Cricket betting tips: West Indies v England 3rd ODI preview and best bets

Cricket betting tips: West Indies v England

2pts Shai Hope top West Indies batsman at 100/30 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)

Bridgetown will host the ODI series decider between West Indies and England on Saturday, 5.30pm UK time.

England bounced back from an opening match defeat when running out ultimately convincing winners in Antigua on Wednesday, but are far from bombproof and quotes of 4/9 about the tourists appear very short.

One thing that does boost England’s chances is the form shown by various elements of the batting order – something that was badly missing at the recent World Cup – with Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Zak Crawley, Harry Brook and captain Jos Buttler all finding form at various stages on the tour so far.

As such, I’ll be staying clear of the top England batsman market having liked both Crawley and Duckett so far, the former because he can be deadly without the threat of sideways movement – we’ve seen very little so far – and the latter because he has a game well-suited to combatting the West Indies’ spin bowlers.

The top West Indies batsman market is far easier to attack, with SHAI HOPE impossible to oppose having won in each of the first two matches, thanks to scores of 109 not out and 68.

Hope has once again proven the class act in the home batting line-up, no surprise given he currently averages 51.68 in this format, with 16 hundreds, and England don’t appear to have much of a plan as to how to nullify the West Indies captain.

We were with Hope on Sunday and Wednesday, landing 100/30 and 11/4 winning bets, and with 100/30 available again for the series finale, I see little need to jump ship.

Of course, he is due a low score sooner rather than later, but I’m not sure there’s much science or informed opinion behind that theory, and I’d much rather judge on the evidence laid out in front of us. Hope is much the best player in the West Indies team and taking 100/30 ought to pay in the long term.

The top bowler markets make little appeal. Liam Livingstone, who took three wickets on Wednesday, is often underestimated when the pitches assist spin, but 13/2 best doesn’t feel like a gift and I’ll be leaving alone.

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