Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series

[kevshat]

West Indies host Zimbabwe in a 5 match ODI series after a twenty20 international. It's all live on Sky so hopefully a few bets will present itself as we go along. Should be a good watch anyway as Zimbabwe might just be starting to turn the corner now that their political problems are slowly being put behind them. Schedule:

Sun Feb 28 18:00 GMT | 14:00 local 18:00 GMT	Only T20I - West Indies v Zimbabwe Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad	23 - 33° C Forecast Partly Cloudy Click here for 10-day-Forecast
Thu Mar 4 13:30 GMT | 09:30 local 13:30 GMT	1st ODI - West Indies v Zimbabwe Providence Stadium, Guyana	22 - 32° C Forecast Scattered Thunderstorms Click here for 10-day-Forecast
Sat Mar 6 13:30 GMT | 09:30 local 13:30 GMT	2nd ODI - West Indies v Zimbabwe Providence Stadium, Guyana	N/A
Wed Mar 10 13:30 GMT | 09:30 local 13:30 GMT	3rd ODI - West Indies v Zimbabwe Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent	N/A
Fri Mar 12 13:30 GMT | 09:30 local 13:30 GMT	4th ODI - West Indies v Zimbabwe Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent	N/A
Sun Mar 14 13:30 GMT | 09:30 local 13:30 GMT	5th ODI - West Indies v Zimbabwe Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent	N/A

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series I'm going to go with 3 in tonight's twenty20 match. A couple of small bets at a big price and a main bet as well. 1pt Zimbabwe to win Twenty20 international 4/1 Boylesports Interesting price this and one initially I wasn't going to take but I think it's worthy of a small investment. I wasn't going to take this price because Zimbabwe haven't played much twenty20 cricket but then when you think about it, it's still a big price on a capable if unknown to the non everyday cricket follower. One thing we must remember is whatever problems Zimbabwe have had, and are still coming through, they did beat Australia in this format at the world twenty20 in 2007. West Indies will be without Gayle, Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo for this match and they are 3 very big players for them. They still have a lot of quality of course but I just wonder how they'll be in a game they are expected to win having not won for a long while. Not only have they not won for a while but in that last twenty20 in Australia they were slaughtered really. Zimbabwe are slowly turning themselves around. They've set up a better domestic structure and appear to have their problems behind them. They've put together a good coaching team as well and they have players in the likes of Masakadza and Taibu who are very good players at any level. I'm slightly unsure of the Zimbabwe bowling attack but in Heath Streak they have a very good coach so there's no reason it won't be competitive. The Queens Park Oval is a fairly slow wicket these days so I don't think Zimbabwe will be shot out and at 4/1 they can give us a decent run for our money. 4pts T.Taibu's Performance Pts - 33&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 25pts per stumping. Tatenda Taibu is a very good cricketer, proven by the fact that the Kolkata Knight Riders gave him an IPL contract. He also plays a lot of his cricket in South Africa so he plays to a high level. He's in decent form with the bat having notched a ton in the warm up match last week and with him likely to bat at 4 he should get good batting time. He's also very good behind the stumps and catches and stumpings aren't beyond him with the West Indies natural instinct to attack. I think Taibu is a very good player for Zimbabwe and like the Bangladesh keeper earlier today, I think the Zimbabwe keeper can cover 33pts. 1pt K.Pollard Top West Indies Batsman 11/2 Stan James Kieron Pollard has been batting at number 4 in this West Indies lineup in recent weeks and if he stays there here then he's a big price here. He will be playing on his home ground which will be a boost and against an attack which he really should look to, and actually dominate. This bet is helped with the absence of Chris Gayle and although Adrian Barath and Shiv Chanderpaul is back, Pollard's scoring power is such that he'll always be in the game. He will go down as a one day specialist batsman over the next 12-18 months or so and he can continue that claim by top scoring here.

