Match: 1st T20.
Teams: West Indies vs Australia.
Venue: Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, St.Lucia.
Time: 5:00 am IST.
Preview: Australia kick-starts their T20 WC preparation against the West Indies with a 5 match T20 series. West Indies have fielded their strongest possible squad but couldn't get the desired results against South Africa. On the other hand, Australia would be without many big names and they are still looking to finalise their playing Xi.
Weather Report:
A clear sky is predicted with an average temperature of 29 degree Celsius.
Pitch Report:
St Lucia is a batting friendly track which assist the pacers who can vary the pace. The average score of 170 indicates that there are plenty of runs on this track. Out of 13 T20 games played here the team chasing has won 8 times.
H2H Records:
Total matches played:11.
West Indies won:6.
Australia won:5.
Last 5 H2H results:
West Indies leads 4-1 in last 5 H2H.
Aus:178/8 vs WI:179/4. (2014).
(WI won by 6 wkts).
Finch:16.
Gayle:53.
Simmons:26.
Bravo:27 & 1w.
WI:191/6 vs Aus:164/8. (2013).
(WI won by 27 runs).
Pollard:26 & 3w.
Russell:23.
Bravo:13.
Hazlewood:1w.
WI:205/4 vs Aus:131/10. (2012).
(WI won by 74 runs).
Gayle:75.
Bravo:37.
Pollard:38 & 2w.
Starc:1w.
WI:191/8 vs Aus:100/1. (2012).
(Aus won by D/L method).
Gayle:54.
Bravo:27.
Starc:3w.
Christian:1w.
WI:160/10 vs Aus:146/9. (2012).
(WI won by 14 runs).
Bravo:23 & 2w.
Christian:1w.
H2H Records:
Most runs:
Chris Gayle: 299 runs (2nd highest run getter).
Dwayne Bravo: 175 runs (4th highest run getter).
Pollard: 159 runs (5th higest run getter).
Most wickets:
Dan Christian: 7 wkts (2nd highest).
Kieron Pollard: 7 wkts (3rd highest).
Starc: 6 wkts (4th highest).
Bravo: 6 wkts (10th highest).
At this Venue:
Australia: Played: 4, Won:4.
West Indies: Played: 4, Won:1.
Venue Performance: (Current Squad)
WI:160/8 vs Eng:161/6. (2019).
(Eng won by 4 wkts).
Pooran:58.
Gayle:15.
Hetmeyer:14.
Cottrell:3w.
Holder:1w.
Pacers: 7+5=12 wkts.
Spinners: 2+1=3 wkts.
WI:150/7 vs Aus:153/2. (2012).
(Aus won by 8 wkts).
Pollard: 54.
Bravo: 14.
Dan Christian: 3w.
Pacers: 6+2= 8wkts.
Spinners: 0+0=0wkts.
WI:150/7 vs Pak:143/9. (2011).
(WI won by 7 runs).
Simmons:65.
Pacers:2+4=6 wkts.
Spinners:4+4=8 wkts.
WI:105/10 vs Aus:109/4. (2010).
(Aus won by 6 wkts).
Pollard:13.
Gayle: 1w.
Pacers: 4+1=5 wkts.
Spinners: 5+2=7 wkts.
Leading Performers at Venue:
WI:
Pollard:67 runs.(2 Inns).
Simmons: 65 runs (2 Inns).
Pooran: 58 runs (1 Inns).
Cottrell: 3 wkts (1 Inns).
Aus:
Christian: 3 wkts (1 Inns)
(Hidden Gem in this match).
As there is lack of International matches data we will look for CPL data.
CPL 2019 Performers: (Current Squad).
Jam: 165/7 vs STZ: 169/6.
(STZ won by 4 wkts).
Gayle:29.
Fletcher:17.
Pacers: 6+1=7 wkts.
Spinners: 0+4=4 wkts.
STZ:161/7 vs GAW: 162/2.
(GAW won by 8 wkts).
Fletcher:18.
Pacers: 4+1=5 wkts.
Spinners: 2+1=3 wkts.
STZ:165/6 vs SKN:145/9.
(STZ won by 20 runs).
Fletcher:36.
Pacers:3+7=10 wkts.
Spinners: 3+2=5 wkts.
BAR:172/6 vs STZ:101/10.
(BAR won by 71 runs).
Holder:10 & 2w.
Fletcher:14.
McCoy: 2w.
Pacers:5+6=11 wkts.
Spinners:1+1=2 wkts.
Recent Games result:
Australia played 2 Intra Squad Practice Matches ahead of 1st T20.
Intra Squad Practice Match:
Australia II: 193/5.
Christian:47.
Henriques:36.
Meredith:2w.
Australia I: 196/5.
Marsh:56.
Turner:45
Tye:2w.
Australia I: 165/6.
Wade:52
Starc: 3w.
Australia II:166/2.
Philippe:67.
Henriques:51.
Recent Series Performance:
West Indies played a 5 match T20 series against South Africa at home. They lost the series 3-2.
Lewis: 178 runs (5 Inns) Avg:35.60.
Simmons: 72 runs (3 Inns). Avg: 24.
Pooran: 72 runs (5 Inns). Avg:18.
Bravo: 10 wkts (5 Inns). Avg:13.10.
Obed McCoy: 9 wkts (5 Inns). Avg:15.67.
Australia played against India in 2020, their last competitive series. They lost 2-1.
Wade: 145 runs (3 Inns). Avg:48.33.
Henriques: 61 runs & 3 wkts (3 Inns). Avg:30.50.
Swepson: 6 wkts (3 Inns).
Zampa: 3 wkts (3 Inns).
Squad Info:
West Indies squad:
Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (Wk), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.
Australia squad:
Aaron Finch (C), Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey(Wk), Dan Christian, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade(Wk), Adam Zampa.
Probable Xi:
WI: Lewis, Simmons, Gayle, Fletcher, Pooran, Pollard, Russell, Allen, Dj Bravo, Obed Mckoy, Fiedel Edwards.
Aus: Finch, Wade, Phillippe, Mcdermott, Henriques, Dan Christian,
Agar, Starc, Tye, Zampa, Meredith.
(Australia will look to fine tune their playing Xi.Hence anyone can play).
My team:
Wk: Pooran,Wade/ Phillippe.
Batsmen: Gayle, Simmons/Lewis, Finch.
All Rounders: Christian, Pollard, Russell/Allen.
Bowlers: Mccoy, Bravo, Starc.
Other options: Zampa, Henriques.
Safe C/Vc: Gayle, Simmons.
Differential C/Vc: Russell, Christian.
Risky: Finch, Starc, Lewis.
Note: As it is the first match a lot of changes can take place especially in Australian camp. So I would go in with West Indies as favourites.
Disclaimer: The analysis is purely based on latest Stats and H2H records. You can go with your choice of players.