2019 ODI World Cup: 3 most lethal opening bowling combinations

Much of ODI cricket these days seems to revolve around batting. If your team bats first and doesn’t score 300, very rarely is it considered a favorite to win the match. In my opinion, this makes the performances from each country's opening pace attack so crucial. Teams rely on a fast start in the first 10 over powerplay to set the tone for their innings.

If a team loses 2-3 wickets in the first 10 overs of a match, it becomes very hard to provide a launch pad for that huge score often needed to win games of 50 over cricket. Throughout this article, I will look at and analyze who I believe to be the three most lethal opening bowling combinations at the next Cricket World Cup.

Do not be surprised if these three partnerships' abilities to knock sides over is the pivotal reason for each of these teams going far at the World Cup in England next year.

​

#3- Kagiso Rabada & Dale Steyn

This partnership could probably be placed higher on the list, however, based on Rabada’s lack of ODI experience, and the recent injuries of Dale Steyn I have decided to put them on third. Both bowlers have the capability to rip sides apart on a good day. Given that they both swing the ball with impeccable seam position whilst bowling at 140kph+, they could terrorize even the best batting line-ups at the World Cup next year.

In his remarkable career, Steyn has taken 180 wickets from his 114 matches played. His wickets have come at an average of 26.33 runs per wicket. Steyn’s strike rate is very impressive - he averages a wicket every 32 balls he bowls.

Rabada has not played anywhere near as many matches as Steyn, but his numbers are equally as impressive. Rabada has taken 75 wickets in the 48 ODI’s he has played. These have come at an average of 27.57 runs per wicket, and a strike rate of 32.36 balls bowled per wicket.

Provided the conditions at the World Cup are conducive to a bit of swing and seam, these two are capable of winning matches for South Africa before the first 10 over powerplay has even finished.

​