15 July 2020, by: Carl Lewis

England v West Indies Second Test Preview

West Indies won the first Test against England by four wickets and now holds a 1-0 lead. This is the first time in 20 years that the West Indies has won its first match of the series in England. The second Test match is at a new venue with Old Trafford in Manchester hosting

The Lowdown

There is very little turnaround between matches and the depth of both squads will certainly be tested. After such a high in Southampton, can the West Indies find a way to out-perform England again?

The Windies showed how much grit they’ve gained under the captaincy of Jason Holder winning the big moments in a real attritional Test match battle. 

England folded in the big moments because they had opportunities to gain the upper hand or keep the Windies at bay, but they failed and you can certainly expect changes in the second Test with regular skipper Joe Root coming in.

Team News

Joe Root will be back to lead the side in the second Test match which means someone will have to make way for him and will probably be Joe Denly. The other option is Zak Crawly, but he did score a second-innings 76.

James Anderson and Jofra Archer are automatic picks for England in the fast bowling department, but Wood didn’t do enough at the Rose Bowl to justify his selection. After Stuart Broad’s passionate interview during the first Test, Wood will probably get replaced by him.

England – Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Joe Root (C), Zak Crawley, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (WK), Dominic Bess, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

A West Indies pace bowler ripping into the deck AND a Pom collapse?

Cricket at its absolute best ? ? #ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/lTB9KQC5Q9

— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) July 9, 2020

With such a swift turnaround in between the Tests, it will be a big ask of the Windies pace battery to perform like that again. However, with such an excellent performance, it’s hard to see them rotating their bowlers and should go with the same XI at Old Trafford.

West Indies – John Campbell, Kraigg Braithwaite, Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (WK), Jason Holder (C), Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel

Pitch and Conditions

There is a sizeable advantage to winning the toss and bat first, the team batting second has won just one of the last six Tests at Old Trafford. The first few days are usually good for batting so expect the captain who wins the toss to bat first.

A cloudy first three days of the Test match are predicted with potential rain coming on day three. The surface usually takes spin later in the Test and batting becomes challenging. The average first inning score is 333 while it is just 166 in the last innings.

Suggested Bets

The inclusion of captain Joe Root and veteran Stuart Broad will add experience, quality and security to the England line-up. The conditions will also suit the home team so they could level the series.

Suggested Bet: England to win at 1.36