5 reasons why England will be the top contenders for winning the 2019 ICC World Cup
England ODI cricket has transformed big time and how. Their early exit from the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand led to a complete makeover of the ODI team. The experienced trio of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ian Bell made way for youngsters, who were consistently performing well in the limited overs arena in country cricket. England have finally given up the age-old tradition of playing the same set of players in Tests and ODIs which was really affecting their limited overs cricket success.
The ploy of attacking the opponents in first ten overs, aggressive batting in the middle overs, variety in the pace bowling attack, spinners controlling the run flow and picking up wickets, all-rounders extending the batting line up to number 10 have been a few reasons for England's success in the recent past.
Here is a look at 5 reasons why England will be one of the favourites for the 2019 ICC World Cup:
#5 Aggressive opening batsmen
England have three aggressive openers to choose from when it comes to ODI cricket. Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy and Alex Hales have all tasted success opening the batting for England.
Jonny Bairstow has indeed transformed himself from a middle order batsman to an aggressive opener. His consistency is reflected by his average in the ODI format. The wicket-keeper batsman from Yorkshire, in 38 ODI innings averages 48.36 with 4 centuries and 6 half-centuries. Bairstow has been so consistent in the ODI format that he is a certainty at the top of the order.
Jason Roy has been a great find for England as an opener. The 27-year-old has an impressive strike rate of 102.60 in 56 ODI innings and averages 37.14 with the highest score of 180. Roy holds the record for the highest-ever individual score by an England batsman in ODI cricket.
Alex Hales is another dynamic opener, who has done well in the 57 innings he has played for England. An average of 36.69, 5 centuries and the highest score of 171 reflects his usefulness as an opener for England.
The openers have played the role to get England off to flying starts in the power play overs and have the ability to play the long innings if the situation demands.