Batting order the only doubt Australia installed as firm favourites

Australia are 2/7 to beat West Indies in the first match of the VB Series, which begins at the MCG on Friday. West Indies, who memorably won the ICC Champions Trophy in the dark at the Oval in September, are 5/2.

In the overall tournament betting, Ricky Ponting's men are the same odds to win the VB Series. West Indies and Pakistan are the outsiders at 5/1.

Australia have a few selection issues - Matthew Hayden is rested, and Simon Katich has only a 50% chance of playing. Michael Clarke is keen to open, and is therefore an attractive 4/1 prospect to top-score for the Aussies. Adam Gilchrist is favourite in this market - he is 10/3, and Ricky Ponting, fresh from his magnificent hundred in the Tsunami Appeal match at the MCG, is 3/1.

For West Indies, Brian Lara is not unexpectedly the short-priced favourite to lead their runscoring. But Ramnaresh Sarwan - the highest West Indies runscorer in the Champions Trophy and second overall after Marcus Trescothick -is an enticing bet at 5/1.

The Venue
In day/night matches at the MCG, there is a distinct trend for the team batting first to win. While in all matches the ratio is exactly 50:50, in day/night matches it swings 61:39 in favour of the team batting first.
Day/Night matches featuring Australia at the MCG

The last time Australia played West Indies here was in 2000/2001, where West Indies failed by 39 runs to chase down a massive 339 target - then the highest target ever set in ODIs in Australia. Mark Waugh was the star of that particular show, scoring 173 - the record ODI score by an Australian. Brian Lara, the only remaining West Indian from that match, made 0.
Australia v West Indies scorecard

West Indies record in ODIs in Australia
West Indies have a proud record in One-Day internationals in Australia. They have won 59% of ODI matches there, although this falls to 54% in matches against Australia.
Full record

However, if you drill down to the last 10 matches in Australia against the hosts, the picture is far less rosy. West Indies have lost 8 of their last 10 ODI matches in Australia.
Last 10 matches

Odds are also available at bet365 for top VB Series run-scorer.

Also betting on
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England v Australia "The Ashes" 2005