England welcome the West Indies to Edgbaston for the first of three Test matches. The match will make history as the first day/night Test match to be held in England and will use the revolutionary new pink ball.
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Match Preview – 17th August – 14:00 – Edgbaston.
England host the West Indies in the historic first Day/Night Test Match to be held in England. Our England vs West Indies preview features an England team fresh off the back of a brilliant series win against South Africa. The West Indies are currently eighth in the ICC World Rankings and will be hoping to earn a first Test win since 2000.
Ahead of our Test Series tips, we first look at the key men likely to feature in the opening Test match. For England, Surrey’s Mark Stoneman is set to become England’s fourth debutant this summer and the oldest this century. The 30-year-old opener becomes Alastair Cook’s 12th opening partner since the retirement of former captain-turned-selector Andrew Strauss. For the West Indies, Kraigg Brathwaite will need to be on top form with the bat to help an inexperienced West Indies succeed against a strong England line-up.
Ahead of our Test match odds, we first look at the recent form of the two sides heading into this match. England come into this match off the back of a brilliant 3-1 series win over South Africa – their first at home against the Proteas since 1998. The West Indies meanwhile, enter this series having lost home and away series to Pakistan, dating back to October last year.
Before we look at the prediction for the match, we first look at the head-to-head record between the two sides. Since the first series between England and the West Indies in 1928, the two teams have competed in 20 series. England have won 10, while the West Indies have managed eight wins. There have been two drawn series, the last of which was in 1995.
Looking at the match, it is hard to look past England to win the match and the series. It will be interesting how both sides cope with the alien conditions of the day/night Test match. England’s team are still in transition with the Ashes around the corner so will be hoping for a solid performance against a side they really should be beating on paper.
Looking at the various markets for this match, there is plenty of value to be had throughout the betting. England are 1/5 to win with Betway which is good value given their status in the ICC Rankings. Joe Root has been so consistent in recent times have scored at least a fifty in each of the last 10 matches. He is 13/5 to be England’s best batsman with bookmakers 10Bet. This represents a better value than some of the other bookmakers, with William Hill and Sky Bet offering the same bet at 5/2.