England and West Indies are currently placed at the fourth and sixth position respectively in the standings of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and both the teams would look to achieve two points when they take on each other at Southampton today.
England have played three matches so far and, in those, they have recorded two wins and one loss. They have defeated South Africa and Bangladesh and registered a loss against Pakistan. On the other hand, West Indies have won one match and lost one. Their third match against South Africa got abandoned due to rain. Windies defeated Pakistan in their first match and they had to suffer a loss against Australia in their next match.
With Andre Russell and Chris Gayle, Windies have the potential of exploiting England's bowling line-up. So one can expect a run-feast at the Rose Bowl. Same is the case with Jason Roy who knocked 153 runs against Bangladesh in the team’s last match. There’s a good news for the English side as Jos Buttler is fit to play against the Windies. He’s in good form along with his fellow teammates Joe Root and Eoin Morgan.
On the bowling front, given the pitch and the overcast conditions, it would favour the seamers who could knock out wickets in the opening spells of the match. England’s Jofra Archer who did not find a spot in the preliminary squad, proved that his inclusion in the final squad was a wise decision as he took three wickets in the opening World Cup match and, in his seven overs, he conceded just 27 runs. The bowler has been seen rushing the batsmen in the tournament and so far he has scalped six wickets in the World Cup. Sheldon Cottrell is known for his signature style of marching and stopping with a salute. In the recent five-match ODI series against England, the fast bowler bagged seven wickets, including a five-for in the second match. He can be an X-factor for the Caribbean side.
Probable XI
England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood/Tom Curran
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas
Dream XI:
Jason Roy, Chris Gayle, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder, Andre Russell, Sheldon Cottrell, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes
