Australia’s tour of the West Indies resumes tomorrow, Thursday July 22nd, 2021 at 2:30pm EST with the first ODI match in the 3-match series being played at Kensington Oval, Barbados.
After completely obliterating Australia in the shortest format of the game, West Indies turned around and faced similar music with a margin defeat of 133 runs. West Indies are hopeful that they can turn things around and get a win under their belt in this series tomorrow despite the harsh loss while Australia will be inspired to soar higher with their second win and thus the unassailable series lead.
Questions will be asked, what did West Indies do? West Indies bowled relatively well in the Aussies first innings with Hayden Walsh Jr bagging scalps in his 10 overs and was ably assisted by Alzarri Joseph along with Akeal Hoseinwho both picked up 2 wickets each. At the half way stage, the Windies would have been feeling pretty good with their effort but a batting collapse of the ages took place to shake their very core. The very first ball of West Indies’ reply, EvinLewis was dismissed, this started a downward spiral that no one foresaw with wickets falling at regular intervals resulting in West Indies being stranded at 27 for 6 in just under 8 overs. Kieron Pollard, West Indies’ captain, was the only one who looked truly set to fight back with 56 runs inclusive of five 4s and three 6s. Alzarri Joseph returned to score 17 and Hayden Walsh Jr scored 20 to save Windies the embarrassment of being bowled out for under 100, they eventually folded for 123. In order for West Indies to get back on track, they need to be more disciplined and aware of the situation if not another heavy defeat awaits them.
Australia were led by Alex Carey in the absence of Aaron Finch who is injured and he played a Captain’s innings making 67. Alex was well accompanied by Ashton Turner (49), they shared a 104-run partnership while at the top, Josh Philippe scored 39 to get them to 252 for 9 in their 49 overs. Australia was expecting a fight but instead won by a knockout punch compliments of Mitchell Starc who took a well-deserved 5-wicket haul and a bowling clinic by Josh Hazelwood who took 3 wickets at an economy rate of 1.83. They easily took apart the Windies batsmen but are cognizant of the fact that the likelihood of that display being repeated is slim to nil so a return to the drawing board is paramount if they wish to replicate the match performance.
You can look forward to a thrilling match tomorrow between these two heavyweight sides. Australia has the upper hand currently but West Indies can quickly change the course of this series around once they apply themselves and make the necessary adjustments. With all these comparisons and contrasts considered, I expect West Indies to bounce back to make the final match on Saturday a winner takes all scenario. They should be fully motivated to make amends after making a meal of the first match and I expect a dominant performance here by the West Indians.
International Cricket: West Indies vs. Australia 7/22/21 ODI Cricket Prediction
