by Aravinda Samarasinghe :
The most important tournament of the cricketing world is just a few days away taking place at the home of Cricket where it all began – England – some 420 years ago. Last time it was held in England was 20 years ago when Australia won comfortably in the finals beating Pakistan following a dramatic semi finals where they narrowly beat South Africa. Here we are taking a look at the top teams that we think would possibly have a good chance of winning this time.
England
England has never won a cricket world cup; The closest they came to winning was in 1992 in Australia where, with some luck, they managed to reach the finals beating South Africa who were playing their first major tournament after being admitted back into the ICC or international cricket From January 2017 to February 2019 England have played 12 bilateral ODI series and have only lost two & the most recent series against West Indies drew by 2-2. One of their series’ losses was in India and the other was against Scotland in a one off series in Edinburgh. In these 12 series’ they have played 43 games and have won 32, a winning ratio of 74.41%. Five out of twelve series were played in England & they have been victorious on all occasions, which includes beating powerhouses India, South Africa & whitewashing Australia by 5-0. With home conditions that will no doubt be an advantage, England will be a top contender if not the number one contender this time. Eoin Morgan, Jos Butler, Joe Root will be the batsmen to watch while Ben Stokes, Jason Roy & Adil Rashid will be their X factors that will make a difference.
India
Champions of the 1983 & 2011 editions of the world cup winning in England and at home, India stands as the current powerhouse in the cricketing world. This Indian side is not short of talent and experience. However having an equally strong bench is perhaps their biggest strength as well as weakness. The key for them will be picking a balanced side suitable for each game from a pool of amazingly talented players. India’s recent record in ODIs is very good: From January 2017 to February 2019 India has played 12 bilateral ODI series and have won 10, playing a total of 51 games within that 12 series and losing only 14 games in total. This gives them a winning ratio of 72.54%. Within the said time span India has only played one series in England and have lost by 2-1. It is expected the English conditions in the world cup will be favourable for high scoring and will have plenty to offer for batsmen, which is perfectly suited for this team because of their strong batting lineup. undoubtedly everyone’s hopes will be on Virat Kohli to fire given that India’s success has been mostly dependant on Kohli and Rohit Sharma recently, and let’s not forget MS Dhoni, a man that can turn any game around and a man who takes a game into the deep. Dhoni exhibited this in the recent tour of Australia where he turned around two games for the team. X factors to watch will be Kedar Jadhav , the spin combination of Yuzvendra Chahal & Kuldeep Yadav. Having the bowlers in the calibre of Mohammed Shami & Jasprit Bumrah, there will be plenty to offer the opponents. India’s biggest worry is the number 4 slot in the batting order. They have experimented with a few options but have they been successful ?
Australia
Australia is not dominating on the field anymore. They are not the same as they were in the past. But they are the defending champions. Australia is coming out on the back of a ball tampering scandal, losing both their captain & vice captain and are not quite the strongest lineup in world cricket. Even though Smith & Warner are coming back to the side, their performance remains a question after a lengthy absence from playing at the international level. Warner just completed a successful IPL tournament and it is expected that he continues this form in the world cup. Under Aaron Finch they just won an ODI series in India 3-2, coming from 2-0 down and white washed Pakistan in the UAE. Finch led the way with some good batting performances, including two centuries. He may have got into form right on time. Usman Khawaja remains on top of their batting prospects and hoping Mitchell Starc will fire up at the world cup with his bowling. X factors for Australia are leg spinner Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa & fast bowler Jhye Richardson.From January 2017 to February 2019 Australia have taken part in 8 bilateral ODI series and have won only two of them, playing a total of 34 games within the 8 series’ and winning only 11 games. giving them a winning ratio of 32.35%, which is not really a good record to be seen as a top contender. However Australia will no doubt will give it their all to defend the trophy which they have held since 2015 and have continued to hold four more times in the past. Australia does have a knack for coming to form in major tournaments and playing their best to win.
South Africa
A major contender with lots of big names and talent in the lineup, however the past record in major tournaments does not speak in favour of them. A tight contest in the last world cup semi finals against New Zealand, with nerves getting the better of it combined with some brilliant batting from New Zealand saw South Africa losing another chance to win it. There is also a disappointing early exit in 2003 home world cup series on record as well. Looking at the past two years, from January 2017 to February 2019 nine bilateral series, South Africa have won 7 out of 9 series , a total of 24 wins from 38 games. Their winning ratio is 63.15%. Faf du Plessis, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, JP Duminy are a bunch to watch. Quinton de Kock, David Miller & Kagiso Rabada will be the X factor of South African line up. A special mention of Imran Tahir is warranted here, his leg spin has been one of the key factors for their success in recent times. Last series they played in England was lost by 2-1 and they have not toured England since 2017.
New Zealand
It is unfair not to mention New Zealand. Last time finalists New Zealand certainly have the depth to get back up. New Zealand has top players like Kane Williamson & Ross Taylor who are pure class batsmen that can bat through to a comfortable win, with strong backing by their bowlers Southee, Wagner, Boult & Santner. New Zealand’s stats stand as – 10 ODI series’ between 2017 January to 2019 February. Winning 50% of the series’. Total of 38 games played and winning 23 out of it, gives them 60.5% winning ratio.
Pakistan is, as always, unpredictable, full of talent and skill. If their batting and fielding click they definitely have the bowling attack that can win games. Looking at Sri Lanka,in 1996 no one predicted them winning. Perhaps only Duleep Mendis & Tony Greig believed that they would, coming in as underdogs and going on to dominate the whole world cup series. Who will win it this time ? We will know in a few days. Fifteen days to be precise.
Two time champions Windies were a mighty force and over the years their form & glory has declined. However the recently concluded England tour showed some good signs and it almost looked like they were back in their glory days, winning mode. Chris Gayle will be playing his last ODI stint and will no doubt be looking to make his mark and bow out. Darren Bravo, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer & Shannon Gabriel are some of the players to watch. Though their record is not that great there is the possibility of them becoming winners in England. They have an improved and mature bowling attack that can trouble anyone on their day and a batting line up going up to no 9 that can clear the boundary at will, making them a threat whether they set a target or chase.
Afghanistan are one of the two newest full ICC members playing their second world cup , have performed very well in the international arena. They play a brand of cricket that is full of passion and have the aura of a team full of confidence. With the skills of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shahzad and Mohammad Nabi they are certainly a force to watch. In 2015 they almost pulled a win against Sri Lanka If not for the brilliance of Mahela Jayawardene. While it’s very unlikely that they will win the World Cup, they are more experienced than people would give them credit for and play with an unburdened freedom rarely seen by other established cricketing sides. Afghanistan are definitely a team to watch and will surely reinvigorate the cricketing passion in all of us.
Image Courtesy : ICC International Cricket Council- https://www.icccricket.com
ICC Cricket World Cup – https://www.cricketworldcup.com/