Cricket betting tips: England v West Indies ODI preview and best bets

By Richard Mann

Cricket

Thu May 29, 2025 · 5d ago

England and the West Indies kick off their ODI series in Birmingham on Thursday – read Richard Mann's preview here.

Cricket betting tips: England v West Indies

2pts Joe Root top England batsman at 10/3 (Sky Bet, bet365)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Harry Brook starts his tenure as official England white-ball captain in Birmingham on Thursday, when his side begin a three-match ODI series against the West Indies.

Brook took temporary charge of the team at the end of last summer when then-captain Jos Buttler had to miss Australia’s tour of England due to injury, and he took to the job well, leading with positivity and an attacking intent.

Following Buttler’s decision to step down as captain after a disappointing Champions Trophy campaign, Brook has been tasked with reviving England’s fortunes in the shorter formats, along with coach Brendon McCullum who is now in charge of all three international teams.

West Indies first test for Brook

Brook’s first assignment comes against the West Indies, an opponent never easy to predict, summed up perfectly by their recent tour of Ireland.

In the opening match of that ODI series, they lost by 124 runs having been rolled out cheaply with the bat, before responding with scores of 352 and 385 batting first.

The series was eventually drawn following heavy rain in game two.

West Indies captain Shai Hope

Keacy Carty made 170 in that final match, while captain Shai Hope posted scores of 49 and 75 in the last two fixtures.

Hope is an outstanding 50-over batsman with an average nudging fifty in this format, and 17 hundreds from 136 matches. For context, Joe Root also has 17 ODI centuries, but from 177 games.

There is some quality in this West Indian line-up, then, and power down the order, as was illustrated in Ireland last week.

Weather could make batting tough

However, the weather in England has turned in the last few days and with the forecast for Thursday for some rain, especially in the morning, batting conditions at Edgbaston could be challenging.

This pitch is generally very good for batting, and given the amount of cricket played at Edgbaston through the course of the summer, the ground staff here do a fine job.

But English overheads can make the ball talk, and in the midst of some big scores in this County Championship this season, Warwickshire were rolled out for only 93 by Nottinghamshire on a damp day in mid-April.

We could see something similar on Thursday, though a look closer to the start is always advised. But if the ball does do something, I wouldn’t trust this West Indies line-up in alien conditions against the moving ball.

I did consider taking a chance on a couple of the England seamers in the Man of the Match market, in the hope the hosts bowl first under cloudy skies.

But rowing back on this particular market was on my New Year’s Resolutions list, so I can let the likes of Saqib Mahmood and Brydon Carse go.

What are the best bets?

Instead, I think JOE ROOT is just very solid in the top England batsman market at 10/3.

Root and Ben Duckett were England’s outstanding performers with the bat at the Champions Trophy in the spring, both averaging in the seventies, with next best from a batsman coming from Jos Buttler who averaged 27.33.

And if conditions on Thursday are indeed challenging for batting, the best technique and ability to combat the moving the ball might be the way to go.

I have plenty of respect for Duckett on that score, fresh from a hundred against Zimbabwe in the last week’s Test match, but Root remains the king and that ODI record referred to earlier is quite outstanding.

He has an ODI century on this ground, too, and I’m pleased to see that Brook has his best player available for the start of his tenure – a luxury not always afforded to his predecessor.

Root appeals as the safest bet, and the 10/3 currently available ought to pay across the duration of the series.