Australia vs West Indies: Following Australia’s crushing of the West Indies at the MCG, the action moves to the Sydney Cricket Ground, which has earned a reputation as the home team’s ODI stronghold. The Australians have won eight of their last ten games played at the SCG, and their relatively youthful team for this series will be keen to maintain the momentum with a strong showing with the bat and ball in Sydney.
West Indies have a lot of issues to consider, but in order to give themselves the greatest opportunity of defeating this Australian reserve team—which is missing six of its world cup-winning players—they must pull together and play as a unit. With their recent home ODI series victory over England, they don’t need to look too far behind for inspiration. Shai Hope, their skipper, has been a fantastic hitter for them, averaging over 50 runs at the plate. He will play a big role in their prospects of returning to winning ways in this series.
The 2nd ODI match between Australia vs West Indies will take place on February 4th, 2024, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Moore Park, Australia.
Match Details to Note:
Match: Australia vs West Indies 2nd ODI match
Date: February 4th, 2024 (Sunday)
Time: 09:00 AM IST
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground, Moore Park, Australia.
Australia vs West Indies
Australia (Match Odds- 1.12)
Preview
The stars of the show were all-rounder Cameron Green and rookie Xavier Bartlett. In his first-ever game, Bartlett scorched the men in maroon for 231 with a spectacular spell of 4 for 17 from 9 overs, while Green scored an undefeated 77 off the bat after taking two wickets with the ball.
Captain Steve Smith continued his excellent form at bat, hitting 79* not out, carrying on his form from the Brisbane test. With some encouraging movement both into and away from the batsman, the 25-year-old Queenslander took the West Indian top order batsmen by surprise.
Lance Morris, another newcomer to the show, was unsuccessful and ended up scoring 0/59 from 10 overs. There is still some work to be done on the fielding end, as a few mistakes and wasted opportunities by Travis Head, Josh Inglis, and Marnus Labuschagne cost them dearly in the end as West Indies reached 231 runs.
Australia, in response, had a dismal start, losing the first player, Travis Head, cheaply right away. However, Josh Inglis came out swinging and scored runs quickly, so the new batters could take their time and get their eye in without too much concern about the run rate creeping up.
Full Squad:
Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Matthew Renshaw
Players to watch out for in:
Steve Smith
Captain Steve Smith continued his excellent form at bat, hitting 79* not out, carrying on his form from the Brisbane test. With some encouraging movement both into and away from the batsman, the 25-year-old Queenslander took the West Indian top order batsmen by surprise.
Lance Morris
Lance Morris, another newcomer to the show, was unsuccessful and ended up scoring 0/59 from 10 overs. He needs to set up in the 2nd game.
Possible Playing XI:
Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Steven Smith (c), Cameron Green, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Short, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Lance Morris, Adam Zampa.
West Indies (Match Odds- 6.30)
Preview
The one bright spot in what ended up being a crushing defeat for the hosts was a 110-run partnership between Keacy Carty and Roston Chase.
Bartlett’s deft swing bowling left the top order batters completely bewildered, but the middle order batsmen pulled together to calm the ship and guide them to a respectable score. Following Chase’s disturbance of his woodwork by Adam Zampa, Carty increased his toal by a few runs and appeared ready to bring up his maiden tonne. However, in an attempt to get off strike, Hayden Walsh put Carty under the bus, and he was run out 12 runs short of reaching the milestone. After the reckless run out, the batsmen that came after were unable to score runs at will and puffed their way to a total that was below standard.
The Windies bowlers, who were defending 232, claimed the first wicket when Matthew Forde removed Travis Head for four in the fifth delivery of the first over. However, before they could get any closer, stand-in opener Josh Inglis stole the match with a blistering 65 off 43 balls.
In the midst of the 12th over, he returned to the hut, but Steve Smith and Cameron Green joined him. The Windies bowling attack, which appeared a little too lacklustre at a decent wicket, barely troubled the pair, and they got the hosts home with more than 11 overs remaining.
Full Squad:
Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Alzarri Joseph, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Justin Greaves, Joshua Da Silva, Akeem Jordan, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach, Kevin Sinclair, Tevin Imlach, Shamar Joseph, Zachary McCaskie
Players to watch out for in:
Shai Hope
Shai Hope, their captain, who has been in fantastic form over the past two years, will have to provide the majority of the runs. Shai will be the hope for this batting lineup because the other players in the batting order are quite inexperienced and new.
Alzarri Joseph
Alzarri Joseph is anticipated to lead the assault, will bear a great deal of responsibility.
Possible Playing XI:
Justin Greaves, Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope (c & wk), Keacy Carty, Kavem Hodge, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Hayden Walsh, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph.
Australia vs West Indies Toss Prediction:
At the SCG, Australia traditionally prefers to bat first. Why wouldn’t they? The hosts have won 7 out of 7 matches in which they have won the toss and batted first, demonstrating the success of their choice to take a first look at these forgiving wickets. The one time they won the toss and decided to chase, they lost.
Australia vs West Indies Pitch Report:
It will be level and dry and there will be plenty of runs available for the batters if the SCG deck is true to form. Conditions-wise, it seems like we’ll have a warm, dry day with an average temperature of between 26 and 27 degrees.
Australia vs West Indies Match Report:
At the Sydney Cricket Ground, it takes a lot to beat Australia, and the West Indies team as it stands doesn’t seem to have the weapons to take this fort down.
We predict Australia to win the Australia vs West Indies game at the odds of 1.12
Australia vs West Indies Most Recommended Player To Bet For:
Captain Steve Smith continued his excellent form at bat, hitting 79* not out, carrying on his form from the Brisbane test. With some encouraging movement both into and away from the batsman, the 25-year-old Queenslander took the West Indian top order batsmen by surprise.
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