West Indies v England: first ODI betting preview, tips & TV details

TV: Sky Sports Cricket, 3pm Wednesday

England finished the Test series against the West Indies on a positive note and are 2-5 to start the 50-over portion of the tour with a victory in the first one-day international at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

They are the top-ranked ODI team in the world and Eoin Morgan’s men get the opportunity to show why as they gear up for a huge year in this format of the game.

The West Indies, meanwhile, will be looking to build on the good feeling generated from the surprise Test victory but they meet a team who are playing with purpose in white-ball cricket.

The tourists are more consistent in the shorter form of the game and much of that has been down to captain Morgan’s all-or-nothing approach to attacking the game.

The team know their role and are aware of how they fit into the system, but the same can’t be said in the red-ball format where frequent selection changes, particularly among the batting ranks, have tended to cause more harm than good.

England’s attacking intent should be seen from the off with Jason Roy, who scored 110 in a warm-up match against a West Indies University XI on Sunday, set to open the batting alongside Jonny Bairstow.

While both Roy and Bairstow tend to go hard at the ball in the Powerplay overs, Joe Root provides a more measured approach batting at three.

Unburdened by not being captain in this format, Root averaged 59 in ODIs last year and stroked 114 in the warm-up victory in addition to the sparkling century that he scored in the second innings of the third Test.

He looks a prime candidate to be England’s top runscorer in Bridgetown, where he scored 101 in 2017 as the Three Lions delivered a commanding 186-run victory in the last ODI played in Barbados.

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