Australia vs West Indies, AUS vs WI , Today Match Prediction 04 February 2024

AUS vs WI Match Prediction & Analysis

After Australia pummelled West Indies at the MCG, the action shifts to the Sydney Cricket Ground, which has developed a bit of a reputation for being the ODI fortress of the hosts. Aussies have won 8 out of their last 10 games at the SCG, and the fairly young squad that they have put together for this series will be determined to keep the juggernaut going with another impressive showing with the ball and bat in Sydney.

West Indies have plenty of problems to ponder, but they need to get their act together and play as a collective group to be able to give themselves the best chance of dominating this second-string Aussie line-up which is missing six of their world cup winning players. They don’t have to look too far behind for inspiration, after having defeated England in their last ODI series back at home. Their chances of getting back to winning ways in this series rides a lot on captain Shai Hope, who has been a standout batsman for them averaging over 50 with the bat.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

AUS

W

AUS

232/2 in 38.3 6.03

AUS vs WI

Australia beat West Indies by 8 wickets 02 Feb 2024

WI

231/10 in 48.4 4.75

WI

L

AUS

232/2 in 38.3 6.03

AUS vs WI

Australia beat West Indies by 8 wickets 02 Feb 2024

WI

231/10 in 48.4 4.75

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Australia Preview

Debutant Xavier Bartlett and all-rounder Cameron Green were in the spotlight, with the former producing a stunning spell of 4 for 17 from 9 overs in his debut match to skittle out the men in Maroon for 231, and the latter delivering an unbeaten 77 off the bat after he picked up two wickets with the ball.

Captain Steve Smith also made good with bat scoring 79* not out, picking up from where he left off in the Brisbane test. The 25-year-old Queenslander shocked the West Indian top order batsmen with some encouraging movement into and away from the batsmen.

Another debutant on show, Lance Morris, had no luck though and finished with 0/59 from 10 overs. A few lapses and missed opportunities from Travis Head, Josh Inglis and Marnus Labuschagne in the fielding department proved costly at the end with West Indies running up to 231, so there’s a bit of work to do on that front.

In reply, Australia got off to a poor start, losing opener Travis Head cheaply early on. But Josh Inglis took the attack to the opposition and scored runs at a brisk pace, which allowed the incoming batsmen to take their time to get their eye in without having to worry too much about the run rate creeping up.

Australia Predicted Playing XI:

Jake Fraser McGurk, Josh Inglis (wk), Steven Smith (c), Cameron Green, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Short, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Josh Hazlewood, Lance Morris, Adam Zampa.

Australia Actual Playing XI:

Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Short, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Josh Inglis, Adam Zampa, Jake Fraser McGurk, Will Sutherland, Josh Hazlewood

West Indies Preview

A 110-run stand between Keacy Carty and Roston Chase was the lone highlight in what turned out to be a hammering from the hosts.

The top order batsmen were left clueless by Bartlett’s crafty swing bowling, but the middle order batsmen combined to steady the ship and take them through to a good total. After Chase got his woodwork disturbed by the leggie Adam Zampa, Carty added a few runs to the toal and was looking good to bring up his first ton. But Carty was run out 12 runs shy of the milestone when Hayden Walsh threw him under the bus trying to get off strike. The batsmen to follow couldn’t score runs at will after that suicidal run out, and huffed and puffed their way to a less than par score.

Defending 232, the Windies bowlers drew first blood with Matthew Forde removing Travis Head for 4 in the fifth ball of the first over, but stand-in opener Josh Inglis took the game away with a whirlwind 65 off 43 balls before they could make further inroads.

He went back to the hut in the 12th over, but Cameron Green and Steve Smith came together in the middle. The duo was hardly tested by the Windies bowling attack which looked a touch too underwhelming on a good wicket, and they saw the hosts home with over 11 overs to spare.

West Indies Predicted Playing XI:

Justin Greaves, Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope (c & wk), Keacy Carty, Kavem Hodge, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Hayden Walsh, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph.

West Indies Actual Playing XI:

Alick Athanaze, Kjorn Ottley, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

If the SCG deck is true to its nature, it'll be flat and dry and there will be a lot of runs on offer for the batsmen. As for conditions, we could be in for a warm, dry day with the temperatures set to hover around 26-27 degrees on an average.

AUS vs WI Pitch Report

The second ODI is being played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which has sort of become a fort for the hosts in this format. They have an 8-2 winning record in the last 10 matches here, losing only to England in 2018 and India in 2016.

Toss: To Bat

Australia always prefer to bat first at the SCG. Why wouldn’t they? Their decision to have a first crack on these docile wickets have brought in good results, with the hosts winning 7 out of 7 matches in which they won toss and batted first. They lost the only instance in which they won toss and chose to chase.