Five certainties for the Cricket World Cup

With the World Cup starting this week, these are the top five stories that we will reflect on come the end of the tournament.

Batting expectations are over-hyped
Experts and fans alike are flooding social media with predictions of incredible batting and plenty of records to be broken.

With England consistently chasing down scores in the mid-300s, scores of 500 aren’t out of the realm of possibility.

The hype for bulk runs is real. With the expectation so high, many people will be disappointed come July.

There are only ten teams participating in this World Cup, which is the lowest number since the 1992 edition in Australia and New Zealand.

There are less easy beats for the stronger nations to bully, and the two lesser nations – Afghanistan and Bangladesh – have shown strength in their bowling.

There have been four scores over 400 in World Cup history and they have come against Afghanistan, Bermuda, Ireland and West Indies.

In fact, the teams most likely to leak the highest scores are established nations in the West Indies and Sri Lanka, and they aren’t completely weak.

The most runs ever scored in one tournament by a single player is Sachin Tendulkar’s 673 in the 2003 World Cup, closely followed by Matthew Hayden’s 659 in 2007.

With ample opportunities to dominate against lesser opposition, the best players were able to amass larger totals against these teams, while taking the confidence into games against strong opposition.

But in 2019, there isn’t enough room for teams to bully the opposition, and the expectation that we will see batting records broken multiple times throughout this tournament won’t eventuate.

(AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Shaheen Afridi emerges from obscurity
Pakistan have lost their last ten ODIs and enter the tournament without much direction.

But there are experts who believe they are a dark horse, and if Pakistan do fire, expect to hear a lot about Shaheen Afridi.

The 19-year-old is a highly touted talent, but there will be many fans watching the World Cup this week unfamiliar with Afridi’s exploits.

Gifted with great height, Australian fans may see shades of Mitch Starc and Jason Behrendorff in Afridi’s action and the way he approaches bowling at the start and end of innings.

With 24 wickets at an average of 25.54 in his first 14 ODIs, the teenager has already begun building a strong record while flying under the international radar.

While there is some doubt surrounding some of the veterans in the Pakistan set-up, the one constant shining light for the team is this big left-armer.

In a tournament that may not necessarily favour the fast bowlers, expect Afridi to emerge as a household name, regardless of how Pakistan goes.

Tactics cost Australia
Australia could be the most feared opposition coming into the World Cup, but by the end, it may well be a matter of what could’ve been.

The concerns stem from the make-up of the squad and the need to assimilate David Warner seamlessly into a functioning top order.

Steve Smith’s recent form has been phenomenal, so there hasn’t been any doubt about his position in the batting order.

Warner opened the batting in the warm-up win against England and scored a solid 43, but it’s the domino effect of Warner’s selection that can hurt the Australians.

Over the last six months, Usman Khawaja has opened the batting and emerged as Australia’s best batsman in ODI cricket.

Khawaja must open if he’s in the team, as he lacks the confidence and adaptability in limited overs cricket to bat anywhere else. Khawaja batted at five in the warm-up game, which isn’t a sustainable tactic going forward.

Shaun Marsh’s position then becomes questionable if Warner bats at three – will the Australians be happy to drop Marcus Stoinis in order to fit Marsh at five and Glenn Maxwell at six?

This can then affect the bowling, too, which already has some question marks over whether Starc can perform at the highest level as a reliable option, while Nathan Coulter-Nile’s performance against England on Saturday night suggests he might not be as good as the selectors thought.

Jason Behrendorff and Kane Richardson become options for Australia, but it’s a lot of pace and not a lot of reliable, intelligent bowling that is required on smaller grounds.

Stoinis’ bowling isn’t great, but can Australia afford to leave him out?

Australia is a pre-tournament favourite. Post-tournament, it will be a matter of what could have been.

(AAP Image/Joe Castro)

India miss finals
India’s first game will be the eighth of the tournament, and their opponent will be South Africa, playing their third game.

Many are overlooking South Africa as a potential finalist, but when this result falls their way, the attention will turn to India.

Talent-wise, India is the best team going around. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli are incredible batsmen, and Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler in the world.

India were beaten in a home series by Australia and were demolished by New Zealand in their most recent warm-up game.

This team is vulnerable and the players can often get ahead of themselves. Sharma and Kohli are the two keys for India and dismissing either of them early leaves India in strife.

The batting is explosive, but it doesn’t play to varying conditions particularly well. Smart bowling drives the Indian line-up mad and creates chaos, which produces either brilliant innovation or a spectacular collapse.

The Indian bowling attack isn’t favoured by the conditions they’ll face at the World Cup, and the form isn’t great either.

This attack has the potential to leak a lot of runs, which only places more pressure on the batsmen. It’s a dangerous, volatile cycle that will have India missing the top four.

New Zealand finally wins it
No team can produce a rollercoaster ride as much as the Kiwis, but come the end of the 2019 World Cup, we’ll be reflecting fondly on a side that finally got it together in the big tournament.

The destruction of Bangladesh in their last home series showed an ability to sweep aside lesser opposition, but the easy victory over India in the recent warm-up game in London indicated a confidence among the bowling group that they could perform as soon as the opportunity arose.

Blessed with the world’s best ODI batsman over the last two years, Ross Taylor, as well as destructive pair Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson, the Black Caps have the batting line-up that can tear a bowling attack apart. There’s sheer pace in their bowling stocks, too.

New Zealand face Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in their first three games, meaning the team can shake off any nerves early and start off with some easy wins.

This is a side that needs confidence to win the World Cup. Don’t be surprised to see two New Zealanders in the top five run-scorers for the competition, while Trent Boult should challenge for the overall bowling award.