World Cup 2019: 2 England players who didn't play a single game in the title-winning campaign
The 12th edition of ICC Cricket World Cup will arguably go down as one of the best editions in the history of World Cup. The hosts England kicked-off the tournament with an excellent victory against South Africa. Just like their opening game, they closed out the tournament with a win once again against New Zealand. However, the final was more dramatic than the opening match.
For the first time, a World Cup final was tied and was decided in a Super Over. Ironically, the Super Over too was tied. Since England scored more boundaries than New Zealand, they won the match on boundary count.
Since the squad size of each team is limited to 15 in the World Cup, not everyone is lucky to play a game in the mega tournament. Some person will miss out due to various factors like playing conditions, team composition, and the opposition.
In England's World Cup squad, only 13 players had the chance to play at least one game in the tournament. Even though two players failed to get a single game in the entire tournament, they lifted the World Cup trophy at the end of the day. Now, let us look at those two lucky players.
#1 Tom Curran
Tom Curran is one among the young, exciting fast bowlers in the England squad. His younger brother, Sam Curran, has already established himself in England's Test squad. Along with them, Ben Curran, another young cricketer from the Curran family, is finding his feet in the county cricket.
In his 17 ODIs, Tom has picked up 27 wickets with one 4-wicket and one 5-wicket haul. Besides, he can contribute with the bat too lower down the order. It is not surprising that he has already played a season of IPL and Big Bash League. In fact, he recently signed a new 3-year deal with Sydney Sixers.
The addition of Jofra Archer in the World Cup squad denied Curran a place in the playing XI. As a result, he warmed the bench for the entire tournament. Nevertheless, Curran will cherish the tournament for his life since he has a World Cup winner's medal now without even playing a single game.
#2 Liam Dawson
Liam Dawson was initially not a part of England's World Cup plans. With Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali already in the squad, England was always content with their spinning options. However, a slight shoulder injury to Rashid opened the doors for the third spinner in the team.
As a result, Joe Denly was picked in the Pakistan series. Even though Denly did not get many chances in the series, he was axed from the squad. Hence, Dawson was drafted into England's World Cup squad at the last moment.
With England fielding only one spinner in the second half of the tournament, Dawson failed to get a single game in the competition. However, he has a World Cup winner's medal with him now.
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