It’s an English summer so not difficult to imagine that the weather won’t play its part in this year’s World Cup but we are still set for a feast of cricket with all of the big names in the white-ball version of the game set to be unleashed.
Team-by-Team summary – can England justify their favourites tag?
ENGLAND – The hosts are worthy favourites at a best 2/1 having swept all before them, more or less, in ODIs since an unacceptable failure at the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Their top six batsmen are all potential match-winners and they have wicket-takers among their bowlers including Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid. Jofra Archer’s pace is also a huge asset but there have been injury concerns surrounding Mark Wood and captain Eoin Morgan and the weight of expectation is on their shoulders. A worrying lack of success in tournaments also makes their odds look short.
INDIA – MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli remain from the India team that won the World Cup in 2011 with the latter now captain. He and Rohi Sharma at the top of the order are class acts and India’s bowling has plenty of guile and variation and also pace in the form of Jasprit Bumrah but they are undoubtedly more effective on the dry wickets of south-east Asia and have been known to crumble when the pitch offers swing bowlers some assistance. If they get through to the final stages, Kohli and co will be a danger to all but they don’t currently offer much value at the general 3/1
AUSTRALIA – The Aussies are a different team with David Warner and Steve Smith reinstated. Smith scored a century against England in a warm-up win and Warner and Aaron Finch can take a game away from the opposition in the opening overs but there doesn’t look to be that many runs from the middle order and a lot will depend on Nathan Lyon keeping one end tight in the middle overs. Apart from Pat Cummins, perhaps the Australian’s pace attack isn’t quite as fearsome, or controlled, as in the past but they’ll still blow away plenty of teams and there will be plenty of interest in the general 4/1 about the defending champions, who are bidding for record sixth World Cup.
SOUTH AFRICA – There isn’t as much pressure of expectation on the Proteas as in past years and that may help Faf Du Plessis’ team put past performances behind them. However, there does appear to be a distinct lack of quality in their squad this time with the possible of exception of Quinton de Kock. Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn are well past their sell-by date so they’ll require the likes of Lungo Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada to step up to the plate but their attack looks ripe for picking in the middle overs by the world’s best batsmen. Regular bottlers who make no appeal this time at a best 11/1.
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NEW ZEALAND – Every World Cup, everyone writes off New Zealand but they are regular semi-finalists and reached the final in Melbourne four years ago, only to fall apart on the big stage. Captain Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Tim Southee and Trent Boulter are all talented ODI players but the first-named has not been in the best of form lately and he’ll need to produce if his side are to get anywhere near this time. The schedule has given them a good chance of building up a head of steam before they take on the big guns and it will be interesting to see how spinner Ish Sodhi adapts to English wickets but they don’t look like potential winners overall at 12/1 with Unibet.
WEST INDIES – Potentially a massive 18/1 with Paddy Power, the Windies have managed to corral all of their big names for one final hurrah, led by the irrepressible Chris Gayle who bows out of international cricket after the tournament. They’ve not won a World Cup since 1979 and had to qualify for these finals but, now they are here, expect fireworks of one form or another. They were more than a match for England in the Caribbean recently and have exciting prospects in Shia Hope, Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer but discipline as well as flair is required to win a World Cup. That said, they are reigning T20 world champions and have found a leader in Jason Holder, though their bowling looks ordinary apart from Kemar Roach.
PAKISTAN – On the evidence of their recent series again England, it’s hard to see Pakistan featuring prominently in the closing stages of this year’s World Cup but Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side are used to battling the odds and can never be under-estimated. They won last year’s Champions Trophy in England, which was almost a full-strength dress rehearsal, but the recall of bowlers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir looks an act of desperation by coach Mickey Arthur. Pakistan’s batting is also potentially brittle beyond Babar Azam with teams knowing they have half the job done if getting the top three out cheaply. Add to that fielding problems and the 22/1 with Paddy Power looks about right.
BANGLADESH – The Tigers are a best 125/1 and it’s impossible to see them progressing beyond the early stages without a considerable slice of good fortune. It’s largely been two steps forward and two steps back since Bangladesh were accepted on to the world stage but they do have one of the world’s best all-rounders in Shakib Al Hasan. Mushfiqur Rahim will keep wicket but will also be asked to score the runs that will keep his side competitive and they simply don’t have the all-round strength to compete with the others.
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SRI LANKA – Twice winners and runners-up in 2011, Sir Lanka’s glory days are sadly a thing of the past. Apart from Lasitha Malinga, all of their big names from their golden period have retired and ‘The Slinger’ is a shadow of his former self and easy pickings for the big-hitters of the modern game. Angelo Mathews is no longer captain but will still be an important figure for Dimuth Karunaratne’s team but their squad looks better equipped to play Test cricket rather than ODIs nowadays and they’ll likely be heading home sooner than most teams (a best 150/1).
AFGHANISTAN – Afghanistan are a best 250/1 with Unibet competing in their first World Cup finals. They have nothing to lose and will be out to give some of the big boys a bloody nose before they depart the scene. Spinner Rashid Khan has been ripping up the IPL and Big Bash and Mohammad Shahaz will come out all guns blazing with the bat but they will still need everything to fall into place to win a match or two, though they do have early opportunities to shock between matches against Australia and England.
PREDICTIONS: ENGLAND will surely take all the beating. They are the world’s top-ranked ODI team and at home. Standards rarely slip and there is such a depth of batting talent in their squad that they can afford for things to go slightly awry and still recover – that’s an asset that few countries can boast. That said, the crunch will come when the tournament reaches its knockout stage and then no slips can be countenanced. I respect AUSTRALIA because of their World Cup record and the knack of getting it right on the day and the WEST INDIES have an immense batting line-up and up-and-coming youngsters who have proved they can play in English conditions so could be the value among the outsiders.
