West Indies v England second ODI: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Partner Authors Updated: 01 Nov 24 14:37

England's white-ball tour of the Caribbean got off to an inauspicious start when the tourists were beaten by eight wickets by an impressive West Indies side at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua on Thursday.

The Three Lions now have to win Saturday's second match to avoid a third straight defeat in bilateral 50-overs series and a second to the Windies within the last 12 months.

Shai Hope's hosts began the opening game as underdogs, but the manner of their victory suggests they should be favoured going into this second clash at the same venue.

West Indies v England

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West Indies v England 2nd ODI betting tips and predictions

West Indies to win - 1/1

Somehow England still carry the favourites' tag into this clash, albeit they have been pushed out from 4/6 to 4/5 to level the series.

Liam Livingstone suffered a chastening debut as skipper and the four debutants who were drafted into an inexperienced-looking line-up all struggled to make impacts in Thursday's day/night clash.

This one will also finish under the lights, but hopefully without the rain interruption that led to the hosts being set a revised total of 157 to win off 35 overs.

They managed it with 55 balls to spare as Evin Lewis made his second match-winning score in the space of a week - a swashbuckling 94 off 69 balls.

No England player had the patience or technique to occupy the crease for longer than 10 overs as a succession of top-order batters fell to poor shots.

Livingstone showed some responsibility in his innings of 48 off 49 balls, but his soft dismissal to spinner Gudakesh Motie after England had reached 164-4 was the signal for a familiar collapse.

It remains a trait that has dogged England in all formats for the past year, with the 50-over side - then under the captaincy of Harry Brook - guilty of similar collapses in the first and fifth ODIs against Australia in September.

The West Indies have beaten England in four of the last five one-dayers held in the Caribbean and it seems sensible to oppose this naïve touring team on Saturday.

Jacob Bethell Over 23.5 Runs - 5/6

Jacob Bethell began the series with a bang, smashing three fours in the space of four balls shortly after arriving in the middle when England were rebuilding following the loss of both openers.

The Barbados-born all-rounder rarely stands on ceremony and his promotion up the order from seven to four indicates how highly-rated he is by the selectors.

He was among the England batters who were instantly regretting their final shot selection on Thursday when he holed out to cover off a leading edge for 27.

However, Bethell's ability to read Caribbean pitches from his upbringing should stand him in good stead to make another solid contribution this weekend.

The Warwickshire player has scored more than 24 in four of his last six innings for England and one of those was an undefeated 12 alongside Livingstone as the Lancastrian hogged the strike in the final couple of overs in a memorable win over Australia at Lord's.

The 21-year-old, who celebrated his birthday late last month, currently averages 28 in this format and 25 in domestic List A cricket.

Evin Lewis top West Indies Batter - 7/2

It seems churlish to ignore the claims of Lewis to be the West Indies' leading run-scorer given his superb current form.

The left-hander had a chance to nail back-to-back international centuries on Thursday after racing to 94 off 68 balls, but his desire to bring up the landmark in the grand manner was his downfall.

Caught at long-off when aiming to clear the rope, Lewis can still be proud of his achievement, as he was the only batter in the match who looked truly capable of timing the ball well on a slow surface.

His knock of 102 not out against Sri Lanka in Pallekele was produced in similar conditions and it is likely that the North Sound wicket will be just as slow on Saturday.

Lewis' impact since returning from a three-year international hiatus has been astounding, but a deeper dive into his career statistics shows that he had been averaging more than 55 in ODIs for the two years before being left out.