[Otter4]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series Good luck with those Kev! Looking forward to this one! Total match run outs - over 1.5 @ 2.12 Betfair - 2 points Windies have an amazing ability to make a run out out of nothing and with Zimbabwe returning to the big time, hopefully inexperience will show on the bigger stage. Windies have some of their first choice batsmen missing, which again could lead to a mix up and lack of communication. 2 points - same taibu bet as Kevshat I agree with what you mentioned Kev. I like the little fella and time and time again he comes up trumps for Zimbabwe. He's bang in form and used to the big stage. 1 point - Masakadza top zim batsman @ 4/1 Bet365 He is Zimbabwe's main man, has great ODI and T20 credentials and enjoyed a huge year scoring runs in 2009. On a slow pitch he will enjoy batting with the hard ball and hopefully he can cash in on the power play. I really fancied Dwayne Smith at 35 points, but as he is predicted to bat at 8 I couldn't risk him not facing any deliveries, even though he could cover it in the field alone. I agree with you Kev on the value bet for Zimbabwe, they are currently 5.7 on BF, I'm gonna swerve it though and keep a watching brief. Good luck though mate.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series Zimbabwe won the toss and will bat 1st. That suits me perfectly. Good luck with those Otter :ok

[Otter4]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series 0/3 after 3 overs - unreal!!!

[Westy]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series Masakadza does the business for you otter :clap

[frankgallagher]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series 1.01 smashed on betfair by the looks of it!!

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series Good call with Masakadza, Otter. He's a very good player at any level. Zimbabwe looked ok there. Obviously conditions suited them but to win by 25 having been 0/3 is a decent effort. -1 for me going into the ODI's but I sense there's some real :cash to be made in this ODI's as we go along :dude.

[Westy]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series Good stuff with the Zimbabwe pick mate. Wish I had a little flutter when they were 50/1 on bet365 when they were 0-3!

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series Anyone got anything for today?

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series Yep!! 1st ODI is this afternoon. I see no reason why Zimbabwe should be this price again today. I know Gayle’s back but even so. 1pt Zimbabwe to win 1st ODI 9/2 Bet365 As I said above, I think Zimbabwe are still a backable price here. There’s been a drought in the West Indies over the last 6 months or so which means that slow, dry track we saw in the Twenty20 at Trinidad will be a sign of things in this ODI series, possibly even more so here at Providence in Guyana. I think the spinning tracks will help Zimbabwe. They have 3 if not 4 very good spin options and possibly more importantly, most of these West Indies batsmen have shown that they can’t play spin, particularly in that twenty20 match. So a lot rests on the West Indian captain’s shoulders. Of course he provides a very good spin option for his team but in a low scoring game with both sides highly questionable, I don’t think 9/2 on Zimbabwe is a bad price and so I’m more than happy to take Prosper Utseya’s men here, particularly when batting 1st could be all important.

[aldric]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series :clap:clap :cash What a mad game, what that guy was doing bowling at the death I will never know but he managed to get through it somehow!

[Westy]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series Some nice winners today Kev :clap I really thought over the course of 100 overs, the West Indies would have too much but they continue to amaze me with their shocking cricket at key moments.

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series

:clap:clap :cash What a mad game, what that guy was doing bowling at the death I will never know but he managed to get through it somehow!

Was a cracking match! Nerve jangling at the end but great to watch! Another top shout from Kev on the result, I managed to get on Bet365 on my phone about 2 overs in and got 5/1?? Seems very strange the odds went out after Zim won the toss? But i'm not complaining!

