Who will win West Indies vs Ireland, 1st ODI 2020?
Ireland begin their preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League – the new top flight of ODI cricket – with a three-match series against West Indies. The first match in that series takes place on January 7 at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, and gets underway at 13:00 local time.
These matches will be Ireland’s first in ODI cricket since July, when they beat Zimbabwe 3-0, as their focus has been on T20i cricket and qualifying for next year’s World Cup since. They lost the warm-up match for the series after failing to defend 275/9 at Cave Hill.
West Indies, on the other hand, have beaten Afghanistan 3-0 and then lost to India 2-1, despite opening that series with a win, as they look to bounce back from a disappointing World Cup. Kieron Pollard will lead the team again in this series.
WI vs IRE, 1st ODI 2020: Where to watch/Live streaming
TV channels: Sony Six, Sky Sports Cricket, SportsMax, Willow TV
Live streaming: Hotstar, SonyLiv
WI vs IRE Toss Prediction
Ireland were put into bat first in their warm-up game and may prefer to bowl first if they win the toss in this game.
WI vs IRE Weather Report
Bridgetown will be hot and sunny on Tuesday, with only a small chance of rain and a bit of a breeze on the forecast.
WI vs IRE Pitch Condition
The Kensington Oval wicket is typical of the Caribbean – hard, fast and bouncy, for pace bowlers and batsmen. Spinners took wickets there in the Caribbean Premier League too, however.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds and match prediction for West Indies vs Ireland, 1st ODI 2020...
West Indies Team News & Playing 11
WI Team News
Jason Holder will be rested for the first two matches of this series, though he may join the team in Grenada for the third match and the start of the T20i leg. West Indies have otherwise kept their selection consistent, with the remainder of the squad that took on India included. That means no place for Andre Russell or Sunil Narine.
WI Key Players
Shai Hope: Opened the series against India with an unbeaten century and then hit 78 and 42 in the next two matches to pass 3,000 runs in ODI cricket – only one batsmen (Hashim Amla) has reached milestone quicker.
Nicholas Pooran: Continued his blistering start to ODI cricket when he scored 29*, 75 and 89 in the series against India. After 19 ODIs, the wicket-keeper-batsman averages 52 and has a strike rate of 110.13.
Sheldon Cottrell: The saluting paceman took five wickets in the series against India and now has 39 ODI wickets from 28 innings.
WI Team Form
West Indies whitewashed Afghanistan and then opened their series with India with a victory – thanks to Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer both hitting centuries. That made four wins from four since their World Cup disappointment, but they could not back it up as they lost the last two games to lose the series to India. In their most recent match, Nicholas Pooran hit 89 in a total of 315/5, but West Indies could not defend it as they slipped to a four-wicket defeat.
West Indies Predicted Playing 11
Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Roston Chase, Keemo Paul, Sheldon Cottrell, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Jospeh, Hayden Walsh Jr
Ireland Team News & Playing 11
IRE Team News
Andrew Balbirnie will lead Ireland on this tour, with a balanced squad of youth and experience selected. Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien and Boyd Rankin provide the latter, while the likes of Mark Adair and Lorcan Tucker represent the next generation. Tim Murtagh has retired from international cricket.
IRE Key Players
Kevin O’Brien: The iconic Irish all-rounder is showing no sign of slowing. He hit 43 in the warm-up game and then took 2-23. In ODI cricket, he is just ten runs short of 3,500 for Ireland and he has taken 113 wickets too.
Andrew Balbirnie: The Irish captain hit 40 in the warm-up game, and his ODI record stands up to comparison. He has hit eight 50s and turned a further five into centuries to give him an average of 31.80.
Boyd Rankin: The giant bowler, who has also represented England, has taken 104 wickets in 71 previous ODI innings. In the warm-up game, he took 1-17 from six overs. His pace and bounce should thrive in West Indian conditions, as it did at the 2007 World Cup.
IRE Team Form
Ireland have not played any ODI cricket since a 3-0 series win against Zimbabwe in July. Andrew Balbirnie opened the series with a century as Ireland chased 255, before Tim Murtagh’s excellent bowling in Belfast earned wins in the second and third games.
