A win on captaincy debut must have felt good for Alex Carey, but the stars of the day were Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. The pair had West Indies by the collar, and all they needed was four overs each. By the end of the eighth over West Indies were six down, having barely crossed 20. Wes Agar, the debutant, was equally impressive, never letting the hosts get off the hook after the initial damage.
On a slow, stodgy surface where runs were hard to come by, only Josh Philippe and Ashton Turner looked unperturbed. Philippe provided Australia a good start, taking it all upon himself as Ben McDermott struggled to score. Turner’s quickfire 49 helped the visitors reach a par total. If Aaron Finch returns to the side, McDermott may have to warm the bench.
West Indies are likely to be without Shai Hope and Fabian Allen. Shimron Hetmyer will continue to open the innings, with Evin Lewis. Both men need to anchor their innings, instead of playing with the kind of freedom they get in T20Is. They do not have too many choices on the batting front, and thus Jason Mohammed might retain his place.
West Indies will expect a bit more from Jason Holder, who got a duck and went wicketless in the first ODI. Hayden Walsh claimed five-for in the last game, while Akeal Hosein picked up two wickets.
Betway Fantasy Tips
- Kensington Oval helped the spinners in the first ODI. Walsh and Adam Zampa can be the two bowlers of your fantasy XI.
- Holder can be omitted, and pick Mitchell Marsh instead. Marsh was terrific in the T20I series, and there is a sense of newfound calm and poise in his batting.
- Among batters, go for Carey, Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran. Both Hetmyer and Pooran are due a big score.
Probable XIs
West Indies: Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (wk), Darren Bravo, Jason Mohammed, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder,Fabien Allen, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein/Hayden Walsh Jr, Sheldon Cottrell
Australia: Matthew Wade, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques, Ben McDermott, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Jason Behrendorff
Prediction:
Australia to make it 2-0.