5 reasons why England might finally taste World Cup glory in 2019
With the ODI World Cup just nine months away, every team is looking to have their bases covered. Most teams are going through a few difficulties and still do not have their bases covered. India is suffering from a middle order problem whereas Australia yet does not know what the future holds for them after the ban on Steven Smith and David Warner. It will be interesting to see how Steve Smith and David Warner perform once their ban is lifted. Pakistan is still the same old unpredictable side, whereas New Zealand is yet to find stability in their Middle order. Sri Lanka and West Indies have lost their old flair whereas South Africa will be without the services of AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel.
Amidst all of this, there is one team who silently has been rising to the top of the world cricket in the limited overs format, and that team is England. England is the only team who have all their bases covered and have enough backup too. To me, they have the squad who can finally lift the ODI World Cup. Here are a few reasons why England will lift the World Cup:
#1 Destructive openers
England’s explosive batting starts from the top of the order with Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow opening the innings for England and taking the matter into their hands. In 2018, Jonny Bairstow has scored 970 runs for England in 19 innings on top of the order at an average of 51. The most impressive part of this is that Jonny Bairstow has scored at a strike rate of over 120 for England in ODIs and when your opener is capable of giving you that, most of your problems are gone.
Jonny Bairstow’s opening partner, Jason Roy, is not any less than him. Jason Roy has managed to cross 750 runs in ODIs this year. He has scored 780 runs for England in just 17 innings at a strike rate of over a hundred. Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy are undoubtedly the most destructive opening duo in world cricket at the moment.