When the cricket World Cup started England wouldn't have dreamt that they would be facing a must win match against the West Indies just to qualify from the group stages, but that is where they find themselves on Thursday morning. They are 4/6 favourites in the betting with William Hill to win the match but even that might not be enough as they will be waiting on other results in Group B, while the West Indies can be backed at 6/5.
If England lose then they will definitely fail to qualify from Group B for the quarter-finals following their defeats to supposed group minnows Ireland and Bangladesh. They do return to the scene of happier recent memories on Thursday though as they play at the MA Cidambaram Stadium in Chennai - the scene of their thrilling six run win against South Africa.
That win against South Africa highlights the oddity of their campaign so far as they managed to tie with another test playing nation in India but cannot seem to raise themselves for matches against the 'minnows'. Andrew Strauss will be keen to lead from the front after recovering from illness and with 298 runs at almost a run a ball in the tournament so far he looks good to be top England batsman at 10/3 in the betting.
Graeme Swann is also expected to be fit and could excel against a West Indies top order in which four of the top five are left handed, and he can be backed at 2/1 to be top England bowler with Hills. Ajmal Shahzad is struggling with illness though, while James Anderson continues to struggle with form and if he isn't dropped for Thursday's match he could be worth a look in the 'worst bowling economy' betting market that WilliamHill.com have provided - Anderson is priced 11/4.
West Indies meanwhile need one win from their remaining two matches against England and India to qualify for the quarter-finals after they comfortably beat Netherlands, Bangladesh and Ireland. Chris Gayle is expected to be fit after missing the Ireland game but we like the look of Darren Bravo to be top Windies batsman at 9/2. Bravo looks a class act and has been compared to Brian Lara, and most cricket fans will remember the troubles England had dealing with Lara...
Sulieman Benn has been their stand out spin bowler with 12 wickets at 4.43 and he can be backed at 5/2 to be top Windies bowler with Hills. It is interesting to note that West Indies captain Darren Sammy is yet to win the toss in this ODI World Cup so it could be a decent punt to go for England to win the toss at 10/11 with Hills.
It is unlikely to be a straightforward match in Chennai on Thursday, England matches rarely are, but we fancy England to extend their 4-1 winning record over West Indies in World Cups and pick up the win they need - but it still might not be enough to qualify.
England v West Indies ODI Tips
Tip #1: Andrew Strauss to be top England batsman @ 10/3 with WilliamHill.com
Tip #2: Darren Bravo to be top West Indies batsman @ 9/2 with WilliamHill.com
Tip #3: James Anderson to have the worst bowling economy rate @ 11/4 with WilliamHill.com
Match Odds
4/6 England
6/5 West Indies
Top England Batsman Odds
10/3 Andrew Strauss
7/2 Jonathan Trott
9/2 Ian Bell
9/2 Eoin Morgan
9/2 Matt Prior
13/2 Ravinder Bopara
Top West Indies Batsman Odds
3/1 Chris Gayle
4/1 Devon Smith
9/2 Darren Bravo
9/2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul
5/1 Ramnaresh Sarwan
6/1 Kirk Edwards
Top England Bowler Odds
2/1 Graeme Swann
7/2 James Anderson
7/2 Tim Bresnan
4/1 Chris Tremlett
4/1 Ajmal Shahzad
6/1 Michael Yardy
Top West Indies Bowler Odds
5/2 Kemar Roach
5/2 Sulieman Benn
9/2 Nikita Miller
5/1 Ravi Rampaul
5/1 Darren Sammy
6/1 Kieron Pollard
Odds provided by WilliamHill.com, who will be operating a variety of betting markets, including in-play betting, throughout the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
Posted: Wednesday, 16th March 2011
Author: Chris James
Tags: cricket world cup, england, west indies, andrew strauss, william hill,
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