Ireland Predicted Playing 11
Paul Stirling, Gareth Delany, Andrew Balbirnie (c), William Porterfield, Kevin O’Brien, Lorcan Tucker, Gary Wilson (wk), Mark Adair, Simi Singh, Barry McCarthy, Boyd Rankin
West Indies vs Ireland Head to Head
Ireland have only won one of their nine previous ODIs against West Indies, though that win was a notable one at the 2015 Cricket World Cup, when Paul Stirling hit 92 and Ireland chased 305 to win by four wickets. West Indies have won all three games since – including two in May, in Ireland, during the Tri-Nation Series with Bangladesh. West Indies were in dominant batting form, posting 381/3 in the first game and 331/5 in the second. John Campbell, Shai Hope and Sunil Ambris all hit a century in that series, including the former two sharing a 365-run opening stand in 47.2 overs.
WI vs IRE Head to Head Stats
| Matches Played |
WI Won |
IRE Won |
Tie |
No Result |
| 9 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
West Indies vs Ireland Betting Odds
West Indies go into this match as huge favourites.
WI Bet365 Odds
- WI to Win the Match: West Indies are 1.14 favourites to beat Ireland with Bet365.
- WI Top Batsman: Shai Hope was one of the batsmen in dominant form against Ireland in May, and he was also in top shape against India too. He is 3.75 to be West Indies’ top batsman with Bet365, while Evin Lewis is 4.33, Shimron Hetmyer can be backed at 4.50 and Nicholas Pooran is a generous 6.50.
- WI Top Bowler: With the ball, Sheldon Cottrell has been priced at 3.50 to be West Indies’ top bowler with Bet365. Hayden Walsh Jr is 4.50, as is Alzarri Joseph, and you can get 5.00 on Keemo Paul with Bet365 too.
IRE Bet365 Odds
- IRE to Win the Match: Ireland are massive outsiders for this game. They are 5.50 to win with Bet365.
- IRE Top Batsman: At the top of the order, Paul Stirling is 4.33 to be Ireland’s top batsman with Bet365. William Porterfield is 4.50, as is new captain Andrew Balbirnie. Gareth Delany can be backed at 5.50, having opened with Stirling in the warm-up game, and Kevin O’Brien is 5.50.
- IRE Top Bowler: Barry McCarthy and Boyd Rankin are both 4.33 to be Ireland’s top bowler with Bet365, while Kevin O’Brien and Mark Adair can both be backed at 4.50. Simi Singh is 5.50 with Bet365.
WI Betway Odds
- WI to Win the Match: West Indies are 1.13 to beat Ireland with Betway.
- WI Top Batsman: Shai Hope can be backed at 3.20 with Betway to be West Indies’ top batsman, while Evin Lewis is 4.25 at the top of the order. Shimron Hetmyer hit a century against India and he is 4.33, while in-form Nicholas Pooran can be backed at 5.50.
- WI Top Bowler: Sheldon Cottrell is favourite with Betway to be West Indies’ top bowler. He is 3.75, while Hayden Walsh Jr is 4.75. Alzarri Joseph is 5.00 and Keemo Paul can be backed at 5.50.
IRE Betway Odds
- IRE to Win the Match: Ireland are also as high as 5.50 to win the opening game with Betway.
- IRE Top Batsman: Paul Stirling is 4.00 to be Ireland’s top batsman with Betway, while captain Andy Balbirnie is 4.25 and former captain Will Porterfield is available to back at 4.50. Gareth Delany and Kevin O’Brien are both outsiders at 7.00 with Betway.
- IRE Top Bowler: Mark Adair can be backed at 4.00 with Betway to be Ireland’s top bowler, making him favourite just ahead of Barry McCarthy and Boyd Rankin at 4.33 apiece.
🏆 West Indies vs Ireland Prediction
West Indies are huge favourites and there is a good reason for that – Ireland remain minnows in ODI cricket and the gulf between the two nations in May shows that.
Jan 07, 2020
23:00 IST / 17:30 GMT
Kensington Oval - Bridgetown, Barbados
WI vs IRE ODI 
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