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series Happy with that win for Zimbabwe. Making a few quid out of them so far. 2nd ODI is tomorrow afternoon and I see no reason to ditch Zimbabwe now with this match being on the same ground as the last game. 2pts Zimbabwe to win 2nd ODI 10/3 Sportingbet Zimbabwe have to be on a roll now. I thought it would be a while before I could say complacency could be their biggest danger but that's the case here. Conditions will suit them perfectly. A dry, dustbowl of a wicket where their 4 if not 5 spinners can enjoy themselves. For the 2nd time on the trot, West Indies haven't guaged the conditions very well. It was bordering on criminal that Gayle never bowled given the slow, turning conditions in the last game. Like Australia, I don't see where West Indies can change things based on the squad they've named. Darren Sammy looks a shoo in to come in and it was a surprise he was left out given his heroics in the twenty20 but West Indies don't do things normally at the minute. No need for change as far as Zimbabwe's concerned. As I said, conditions are perfect for them. West Indies are under massive pressure in this. It's a long way back from 0-2 down and losing this series is unthinkable. Zimbabwe are running free in that regard so I'll take them at another price which is bigger than it should be. 3pts G.Lamb's Performance Pts 31&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Greg Lamb is a talented cricketer and more importantly an in form one after averaging over 50 in Zimbabwean domestic cricket. His spell at Hampshire wasn't as successful as he'd have wanted it to be but he won us key games of cricket at times and was never far away from our one day squad. He's a very capable batsman in the middle order and his off-spin is always tidy. He'll take his catches when they come to him as well which would be a bonus. However this line is low enough for him to cover with bat and ball. He scored 51pts in the twenty20 game and something similar here isn't beyond him. Over 31 for me. 3pts Over 6.5 6's Skybet This line is pretty low given that both sides will be contributing to the 6's scoring. West Indies hit 6 alone the other day and that was chasing only 250. If they bat 1st and want to put on a score then they'll need some big hits. If they set their innings up properly then it will be set up for a smashfest at the end of the innings with Pollard, Smith and Sammy wielding the long handle. If Windies bat 1st and Gayle gets going they could clear this total on their own. Even if they don't there's the likes of Masakadza, Sibanda, Chigumbura and even Matsikenyiri who can hit a long ball. Not that it needs to be too long as these boundaries aren't the biggest going around. This is an achievable line and it would act as a bit of cover for the Zimbabwe bet too should Windies bat 1st so I'll take it from that point of view as well as the stand alone credentials.

[Cramer]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series Totally agree Kev, West Indies are just shocking at the moment.

Sport	Cricket
Event	2nd ODI: West Indies v Zimbabwe
Selection	Zimbabwe
Strength	10/10
Date	06/03/2010
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 4.50 (Back)
Reasoning	Quite simply, West Indies have forgotten how to win. In particular, they've forgotten how to put on innings together. When Gayle is there it's OK, same with Chandepaul, but the others just seem clueless. Zimbabze have some decent slow bowlers, and are able to strangle the Windies in the middle overs. So long as they can put a decent total on themselves, they'll have a chance. Zimbabwe must be very confident going into this. West Indies have had complete control of both games on this tour so far and come away with nothing, I definately wouldn't want to be on them here if it gets close.

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series Lamb was in to 8/11 after I'd deposited my 3pts, so had a go with Price at 5/6. He bowled excellently yesterday and I'd fancy him to get a wicket hopefully 2. If not he can make up the difference with a catch or a few runs! I can't remember if bet365 do performances in-running? So this post maybe pointless, but goes to show the 'kevshat effect' again, better get on quick in future before they bring the odds back!

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: West Indies vs Zimbabwe - Twenty20 International & ODI Series A couple for me tomorrow. Knackered though so reasoning could be a bit shorter than usual. 1pt Zimbabwe to win 3rd ODI 7/2 Totesport West Indies batsmen have showed that they can't play spin. Even though he played well in the last game, Gayle's shot for his wicket was ridiculous. Pollard's no better. This wicket in Jamaica looks set to be another paradise for the slow bowlers which will keep Zimbabwe in the hunt. To me this match is all about Zimbabwe putting enough runs on the board. They passed 250 in the opening game and 250 would've been more than enough in the 2nd game. If they can get to 250 here they will be well on their way to winning the game. That's assuming they bat 1st of course. If they don't I can see them restricting WI to a manageable target and take a 2-1 lead in the series. 3pts G.Lamb's Performance Pts - 34&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. I took Greg Lamb's performance in the last match when his target was 3pts lower and I see no reason why it shouldn't be taken again here at 34pts. As I mentioned on Saturday, he can cover this with bat or ball or an average day with both so this still seems too low on a guy who will bat at 5/6 and bowl 10 overs. Overs for me.