England v West Indies: Anderson to lead hosts to series victory
Published:Ian Bell’s sparkling 126 gave England the early advantage in their one-day series with the West Indies and James Anderson can prove the match winner in the second showdown at The Oval.
England are 4/6 in the cricket odds to follow up on their victory at the Rose Bowl with another success to ensure a triumph in the series with a one-day encounter to spare.
The good news for England is that they have won their last two one-day outings at The Oval, beating both Sri Lanka and India last year with the help of the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Furthermore, they are on a five-game one-day winning streak following their 4-0 romp against Pakistan.
Anderson took a combined seven wickets in these clashes with Sri Lanka and India and was England’s top wicket taker on each occasion.
In fact, Anderson has been England’s leading strike bowler in their last four games at The Oval dating back to 2009 and looks good value at 7/2 to be so again against the West Indies.
His cause should be helped by the forecast cloudy conditions, which will suit his swing bowling.
It is 6/5 that the West Indies triumph to keep the series alive and they will have fond memories of their one-day series in England back in 2007.
On this occasion they lost the opening match, but battled back to win the series 2-1.
Chris Gayle should feature after missing the first one-day defeat with a leg injury, but Darren Bravo is struggling with a groin problem sustained in the same match, while all-rounder Andre Russell will need a late fitness test on his shoulder.
The West Indies are 7/2 to repeat their 2-1 series success of five years ago, with the final game taking place at Headingley on Friday.
