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16th May 2012 | Cricket

England v West Indies Cricket Tips: Kemar Roach

Leading wicket taker in Australia and has a strike rate on a par with England’s best.

The Test series between England and the West Indies looks a forgone conclusion according to the betting. The home team are 1/6 (Betfred) to win the series and only 2/1 (Betfred) for the whitewash. I think this is a dangerous assumption.

Let us not forget England lost four of their five Tests this winter and could be displaced from their world number one status later this summer. They aren’t as dominant as the betting suggests.

The flip side is that the West Indies aren’t as bad as people make out either. After years of under-achievement, there were green shoots of a recovery in Australia. They lost the three match series 2-0, but both defeats were in close games, losing by only 3 wickets in the first Test and 75 runs in the third.

I can’t quite bring myself to back the away side to win the series at 14/1 (Bet365) but it won’t be as one sided as the betting suggests. In bowler-friendly conditions the West Indies have the fire-power to take wickets. We saw during the winter how England’s batsmen struggled to adapt to unfavourable conditions and I’m not sure they have the discipline to survive on a seam friendly wicket.

Kemar Roach was a revelation against Australia, becoming the leading bowler in the series, with 19 wickets at an average of 19.73. In 17 matches he has a strike rate of 53.4. That is on a par with England’s best, James Anderson with a 55.2 strike rate and Stuart Broad 54.7. Steve Finn has a strike rate of 43.4 but is not a guaranteed to start all three Tests.

The West Indies could make a fight of the series with Kemar Roach the architect. Back him to be the top wicket taker in the series at 8/1 with Sportingbet. 

Odds correct at time of publishing: 14:45 16th May, 2012 but subject to change

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