Sports Blog 22/04/2015: Cricket Preview – West Indies vs England Test 2 Day 2, Wednesday 22nd April 2015

After the first test ended in a draw there is still all to play for between the West Indies and England. The second test in the series began on Tuesday, with Day Two starting later today at 2.30pm GMT.

Rain delays meant the second Test began an hour and 45 minutes later than intended. When things did finally start it was a brutal opening for the West Indies, with James Anderson bowling out Kraigg Brathwaite for 1. Dwayne Smith was removed, caught by Jos Buttler from the bowling of Chris Jordan for 15, before Stuart Broad got in on the act, dismissing Darren Bravo for 35 thanks to captain Alastair Cook's catch. This left West Indies at 65-3 and looking at a troublesome afternoon; things went from bad to worse as Shivnarine Chanderpaul was next to go for 1, leaving West Indies at 74-4. However, the pairing of Marlon Samuels and Jermaine Blackwood slowly managed to gain traction, taking West Indies to 129-5 before Blackwood was trapped lbw from Jordan.

Samuels, undeterred, was the star of Tuesday afternoon for the West Indies, ending Day 1 six runs shy of a century with captain Denesh Ramdin on 6 runs himself. This leaves the West Indies at 188-5 going into Day 2, and in a far better position than they could have hoped for at lunch. Our Spreadex traders have West Indies runs at 316-324; however, our clients feel this is a bit too optimistic, largely plumping for a sell on this spread. Samuels, on 94, is at a first innings runs spread of 132-137, whilst Ramdin runs are at 34-38.



Our Spreadex traders are also expecting West Indies to be able to gain some more ground before their next wicket, with a 6th West Indies wicket spread of 231-236 runs. In terms of the match, a strong bowling performance on 1st day of the 2nd test has given England the advantage, at a 25:10 Supremacy sports spread betting quote of 16.4-17.9 compared to the West Indies’ 25:10 Supremacy spread betting quote of 5.5-7. This leaves England at 4/6 fixed odds to win the match, with West Indies at 11/2 and another draw at 15/8.

Looking ahead to England's first innings, there were a few strong performances from English batsmen in the 1st Test, with Bell getting 143 and 11 in his two innings, Balance getting 10 and 122, Root getting 83 and 59 and Stokes getting 79 and 35. However, England's openers were dismal, with Cook on 11 and 13 and Trott on 0 and 4.