West Indies need to bounce back

Having been easily beaten by Australia in a rain-delayed match on Wednesday, hosts West Indies have no time to mull it over as they are back in action again on Thursday when they take on New Zealand in Antigua.

Though they will be disappointed at the way their top order threw away their wickets on Wednesday, if they are honest, they probably didn't expect to beat Australia once the world champions had made 322 from their 50 overs.

And in the overall scheme of things, the result really doesn't matter too much as long as Australia maintain their focus and beat the other teams too.

However, West Indies, who could be a little weary, will need to show more discipline when they take on a New Zealand side that is, as always, more than just the sum of their parts.

The Black Caps work as a team, good in the field with a few strong batsmen and a few decent bowlers backed up by several bit-part players.

The two teams are well matched on paper, and bet365 make New Zealand narrow favourites at 4/5, with West Indies available at evens.

New Zealand will be hit by the loss of Lou Vincent through injury but they still have plenty of batsmen who can get them runs, and captain Stephen Fleming is the 3/1 favourite to be his side's top runscorer.

Scott Styris is 4/1, Ross taylor a 9/2 chance and Craig McMillan and Peter Fulton both 5/1.

For West Indies, Chris Gayle is the 7/2 favourite despite another poor effort on Wednesday and seemingly a clear lack of form at the moment.

Brian Lara, who looked superb in his 77 against the Aussies, is 4/1, the same price as Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, with Marlon Samuels a 9/2 chance.

I would give West Indies the slight edge here but if you don't feel like a bet on the outcome, why not try New Zealand to make the better score after 10 overs, at 9/10. Chanderpaul and Gayle have not hit form yet, and though they could do so at any time, Fleming and probably Fulton could give them a better start.