Sophia Gardens Pitch Report And Cardiff Weather Forecast For ENG vs WI 2nd ODI

Jatin

Sophia Gardens pitch and weather report for ENG vs WI 2nd ODI [Source: @Gloscricket/x.com]Sophia Gardens pitch and weather report for ENG vs WI 2nd ODI [Source: @Gloscricket/x.com]

After a total demolition job at Edgbaston in the 1st ODI, England are buzzing and West Indies are reeling. The hosts crushed the visitors by 238 runs in the series opener and now all roads lead to Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, for the second ODI on June 1.

The men in maroon will be desperate to bounce back and keep the series alive while England look to ride their red-hot form into another win and clinch the series.

But before the first ball is bowled at 3:30 PM IST, one big question looms: what is the Sophia Gardens pitch going to do? And will the Cardiff weather play nice? Let’s take a detailed look.

Sophia Gardens Cardiff ODI Records And Stats

Criterion
Data
Matches played30
Matches won batting 1st8
Matches won bowling 1st18
Tied1
No Result3
Average score batting 1st5.27
Average score bowling 1st5.51
Average run rate5.38
% of wickets by pacers76.30
% of wickets by spinners23.69


Sophia Gardens Cardiff Pitch Report: Is It Batting Or Bowling Friendly?

Sophia Gardens, Cardiff’s surface has a bit of spice for everyone. There is some early zip for the pacers, especially with the new ball. Seamers will get a little bit of help up front, movement off the deck, some bounce and if there is a bit of cloud cover, maybe even a wobble in the air.

But it is not all doom and gloom for the batters. The track will have good pace early on and if the openers can survive the first 4–5 overs, there are plenty of runs to be had in the powerplay. Expect brisk scoring if the top order gets going.

However, batting could get trickier as the innings wears on. The pitch tends to dry out, and that means hitting through the line becomes harder. The horizontal bat shots? Not so easy. Expect spinners and cutters to come into play once the ball loses its shine. Batters will need to adjust quickly or they might find themselves in quicksand during the middle overs.

And while Sophia Gardens usually favours teams chasing, the dry nature of the pitch might tempt captains to bat first this time around, especially in a day game where grip and turn could increase later in the second innings.

Sophia Gardens Cardiff Weather Today

Weather Report [Source: Accuweather]Weather Report [Source: Accuweather]

Information
Details
Temperature17°C (RealFeel 17°C)
Wind Speed28 km/h
Probability of Precipitation63%
Cloud Cover47%

According to the AccuWeather, Cardiff is not bringing its best weather to the party. Expect a passing morning shower or two, but the rest of the day should be dry although windy. The high will touch 17°C and the wind will be blowing at 28 km/h from the west-southwest with gusts up to 57 km/h.

There is a 63% chance of precipitation early on but only about 1.7 mm of rain is expected so we shouldn’t lose much time, if any. Cloud cover will hover around 47%, which could help the bowlers get a bit of movement.