England head into the unknown with first day-night Test
England head into the unknown with first day-night Test
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Having seen off South Africa 3-1, England face a very different prospect with the visit of the West Indies over the next few weeks, and it all begins under the floodlights with a pink ball.
This weeks’ opening encounter at Edgbaston will be the first time England have played a day-night Test match.
It’s been brought in to give the squad the opportunity to build up experience of the format, with a day-night Test set to feature in the Ashes later this year.
Indeed, this is England’s final Test series before heading Down Under.
But according to the odds, Joe Root’s side shouldn’t be too troubled by the tourists or the change in conditions, with 1/33 saying England win the Series and 1/5 for the hosts to claim the opening clash.
While the Windies remain very much a threat in the limited-over formats of the game, their Test success has nosedived.
They’ve failed to win their last eight Series, suffering 15 defeats from their last 18 Tests.
It’s a far cry from the heady days when they went undefeated in Test cricket for 15 years from 1980 to 1995.
And it’s why they’re a whopping 28/1 for the Series, and 12/1 just to take the first Test.
But their underdog status means the pressure is off, and crucially, the tourists have played a day-nighter before.
And it’s not as if England are without problems, as they again seek to find a partner for Alastair Cook at the top of the order.
It’s the turn of Mark Stoneman this time, and the Surrey hitter is Cook’s 15th international opening partner.
We’re 5/1 the 30-year-old caps a dream debut by being England’s first innings top runscorer, with skipper Root the 11/4 favourite.
James Anderson is 5/2 favourite to be England’s most productive bowler in the opening innings, though plenty will fancy the in-form Moeen Ali at 11/2.
