Match: 2nd T20.
Teams: West Indies vs Australia.
Venue: Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, St.Lucia.
Time: 5:00 am IST.
Preview: The first T20 was no less than a drama. West Indies could manage a paltry 145 courtesy some late order power hitting from Andre Russell. In reply Australia started well with Mathew Wade and Mitchell Marsh firing in all cylinders.From 89/4 in 8th over the remaining six wickets fell for 38 more runs as Obed Mccoy and Hayden Walsh wrecked havoc. West Indies would be pleased with the 18 runs victory but Australia can't afford to commit the same mistakes again.
Weather Report:
A clear sky is predicted again 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 first T20 was played on a dry strip with the spinners coming into play in the 2nd Innings. Unless a fresh strip is provided expect the pitch to remain the same.
H2H Records:
Total matches played:12.
West Indies won:7.
Australia won:5.
Recent match result:
WI: 145/6 vs Aus:127/10.
(WI won by 18 runs).
Russell:51.
Simmons:27.
Hetmeyer:20.
Marsh:51 & 26/2.
Wade:33.
Hazlewood:12/3.
McCoy:26/4.
Walsh:23/3.
Allen:24/2.
Observations from 1st T20:
1. Australia won the toss and opted to field first. Josh Hazlewood ran through the top order in powerplay and conceded only 3 runs in his first 3 overs and scalped the wickets of Lewis and Gayle.
2. West Indies could manage to score only 24 runs in powerplays but the thing that would concern them the most would be the lack of strike rotation. As a result they played 59 dots out of 120 deliveries.
3. Australia used 6 bowling options with Mitchell Marsh bowling four overs. He was the player of the match for Australia with 2 wickets and then he scored his maiden fifty while batting at 3. Starc looked pale and out of form.
4.Lendl Simmons consumed 17 dot balls while scoring his 27 runs off 28 balls. Chris Gayle too looked uncomfortable at his new number 3 position. With no Pollard available, Andre Russell is the designated finisher.
5. Obed McCoy was brilliant in the death. The left arm quick was smart in his change ups and was hard to score of. The spin duo of Allenn and Walsh too looked dangerous as the pitch was on the slower side. The duo picked 5 wickets in their 7 overs conceding 47 runs.
6. For Australia Wade played well and Marsh was brilliant but the rest of the batsmen fell to poor shot selection. With no designated finisher and their inability to play slow deliveries, Australia must look to sort this issue quickly.
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: 303 runs.
Dwayne Bravo: 182 runs.
Pollard: 159 runs
Most wickets:
Dan Christian: 7 wkts.
Kieron Pollard: 7 wkts.
Starc: 6 wkts.
Bravo: 6 wkts.
At this Venue:
Australia: Played: 5, Won:4.
West Indies: Played: 5, Won:2.
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:
Simmons: 92 runs (3 Inns).
Pooran: 75 runs (2 Inns).
Pollard:67 runs.(2 Inns).
McCoy:4 wkts (1 Inns).
Cottrell: 3 wkts (1 Inns).
Walsh:3 wkts (1 Inns).
Aus:
Christian: 3 wkts (2 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).
Core team:
Russell.
Wade.
Marsh.
Gayle.
Bravo.
Hayden Walsh.
McCoy
Players shortlisted on basis of toss.
Hazlewood (Bowling first).
Zampa (Bowling second).
Fiedel Edwards (Bowling first).
Finch (Batting first).
Christian (Batting first).
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, Hetmeyer, Pooran, Russell, Allen, Dj Bravo, Obed Mckoy, Hayden Walsh, Fiedel Edwards.
(With less than 24 hrs for next game, West Indies are unlikely to change their Xi).
Aus: Finch, Wade, Marsh,Phillippe, Mcdermott, Henriques, Dan Christian,
Agar, Starc, Zampa, Hazlewood.
(Australia will look to give one more chance to the playing Xi. However McDermott looks the weakest link)
My team:
Wk: Wade.
Batsmen: Gayle, Lewis, Finch.
All Rounders: Christian/Allen, Marsh, Russell.
Bowlers: Hazlewood, McCoy, Bravo, Hayden Walsh.
Other options: Zampa, Henriques, Simmons.
Safe C/Vc: Russell, Marsh.
Differential C/Vc: Gayle, Simmons,Christian.
Risky: Finch, Starc, Lewis.
Note: Ideally Australia should make a comeback in this match. If Australia bowls first make Hazlewood a captain in GL. Ideally the spinners bowling second will be important.
Disclaimer: The analysis is purely based on latest Stats and H2H records. You can go with your choice of players.