World Cup Betting 
/ Ed Hawkins / 10 March 2011 / Leave a Comment 
William Porterfield and Niall O'Brien are key players for Ireland with the bat
"Ireland are a bit of an obvious pick at [6.00] for this contest. They have to win to keep their qualification hopes alive but the injury to Johnston and the importance of the toss makes us less confident. The Irish will become value, however, if they bat first."
We've seen what Ireland can do already in this competition and they're more than capable of springing another upset here against an ever-vulnerable West Indies side. Even despite a couple of setbacks that have marred the Irish preparations...
Ireland are perspiring over the fitness of key allrounder Trent Johnston. The 36-year-old picked up a knee injury in the defeat to India on Sunday.
"He bowled a couple of overs in the nets today. He ran in hard as well. We will wait and see how he reacts," captain Will Porterfield said of Johnston, who is their leading bowler with six wickets.
Johnston's place could go to Andre Botha or Gary Wilson. West Indies captain Darren Sammy said the dramatic Dhaka stoning of their team bus - after they humiliated hosts Bangladesh - and the bitter war of words which followed, has strengthened the squad's World Cup bonds.
Venue and conditions
There has been only one game played at the PCA stadium, Mohali so far: South Africa's 231-run hammering of Holland. We can't garner much from that so it is necessary to delve into the collection of past scorecards. The first trend to mention is that batting last is tough. There have been two successful chases in the last eight and three in
the last 10. The average first-innings score in the last 10 is 274.
Match odds
Ireland are a bit of an obvious pick at [6.00] for this contest. They have to win to keep their qualification hopes alive but the injury to Johnston and the importance of the toss makes us less confident. The Irish will become value, however, if they bat first. They have the bowlers capable of causing panic in a West Indies dressing room who
have yet to be tested in the competition, bar the thrashing they were handed when up against South Africa in their opening match.
Top batsman - Ireland
Niall O'Brien, the pugnacious wicketkeeper, had his bats go missing so will have to borrow someone else's. He is [5.50]. Ed Joyce, at [5.70] has disappointed while Porterfield looks bad value at [5.00]. Kevin O'Brien is [6.40].
Top batsman - West Indies
Chris Gayle is terribly short at [4.00] so, as ever, Shiv Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan make greater appeal at [7.00] and [6.00] respectively.
Featured market
If Ireland do pin down West Indies - and they managed to do that against India - then Chanderpaul will relish it. He looks a good bet for 50 at [2.00].
Best bet: back Ireland at [6.00] if they bat first
No comments:
Post a Comment