Two rejuvenated sides will lock to establish their authority in the tournament as Australia and West Indies lock horns with each other at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Both sides are coming into this match on the back of comprehensive victories. While West Indies overpowered Pakistan in their opening match, riding the success of their fast bowlers, Australia also registered a clinical victory over Afghanistan riding on the back of fifties from David Warner and Aaron Finch.
Both the sides are quite well rounded in all departments, but the Australian players probably trump their West Indies counterparts in terms of experience. Young players like Nicholas Pooran and Oshane Thomas were exceptional in the last match but it remains to be seen whether they have the temperament for big games like this against testing opponents.
While they are almost on par with each other on terms of batting strength, Australia have a better bowling attack as compared to the Windies. Their pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile is terrific and their spinner, Adam Zampa, is one of the best in the world at the moment. These bowlers are backed by the all-round skills of Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell as well. West Indies, on the other hand, look quite dangerous with pacers like Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Russell, Jason Holder and Oshane Thomas. But their spin department is their weakness. Ashley Nurse has one of the worst bowling averages for spinners since World
Two rejuvenated sides will lock to establish their authority in the tournament as Australia and West Indies lock horns with each other at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Both sides are coming into this match on the back of comprehensive victories. While West Indies overpowered Pakistan in their opening match, riding the success of their fast bowlers, Australia also registered a clinical victory over Afghanistan riding on the back of fifties from David Warner and Aaron Finch.
Both the sides are quite well rounded in all departments, but the Australian players probably trump their West Indies counterparts in terms of experience. Young players like Nicholas Pooran and Oshane Thomas were exceptional in the last match but it remains to be seen whether they have the temperament for big games like this against testing opponents.
While they are almost on par with each other on terms of batting strength, Australia have a better bowling attack as compared to the Windies. Their pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile is terrific and their spinner, Adam Zampa, is one of the best in the world at the moment. These bowlers are backed by the all-round skills of Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell as well. West Indies, on the other hand, look quite dangerous with pacers like Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Russell, Jason Holder and Oshane Thomas. But their spin department is their weakness. Ashley Nurse has one of the worst bowling averages for spinners since World Cup 2015. However, they have the ability to compensate for that with their batting strength. Overall, it can be said that it is going to an exciting contest.
Weather and Pitch conditions: No rain is forecasted for the day but conditions are supposed to be overcast. A high scoring encounter can be expected this time as well.
Player Recommendations:
Wicket-Keeper: Shai Hope (9.5 Cr)
He averaged just 35.7 in the format before 2018. However, he has become a force at the top of the order for the Windies now ever since he has been pushed to open the innings. He has five hundreds since 2018 with an average of 63.9 and is a must have pick for your team.
Batsman: Steve Smith (10.5 Cr)
Although Smith didn't get enough batting time in the last match, he was in good form during the warm up matches, recording one century. Moreover, he averages over 50 against the Windies in ODIs. So, you can back him to do well.
All-Rounder: Andre Russell (9.5 Cr)
After smashing 510 runs at a strike-rate of over 200 in the IPL, Russell made an immediate impact with the ball in their first World Cup 2019 match against Pakistan as he knocked batsmen off with his barrage of short balls. You can't overlook him for this encounter.
Bowler: Pat Cummins (9 Cr)
He is Australia's highest wicket-taker since 2018 with 28 wickets to his name. Moreover, he has struck every 26th ball during this period which translates to at least two wickets per match of he bowls even an over less than his full quota of 10. He has got batting ability too and that makes him a good option for your team.
Captain: Steve Smith
Vice-Captain: Andre Russell
Predicted Playing XI:
Australia: Aaron Finch, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas
