West Indies v New Zealand preview, player tips & predictions

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MATCH INFO
West Indies v New Zealand
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, Saturday, June 22, 1.30pm (British time)
Head to head odds: West Indies $2.25; New Zealand $1.62
Last time they met: New Zealand 4-131 (23 overs) d West Indies 9-99 (23 overs) in Christchurch, December 26, 2017.

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These are two teams the WGL tipped to do well as the dark horses in this cricket World Cup tournament.
One team, New Zealand, has lived up to our expectations and remains undefeated and firmly in the hunt for the title; the other, the West Indies, are all but doomed after their meek surrender against the surprising Bangladesh at County Ground Taunton on Monday.
Of course, the West Indies could go either way now the weight of expectation is off their shoulders. They could fall away further, or they could finish strongly with more freedom in their play. Unfortunately, the manner of their Taunton defeat indicates the former is more likely.
The Kiwis have barely put a foot wrong and this is a vital game for them; a win will go a long way to ensuring they are in the looming semi-finals.

Our best British cricket bookmaker William Hill has the New Zealanders as firm favourites and deservedly so.

This West Indies v New Zealand betting preview will run you through betting options for match 29 of 48 of the ICC World Cup 2019.

West Indies v New Zealand odds:

For full markets visit the William Hill website.

HEAD TO HEAD BETTING:
West Indies $2.25, New Zealand $1.62
Prediction: You can back the Black Caps with confidence here. They have a strong batting order including plenty of batsmen capable of scoring quickly. They also have three quicks who have done plenty of damage over the course of the tournament plus a couple of handy medium pacers and spinners. All-round good side.

TOP RUN-SCORER BETTING:

West Indies:
Top five in betting: Chris Gayle $3.50, Shai Hope $4.33, Evin Lewis $5, Darren Bravo $5.50, Nicholas Pooran $5.50

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v Bangladesh: Shai Hope 96
v England: Nicholas Pooran 63
v South Africa: Match abandoned
v Australia: Shai Hope 68
v Pakistan: Chris Gayle 50

New Zealand:
Top five in betting: Kane Williamson $3.50, Martin Guptill $4, Ross Taylor $4.50, Henry Nicholls $5.50, Colin Munro $5.50.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v South Africa: Kane Williamson 106no
v India: Match abandoned
v Afghanistan: Kane Williamson 79no
v Bangladesh: Ross Taylor 82
v Sri Lanka: Martin Guptill 73no

Top batter prediction: This should be a high-scoring affair. In two previous matches at Old Trafford, India scored 330-plus and England almost 400, including Eoin Morgan clubbing a staggering 17 sixes in his big hundred. To that end we will look to the top of the order for each team. We have had success backing the composed Shai Hope and we will stick with him. We would like to have one more roll of the dice on Chris Gayle but the Kiwis’ slippery opening bowlers may prove too much for the Universe Master, who is averaging 26.75 in this tournament. For New Zealand, Kane Williamson is averaging 225! But we have faith in Martin Guptill and will back the powerhouse opener at $4 to take his turn. His dismissal against South Africa was a little unlucky.

TOP WICKET-TAKER BETTING:

West Indies:
Top five in betting: Oshane Thomas $4.33, Kemar Roach $4.50, Jason Holder $4.50, Sheldon Cottrell $4.50, Andre Russell $4.50.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v Bangladesh: Oshane Thomas 1-52, Andre Russell 1-42
v England: Shannon Gabriel 2-49
v South Africa: Match abandoned
v Australia: Carlos Brathwaite 3-67
v Pakistan: Oshane Thomas 4-27

New Zealand:
Top five in betting: Trent Boult $3.75, Lockie Ferguson $3.75, Matt Henry $4.50, Tim Southee $4.50, Ish Sodhi $5.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v South Africa: Lockie Ferguson 3-59
v India: Match abandoned
v Afghanistan: Jimmy Neesham 5-31
v Bangladesh: Matt Henry 4-47
v Sri Lanka: Matt Henry 3-29, Lockie Ferguson 3-22

Top bowler tip: The West Indies’ campaign is all but dead after surrendering meekly to Bangladesh. They made a seemingly competitive 8-321 but Bangladesh needed only 41.3 overs to overhaul it for the loss of just three wickets, including one run-out. This does not say a lot for the penetration of the Windies’ attack, so we will steer of them here. New Zealand is also sharing the wickets around but we will stay on the Trent Boult bandwagon at $3.75. Class is permanent.

WGL best bets: West Indies v New Zealand

Each of our ICC World Cup betting previews will highlight some potential wins for punters, or where our cricket tipsters think there is value to be found.

Trent Boult man of the match $15

Why not? When the damaging leftie gets it right he generally runs through a top order. This could be the day.

West Indies v New Zealand prediction

No doubt this will be an entertaining clash with plenty of power hitters on both sides and all sorts of bowling options. The Black Caps have been so solid we just have to be on them to win this one.

ALSO READ:
ICC World Cup 2019 betting guide
ICC World Cup 2019 leading wicket-taker
Cricket betting sites
ICC World Cup 2019 leading run-scorer
ICC World Cup 2019 player of tournament

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