West Indies vs Australia Prediction: Carty can kick on after ODI success in Barbados Test

An intriguing three-Test series between the West Indies and Australia begins at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown on Wednesday afternoon (UK time).

The Aussies are aiming to bounce back from this month's five-wicket defeat to South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's as they continue their build-up to the 2025-26 Ashes against England. James Milton has looked at this fixture and picked out a couple of prop bets for you as he previews the action and gives us his West Indies vs Australia Betting Tips...

*You can check out all of our Cricket Odds over at betfred.com

Team news

The West Indies have recalled batsmen Shai Hope and John Campbell but there is no place for experienced fast bowler Kemar Roach or wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva. Brandon King, who has played 115 white-ball internationals for the Windies, is hoping to make his Test debut.  

Australia are preparing to play their first Test without either Steve Smith or Marnus Labuschagne since 2018. Youngster Sam Konstas will replace Labuschagne at the top of the order and Smith's finger injury means Josh Inglis should bat at number four. 

Brendan Doggett (hip) is out so Sean Abbott, another uncapped fast bowler, has been added to the squad. 

TV

TNT Sports 1 and Discovery+ are the home of this series in the UK with action due to start at 15:00. ESPN and FOX Cricket will show the match live in Australia with ESPN Caribbean having the encounter in the West Indies. Other areas showing the game include Cricbuzz in North America, ESPN in New Zealand and FanCode in India.

Weather Forecast

It should be a beautiful weather for cricket, with 30 degree sunshine expected for the first three days. There are shower risks on Saturday and Sunday, so this could lead to losing considerable time towards the backend of this Test match.

West Indies vs Australia First Test Odds

The West Indies won the last Test between these teams in Brisbane in January 2024 and they are 4/1 to repeat the feat in Barbados, where Australia are 1/3 and the draw is a 11/2 chance. 

Australian youngster Sam Konstas is set to win his third Test cap, opening the batting with Usman Khawaja, and the Aussies are 4/6 to have the highest opening partnership with the West Indies 11/10 and the draw 33/1.  

• Keacy Carty to score over 22.5 first-innings runs @ 5/6

Both the West Indies and Australia have reshaped their batting units for the first Test and home batsman Keacy Carty can make an impact in Bridgetown. 

Carty had a promising Test debut against South Africa last year, scoring 42 and 31 in Port-of-Spain, and he made 26 and 17 in his second appearance against the Proteas. 

Three disappointing outings against Bangladesh and Pakistan followed but he has been in superb form in ODI cricket so should be confident coming into the Australia series. 

Carty's six ODI innings against Ireland and England in May and June included scores of 102, 170 and 103 and he cracked an unbeaten 49 off 22 balls in this month's third T20 international against the Irish. 

Facing Australia's top-class pace attack will not be easy but a first-innings runs line of 22.5 looks too low for a player who looks increasingly at home in international cricket.

• Josh Inglis to be top Australia first-innings batter @ 9/2

Steve Smith's finger injury has opened up a spot in Australia's middle-order and Josh Inglis could seize his opportunity in style.  

Inglis has already scored centuries in all three formats for the Aussies and he struck a brilliant 120 not out in February's Champions Trophy victory over England in Lahore.  

The previous month he had marked his Test debut with an excellent 102 against Sri Lanka in Galle and his most recent innings was 39 off 23 balls for Punjab Kings in the IPL final.  

Inglis was unfortunate not to make Australia's 11 for the World Test Championship final against South Africa but he is a terrific player of spin and could shine in the Caribbean. 

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