England vs West Indies Prediction: Jacks is 11/1 value wherever he bats in 1st ODI

It’s England v West Indies in the 1st ODI on Thursday, start time 13:00 and played at Edgbaston in what could be a low-scoring but thrilling contest.  As always with England home matches, Sky Sports Cricket is the watch to see the game on live TV.

Jamie Pacheco thinks 11/4 West Indies are a great value bet to catch England cold, while 11/1 and 3/1 chances on the top batsman markets aren’t to be turned down, either.  Let's check out Jamie's Betting Tips and England vs West Indies Predictions for Thursday's ODI...

England 

It's the start of a new era under Harry Brook as captain but there are plenty of problems to deal with rather than the so-called honeymoon period that can often come with the appointment of a new skipper.  

Their best fast bowler in Jofra Archer is sidelined again, as is the reliable Gus Atkinson, while Jamie Overton's presence in the side is a bit of an enigma and Jos Buttler continues to be unsure of where he wants to bat.  

Still, positives come in the form of Ben Duckett's form in all formats, the consistency of Brydon Carse, the huge experience of Joe Root and the wicket-taking and economy abilities of veteran Adil Rashid.  

But this will be an interesting Series in terms of seeing if the change of captaincy brings a change in performances, results and methods, or not.    

Possible XI:  Duckett, Jacks, Smith, Root, Brook, Buttler, Bethell, J Overton, Carse, Rashid, Mahmood 

West Indies 

West Indies of course have their own problems. This is arguably their weakest format of the three and the delay of the IPL and contract disputes will have deprived them of the likes of Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran. The latter is a huge loss because his ability to turn a game on its head is priceless.  

At least they had the good sense to play three ODIs in Ireland before this in what could be somewhat similar conditions to what they find here, drawing 1-1. The second match was rained off, though.  

On paper it's not exactly a star-studded line-up but there's a decent mix of fearless youth and calm experience in the likes of Roston Chase, Brandon Hope and Shai Hope so you should never rule this lot out.   

Possible XI:  King, Lewis, Carty, Hope, Jangoo, Greaves, Forde, Chase, Motie, Joseph, Seales 

Pitch and conditions  

There may be some poor weather in the build-up to the match but it should clear by the start, though overcast conditions could make it an easy choice for the skipper winning the toss: hope it swings, bowl well and you could have them three down after 10 overs.  

It could end up being an ODI match out of the 1990s with 240-250 on the board a par score and a disciplined effort needed to chase that down.  

I'd be very surprised if 300 is reached first up on a wicket where big scores at domestic level have been hard to come by so all in all, it could be a low-scoring nail-biter which could make for great entertainment.  

England vs West Indies First ODI Odds

England are 1/4 and it's not hard making a case for why that's a really poor price. They haven't played an ODI since a disastrous Champions Trophy. Harry Brook is new to captaincy. Jamie Overton doesn't appear to be an international all-rounder. They're missing their best bowler in Jofra Archer. Including those Champion Trophy defeats, they've now lost 20 of their last 31. We could go on.  

As we know, the Windies aren't the most reliable in this format either and we lament the absence of Pooran in particular but that's not enough to dissuade us from backing the outsiders. If for no other reason that they've beaten England four times in the last six in this format.  

2/1 may have seemed like something of a sensible price so 11/4 has to be considered far too big. We're not particularly spooked by the outcome of the toss because it's hard to know what to do for the skipper who wins it, so a straight pre-match bet is the way to go.  

England Top Runscorer  

Duckett is 7/2 and if your only concern is to find the winner in this market rather than the value selection, he's probably your best bet as a player who has found remarkable consistency in all formats over the last couple of years.  

But he's not the value. At more than three times the price, you can back the player likely to open with him: Will Jacks, at 11/1.  Jacks' record isn't perhaps as good it should be in ODIs with no centuries and four fifties in 15 knocks, despite always batting in the Top 3.  

But this last point is crucial. That's a big price for a player who will probably open and it's surely only a matter of time before that first ODI century comes along. You could also argue that his spell in the IPL, an ever-present for Mumbai, is a plus. True, there were plenty of starts and just the one 50 to show from his 10 knocks. And they were of course completely different conditions, not to mention a different format. But the fact he's played lots of white-ball cricket of late can only be an advantage. 6/1 is just too big to turn down. 

West Indies Top Batsman  

The Windies top bat market has plenty of eye-catching prices. The ice-cool Roston Chase is 10/1 and is very capable but could be down as low as 7 or 8 so until we have a better idea of where he might bat, we'll swerve him.  

There should be plenty of money coming in for Keacy Carty at 7/2, a real talent who scored 102 and 170 in the recent Series against Ireland and has a strong record against England. That's a perfectly good bet if you feel a batsman can be that good for three times on the spin.  

But I slightly prefer the brilliant long-term record of skipper Shai Hope, with 17 centuries in ODIs and a superb average of 49. The other big advantage he has is that he will have played plenty against England and in England, so I'll just about give him the nod at a price only marginally smaller, at 3/1.   

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