West Indies looking to square things up against Australia as action returns to Sabina Park
West Indies v Australia | 2nd T20I | 23 July | Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | 2:00am
The T20I series between the West Indies and Australia is five games long. Australia won the opener on Sunday by three wickets.
Australia have yet to lose on their tour of the Caribbean. They took the Test series 3-0 and are now 1-0 ahead in the T20I series.
Australia have not been beaten in any of their last five T20I. The West Indies on the other hand are struggling for form, with just a single win from their last five T20Is.
Australia have beaten the West Indies in four of the last five T20Is they have played.
Allrounder Matt Short has been ruled out of the current series against the West Indies due to a side strain – he is expected to be fit in time for the games against South Africa.
Mitchell Owen became just the third Australian batsman to score a 50 on T20I debut as he helped the Baggy Greens over the line in the first game of the series. The previous two players to achieve a 50 on debut were Ricky Ponting and David Warner. Owen also claimed the wicket of Shai Hope to ensure a memorable debut.
Venue: Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
Sabina Park has hosted ten previous T20Is – there is an even split at five each in terms of wins for the side batting first and the side batting second.
The average first innings score at the venue is 165.
The highest score successfully chased at the venue was 194 for one by the West Indies against India in 2017. In the opening game of the series Australia came close to the record by chasing down the West Indies score of 189 to win by by 3 wickets with 7 balls remaining.
The highest ever score at the ground was made by New Zealand in 2022 when they banged 215 for five.
This will be Australia’s second T20I at the venue, while for the Windies this will be their tenth game here – they have a good record at Sabina Park with six wins from those ten games.
The side that wins the toss at Sabina Park has struggled in the past. On only four occasions has the side that won the toss managed to win the game.
Weather:
The weather in Kingston is not great this whole week with rain and thunderstorms predicted every day until Thursday. The temperatures will be in the low thirties and the humidity high at close to 70 percent, but it is the presence of rain (and lightning) which may have a negative impact on the outcome of the game.
Form (most recent game first):
West Indies: L, W, A, A, L.
Australia: W, W, W, W, A.
Key player:
West Indies, Roston Chase: The West Indies may have struggled against Australia for the duration of the current tour, but one player has been a shining light, and that is Chase. He made solid starts in each of the Tests, and he top scored in the opening T20I with an excellent 60 from just 32 balls. Chase boasts a T20I high score of 67* and an average of 25. he is better than those numbers suggest and will be out to score big again as the home side go in search of an elusive win.
Australia, Cameron Green: Australia’s Cam Green has had his struggles in recent time, but he has fought back manfully and played himself into some excellent form. Still making his way in the T20I arena, Green has 14 games to his credit with a highest score of 62. He made 51 in the opening game of the series to follow up on scores of 46 and 42 from the final Test (also at Sabina Park). Green hit five maximums and two fours in the first T20I – he likes the venue, and he is striking the ball well, expect him to score well again in the second T20I
Verdict: West Indies
The home side are due a win and they pushed the Baggy Greens hard last time out. If their middle order had been able to add a few more runs to the excellent start provided by the top four it could all have ended differently. The West Indies are well suited to the shortest format of the game and will be hungry to finally get one over Australia. If weather allows, this could be the one where the Windies finally claim that elusive ‘W’.
