World Cup 2019: 3 surprise packages from the tournament
After an exciting month and a half of World Cup 2019 action that culminated in the epic final on Sunday at Lords, cricket fans would be finding it difficult to experience a dull period without any cricket action until next month when India take on West Indies from 3rd August.
Fans across the globe are still discussing about the overthrow law, the decision to decide the winner on boundary count and Kane Williamson’s calm demeanour even after such a heartbreaking loss. However, at the end of it all, England won their maiden World Cup title, which is the prime topic in focus.
As in any series, there were some great performances from players who were expected to do well for their respective countries apart from some disappointments as well. However, there were a couple of performers, who proved to be surprise packages with their efforts.
Here is a look at some of the surprise packages from the 2019 World Cup.
#3 Liam Plunkett (England)
Not many will remember that the strongly built England fast bowler Liam Plunkett featured in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies but was not in the set up for any of the World Cups till the 2019 edition.
Whenever Eoin Morgan was in need of wickets in the middle overs especially on good batting surfaces, in this tournament, he would often turn to Liam Plunkett, who's biggest strength was his ability to bowl with the heavy ball, with a cross seam that proved to be very effective.
Coincidentally, Plunkett played in only seven matches in the 2019 World Cup campaign and England went on to win all of them. He finished with 11 wickets and those included the likes of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and Hashim Amla.
Even in the final against New Zealand, Plunkett picked up the most prized wicket of the opposition team, their captain Kane Williamson with a cross seam delivery that landed on the seam and deviated ever so slightly to catch the outside edge.
Plunkett finished with 3-42 off his 10 overs which went a long way in restricting NZ to 241-8, that ultimately helped England win their first ever World Cup title.
Also read - India vs West Indies 2019 Schedule