The lackluster build-up
It has been a while since I have written, but with the 12th Cricket World Cup starting tomorrow, I thought I would make a welcome return to my blog.
Personally being based in London in these days, the lack of excitement about the tournament is worrying. My initial concerns about the World Cup schedule when first released were about its length – the tournament spans across 7 weeks! Moreover, the organisers have really let themselves down with the astronomical ticket prices (lowest category tickets for the peak England matches are priced at £70 each).
Many of my friends have also rightly complained about the ticketing ballot. With the tournament starting tomorrow, I still have not received my tickets in the post. Moreover, the public ticket allocation was very sparse, with corporate sponsors no doubt taking the majority of allocations.
It is a real shame as to how the ECB/ICC has handled the ticketing situation. Cricket is a dying sport in the UK, and this was a real opportunity to bring it back to the big stage – especially with England being the competition favourites too.
I still remember visiting Melbourne for the 2015 World Cup – a ticket in the members pavilion for England vs. Australia was priced around A$60 – an equivalent ticket for the fixture at Lords in priced at £235…
What to expect from the tournament?
Now onto the tournament itself – I think there are a few important things to note.
Firstly, this will be a tournament dominated by batsmen… short boundaries, two new balls and flat wickets will mean that bowlers are in for a tough time (anything less than 300 will not even be competitive on some grounds).
As a result – most teams will look to bowl first and chase. Inferring from the recent ODIs played in England – it is difficult to gauge what a good score batting first will be. Moreover, with rain and Duckworth-Lewis in the mix, most teams will be more comfortable chasing.
Despite the bias towards batsmen and chasing – this will probably be the most fiercely competed World Cup in recent times. What I really like about the one group format is that the best and most consistent teams will go through to the semi-finals – short-term form will not be sufficient to carry a team over the line. Furthermore, with no major minnows around – ‘anyone can beat anyone on their day’ – and this will make for exciting viewing.
My pick for the tournament
With England and India being touted as most people’s favourites, I honestly think Australia have the strongest and most well-balanced squad. It almost appears that people have forgot about them in wake of the recent ball tampering controversy.
They are coming into the tournament with form – registering notable victories against Pakistan and India in the sub-continent.
There are many parallels to the way the Australian team has approached this World Cup to 1999. Again, they were relatively unfancied then, but went on to win the tournament in comprehensive style.
The return of Warner and Smith should also not be underestimated – both are phenomenal players and appear to have hit form at the right time. In addition, the presence of Khawaja, Finch, Marsh and Maxwell really makes their batting very solid.
On the bowling front – Adam Zampa is my bet for the leading bowler in the tournament, and along with Starc, Cummins and Richardson provides the much needed pace-off option with the ball in the middle overs.
England have home advantage, but have a lot to prove in their quest for a first 50 overs title. Again, their squad is very well balanced and their batting firepower has already been well documented – but I do have questions about their ability to handle pressure and crunch moments. Losing the Champions Trophy semi-final to Pakistan in 2017 is a perfect example of this.
That said – the formidable opening partnership of Roy and Bairstow, along with Buttler (probably the most destructive player in the world at present), is enough to put any team out of the game.
India for the first time appear to have the bowling to support their batting superstars. However, I do worry how their middle to lower order will fare if they lose their top three (Sharma, Dhawan and Kohli) early – especially on an overcast day when the ball may move around a little.
That said, India are a form and momentum team. If they start well, and the middle order of Dhoni, Rahul and Pandya provides strong back up – they could also be serious contenders especially with the Indian crowd and support in England.
New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa will impress in patches, but I do not think they will have the consistency to win this 7-week long tournament.
A note on Pakistan and West Indies though – if they were to reach the semi-finals, then they could also be serious contenders. The English conditions in July will suit them, and they are more likely to thrive with the underdogs tag in the knockout stages (as we saw in the Champions Trophy with Pakistan a couple of years back).
Five players to watch
Adam Zampa – Australia
KL Rahul – India
Q De Kock – South Africa
J Buttler – England
A Russell – West Indies
Five games not to miss
3rd June – England vs. Pakistan
9th June – India vs. Australia
19th June – South Africa vs. New Zealand
27th June – India vs. West Indies
30th June – England vs India – probably the most anticipated group game, with the game scheduled on a weekend, the atmosphere at Edgbaston is likely to be incredible
Omar Chaudhry 