Windies vs England, 1st ODI, Match Prediction – Weather Report, Pitch Conditions, Playing XIs and Live Streaming Details

Who will draw the first blood in the ODI series?

Published - 19 Feb 2019, 16:30 IST | Updated - 19 Feb 2019, 16:30 IST

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Chris Gayle will be playing his last bilateral ODI series for the Windies against England. The five-match series between these two sides will begin on February 20 at Barbados. Even though switching from one format to another might take some time, it is never a problem for the international teams.

The Windies players are often regarded as ‘limited-overs’ specialists and thus it won’t be a big challenge for them. On the flip of the coin, the England cricket team has had a good practice game under their belt. They registered a 171-run win against the UWI Vice Chancellors XI to get into the groove. At the stroke of the World Cup 2019, this is a vital series for both the teams and there will be lots of plans about the right combinations.

Pitch and Conditions

An ODI match is being played at the Kensington Oval in Barbados nearly after two years. When a game was played here the last time, it was these two sides who were up against each other. England registered a massive win in the match and the team has got a good record at the venue. They won six out of ten games here against the Windies and will look to better the record.

The track could be good for batting and there might be some bounce on offer. It is predicted to be a partly cloudy day with the humidity on the higher side. The new ball could do the talking initially.

Team Combinations

Windies

There are quite to few changes to the Windies squad compared to what it was against Bangladesh last year. Chris Gayle is back in the set-up and is likely to open the innings with a debutant in the form of John Campbell. Shai Hope will bat at three followed by Darren Bravo and Nicholas Pooran. Ashley Nurse and Jason Holder will be the two genuine all-rounders in the eleven. Devendra Bishoo, Sheldon Cottrell, Kemar Roach and Oshane Thomas will form the bowling attack.

Predicted XI: Chris Gayle, John Campbell, Shai Hope (wk), Darren Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, Ashley Nurse, Jason Holder (c), Devendra Bishoo, Sheldon Cottrell, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas.

England

England is quite a dominant side in 50-over cricket. Eoin Morgan is back in the camp along with some other limited-overs specialists. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow will open the innings. Alex Hales might miss out with Roy-Bairstow doing well at the top of the order. One player between Tom Curran and David Willey will play with the former being the more prefered option. They will play Liam Plunkett if they decide to sideline Bairstow.

Predicted XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Tom Curran/David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.