Tri-Series 2016, Match 2 Preview: Australia face high-flying Windies

It is no doubt that the West Indies are on a high. Their crushing win over the Proteas in the first ODI saw them claim the portion of the bragging rights. However, Jason Holder and Windies coach Phil Simmons will know all too well to underestimate Australia. In spite of a horrific showing in the World T20, Steve Smith’s men are a formidable unit on paper. With both teams on a high, one can only eagerly await the mouthwatering encounter on the cards as Australia face the high-flying West Indies at Providence, Guyana.

Pitch conditions:

The slowness of the wicket was there for all to see when Sunil Narine bundled out the Proteas cheaply. The Guyana wicket also does not support batsmen who want to play their shots with freedom. This means that there will certainly be no high scoring matches, in Guyana at least and the batsmen will have to work for their runs. Situated close to the sea, the sea breeze may have a say in proceedings. A small shower of rain is expected, but it is not expected to affect the match proceedings in any way.

Team News

West Indies
The mood in the West Indies camp is certainly one of optimism. How can you blame them for not being so? After seemingly decimating the mighty Proteas, Jason Holder and his band of merry men now run into an Australian roadblock. In addition, they will know all too well to underestimate the Australians at their peril.
The Windies will be hoping that Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine reprise their roles as the comeback kings. However, Holder will also be hoping that the likes of Jerome Taylor and Carlos Brathwaite will also provide the supporting roles they performed to perfection against South Africa. Although it is indeed too early to call them favorites, the Windes will have the upper hand going into the match. They will also be unchanged as they do.

Australia
The Australians come in on the back of a disastrous World T20. However, Darren Lehmann and his skipper Steve Smith will take solace in the fact that they have been horribly consistent in ODIs in the past two years. In addition, they go into the match as the top-ranked ODI team, something that will give them immense satisfaction and motivation.
The Aussies welcome back a few familiar faces in the form of Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, and John Hastings. Starc, in particular, will be raring to go, especially after having missed a bulk of cricket after clinching the World Cup at home.
This, however, throws the Australian selection panel into somewhat of a selection conundrum. With players such as George Bailey also boarding the flight, it creates a selection headache for the skipper and the coach. In addition, it will also be exciting to see whether the Aussies go with two specialist spinners ahead of their pace firepower. It may well be that Nathan Lyon and Adam Zampa are selected ahead of the likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile and John Hastings. Steve Smith will also be expected to play a role with the ball.

Playing XI (Probable)

West Indies: Jason Holder (C), Denesh Ramdin (WK), Andre Fletcher, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Carlos Brathwaite, Sunil Narine, Jerome Taylor, Suleiman Benn
Australia: Steven Smith (C), Matthew Wade (WK), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch, George Bailey/ Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Nathan Lyon, Nathan Coulter-Nile/Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc

StAttack

1.Australia has won four of their last five ODIs. However, all the ODIs came against India in the fall of 2015 and early 2016. In addition, all came in Australia.
2. Australia has also won four of their last five ODI series. One of these series wins came against the West Indies in Australia while the only series loss came against Pakistan.
3. Denesh Ramdin needs 66 runs to complete 2000 ODI runs.
4. Kieron Pollard needs 38 runs to complete 200 runs at Guyana. If he does, he will become only the second player to do so, surpassing the likes of Chris Gayle and Jacques Kallis. Shiv Chanderpaul is on top of the tree with 314 runs to his name at this venue.