Cottrell, Alzarri Joseph.
Australia: Ben McDermott, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques, Alex Carey (c & wk), Ashton Turner, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc, Wes Agar, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.