Sports Blog 29/04/2015: Test Preview - West Indies v England 3rd Test, Friday 1st May 2015

The 3rd and final Test of the series starts this Friday, and after England’s impressive victory in Grenada they go into the game knowing a draw will be enough to clinch the series.

England, priced at 16.3-17.8 on the match index, will no doubt be looking to confirm their superiority and round off a confidence boosting series win, particularly with New Zealand and Australia to come this summer. The West Indies, themselves priced at 5.7-7.2 on the index, will be desperate to level the series 1-1 and avoid a series defeat under new coach Phil Simmons. As in Grenada the weather may play a part in this Test, with the draw priced at 2/1 (26.6-33.4 on the binary). It is all set up then for another hard-fought Test match in Barbados, and as usual Spreadex have a plethora of markets to get stuck into.



England’s batsmen generally performed well in Grenada, with Joe Root’s magnificent 182 the highlight. Root’s runs are priced at 85-92, and those who fancy him to be England’s top first innings scorer may well be interested in Spreadex’s 4/1. It was not just Root who looked comfortable against the West Indies mediocre attack, with England captain Alastair Cook finally looking to have found some fluency. Cook made 76 in the first innings, and steered his men home with an unbeaten 59 in the second.

The long wait for a 26th Test match century goes on, but those who fancy him to finally chalk up three figures in Barbados may be interested in Spreadex’s Cook Ton Ups quote of 13-16. Cook’s new opening partner Jonathan Trott scored his first fifty since returning to the England side, and after a tentative start to the series will be looking to cement his place at the top of the order with a big performance in Bridgetown. Trott runs are currently quoted at 73-80, with his Ton Ups quote being 8-11, and those who fancy him to top score for England in the first innings can help themselves to Spreadex’s 5/1.



Youngster Kraigg Brathwaite was perhaps the West Indies most impressive performer with the bat in Grenada, scoring a fine 116 in the second innings. Brathwaite, whose runs are pitched at 65-72, may not be the most exciting to watch, but his obdurate knock was just what the hosts needed at the time. He certainly won’t be changing his approach at the Kensington Oval, and his Ton Ups quote of 4-6 may once again be of interest.

In contrast to Brathwaite, Marlon Samuels played a typically extravagant knock, scoring a flamboyant century in the first innings. Samuels certainly got under the skin of the England bowlers, and will be hoping to reward buyers of his runs, currently pitched at 75-82. The biggest disappointment for the hosts this series has been the loss of form of Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The once immovable veteran has scored just 67 runs in the series, and the whispers are getting louder that he is finally coming to the end of a fantastic career. It would be just like Shiv to silence his doubters however, and those who fancy him to bounce back may well be looking to get long of his runs (77-84) and Ton ups (8-11).



The England attack was once again spearheaded by the irrepressible James Anderson. Now England’s leading Test wicket taker of all-time, Anderson added another 6 to his tally in Grenada, including a dazzling 4-43 in West Indies second dig. Spreadex fancy him to perform well again, quoting his bowling performance at 48-53. Anderson also played a key role in the field, so his match player performance quote of 110-118 could see plenty of interest. One area of concern for the tourists will be the bowling of Moeen Ali. Playing as the frontline spinner Ali lacked control, and was flattered to end with match figures of 4-98. Spreadex quote his bowler performance at 35-40, and after a duck in his only knock in Grenada our traders have pitched his match player performance at 124-132. With Adil Rashid and James Tredwell waiting in the wings Ali will be desperate to consolidate his place in the team ahead of the English summer.

The West Indies bowling unit will have no doubt received a very stern talking to from legendary bowling coach Sir Curtly Ambrose in the aftermath of a dismal performance in Grenada. With Jerome Taylor out injured the seam attack of Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder posed little threat to the England batsmen; though even former greats Holding, Marshall and Ambrose himself may have struggled to extract much from the terribly benign, docile pitch. Roach and Jerome Taylor (set to return after injury), whose bowler performances are pitched at 33-38 and 37-42 respectively, will be hoping for a livelier surface in Bridgetown. Devendra Bishoo took 4 wickets in the second Test, but was expensive. His bowler performance price of 40-45 reflects the relative ease with which the England middle-order dealt with his leg-spin. The Guyanese did perform admirably with the bat however, and so his match player performance quote of 86-94 may be of greater interest.



So the series will be decided in Barbados, and as ever the pitch and toss will be hugely important. Test match wickets at the Kensington Oval have tended to be fairly flat in recent years, and this is reflected in Spreadex’s Ton Ups price of 95-102. West Indies will be looking to secure a first innings lead, but our traders are sticking with England in the first innings supremacy market, quoting England over West Indies 80-100. England have outscored West Indies by 104 and 165 in this market in the series so far, and West Indies cannot afford such a deficit this time around if they are to level the series.

Everything is in place for a nail-biting finale to the series, so stick with Spreadex for both spread and fixed odds action throughout the Test. The action gets underway on Friday with the toss at 2:30pm and as ever Spreadex will be offering a full range of in-play markets. Let battle commence!