England strong favourites to exact World T20 revenge
They may be world T20 champions, but West Indies in one-day cricket are a somewhat less formidable prospect. At least, that is the assessment of the odds-setters at Bet365, who have England as strong favourites to wrap up a comfortable win in the three-ma
ESPNcricinfo staff
03-Mar-2017
Ben Stokes takes a catch while training • Getty Images
They may be world T20 champions, but West Indies in one-day cricket are a somewhat less formidable prospect. At least, that is the assessment of the odds-setters at Bet365, who have England as strong favourites to wrap up a comfortable win in the three-match ODI series that gets underway in Antigua today. While you can get a West Indies 3-0 win at 33/1, the same scoreline for England is 23/20
And not without good reason. West Indies have not won a bilateral ODI series since 2014. Since 2008, when they defeated Sri Lanka, they have only enjoyed one ODI bilateral series victory against what might have been, until recently, one of the big eight (in 2012, against New Zealand).
The last time they played ODI cricket, they failed to qualify for the finals of a tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. They didn't qualify for the 2016 ICC Champions Trophy and, unless they improve their ranking by the end of this September (they need to be in the top eight; they are currently ranked ninth), they will not qualify for the 2019 World Cup. They're not in a dry spell; they're in a famine.
Nevertheless, they still possess some heavy artillery, not least in their batting ranks, and all eyes will doubtless be on Carlos Brathwaite's reunion with Ben Stokes, the victor versus the vanquished from that unforgettable six-laden climax to the World T20 last year.
Brathwaite, truth be told, has been in a prolonged slump since that day - he's managed a solitary half-century in 18 subsequent innings for West Indies, and that came in a one-off Test against India. But he is an attractive 14/1 to put his recent woes behind him. His brother Kraigg, whose methods are rather more slow and steady, leads the field at 7/2.
As for Stokes, he scored nine runs and took no wickets on his last ODI tour of the Caribbean three years ago, and ended up breaking his hand after punching a locker in Barbados. But he's a more mature cricketer these days, and is 13/2 to lead England's batting, and 5/1 to be their most successful bowler.