With a batting line-up deeper than the Mariana Trench, England enter this World Cup as favourites, and deservedly so. How they deal with those expectations will shape their tournament.
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
England initially named just a preliminary squad, allowing them to make three changes following their warm-up series against Pakistan. Jofra Archer was the big inclusion, coming into the side for David Willey, while off-spinner Liam Dawson replaced Joe Denly.
Alex Hales was part of the original 15-man squad but that changed after it emerged he was handed a 21-day suspension for recreational drug use. James Vince has taken his place in the squad as a back-up batsman.
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Strengths
Cricket, at its simplest, is all about scoring more runs than your opposition, and in this England are unmatched. Their batting order is the strongest in the tournament, capable of chasing down any target. Of the five highest run chases in ODI history, two have been achieved in 2019 by this side.
The bulk of England’s batsmen are capable of going from ball one. Openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow do just that, as do the powerful middle order of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali.
First drop Joe Root is the most conservative player in the line-up, tasked with the crucial role of turning the strike over without much risk, while skipper Eoin Morgan is something of a hybrid, able to hit from the get-go or start slower if the situation requires it.
With the likes of Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Tom Curran and Archer all more than capable with the willow, they bat all the way to 11, too.
England’s ultra-aggressive approach is well suited to playing at home, where the small grounds are far more forgiving to the odd mishit that inevitably arises from such tactics. Home ground advantage has had an impact on recent World Cups, with co-hosts winning the past two tournaments.
Joe Root is England’s steadiest batsman. (Photo by Visionhaus/Corbis via Getty Images)
Weaknesses
Given the strength of England’s batting, it follows that their bowling isn’t going to have quite the same class about it.
That’s not to say this is a poor attack, but it does have its flaws. Only two bowlers in the squad have a career economy rate of under 5.5, all-rounder Moeen Ali and the thricely capped Archer.
That could just be a function of playing so much international cricket on England’s smaller grounds – going at 5.5 an over this World Cup is going to be an entirely reasonable return for the hosts given their excellent batting.
Still, Morgan’s men carry less of a new-ball threat than a number of other contenders, although Archer’s eventual selection provides a nice boost on that front. It’s unlikely to be an issue against most sides, however if it comes down to a knockout game against India, whose top order we discussed yesterday, England could be found wanting an out-and-out strike bowler capable of making early inroads.
They also have to deal with the weight of expectation which favouritism brings. This country is famous for underperforming on the big stage world sport (think the 2015 Rugby World Cup, just about any FIFA World Cup bar the last one), and England were miserable in their last two ICC tournaments. They crashed out of the group stage in 2015, and collapsed against Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy semi-final.
Key player: Jos Buttler
Buttler personifies England’s approach to one-day cricket. Granted license to attack from the very start of his innings, he’s more than capable of taking games away from the opposition in four or five quick overs.
His numbers on their own make for ominous reading if you’re anything but an England fan. With a career ODI average north of 40, Buttler’s strike rate of 120 is incredible. He’s been even better in the past 12 months, during which he’s averaged 68 and gone at a strike rate of 127.
But those stats alone don’t tell the full story of Buttler’s brilliance. While capable of playing with textbook orthodoxy, the keeper-batsman also plays the ramp shot better than anyone else, can go over third man with the reverse sweep, and uses his wrists to lash yorker-length deliveries through the off-side.
While England are blessed with plenty of hitters, Buttler is the best of the lot. If the hosts lift the trophy at the end of this World Cup, it will be due in no small part to his contributions with the bat.
(AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
The verdict: Favourites
Anything but a victory in the final will be a disappointment for England. Their bowling might have a couple of flaws, but it’s still a solid attack. The batting unit is more than capable of making up for any shortcomings in the rest of the game, particularly on their small home grounds.
If Eoin Morgan and his side can handle the pressure which comes with being pre-tournament favourites, there’s no reason why they won’t be lifting the World Cup on July 14.
Prediction: Champions
Neel
Roar Guru
After yesterday’s performance they definitely are favourites along with India along with India. Still early days though.
Paul
Roar Guru
no issue at all with Archer playing as a bowler, Joshua, but England have based their game plan around relentless attacking batting, knowing they have batted at times to number 11. This makes the team makeup completely different form any other ODI side in world cricket, BUT that changes if more specialist bowlers join the starting XI. Archer should add value in terms of his bowling, but that MAY be at the expense of a longer tail. I guess we'll all know soon enough about the wisdom of his inclusion.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
England have been the bookies' favourite for months now. The country (those who actually know there is a Cricket World Cup on) have also put England as favourites for the tournament. Confidence has been strengthened by England's 4-0 series victory over Pakistan and the walk-over of Afghanistan in the warm-up match on Monday. With a full, strong team tomorrow (some key players were missing from the 12-run loss against Australia on Saturday), they are more than likely to win against South Africa (although I hope SA give us a good match as long as we win).
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
I can't think of a time when you have had a better chance. I hear most of the bookies think you'll win. Is it fair to say most of England thinks you will too? Confidence must be pretty high by now. Have to agree Archer looks a real bonus for you. We'll be looking to take him down of course but who knows how that will go.
13th Man
Guest
Don't see them winning, the weight of expectation will be too much. Think there bowling attack is also poor compared to Australia, South Africa, India and New Zealand. Backing the Aussies or Kiwis to beat them in a semi
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
"....the bowlers can potentially be excused their high economy rates because they’ve regularly been playing in conditions conducive to high scoring..... Ronan wrote an article a while ago about why India deserved favouritism for the CWC - they are a better balanced side with a better bowling line-up. I replied that perhaps the unflattering comparison of the England bowling team with the Indians was because the former played so many matches on small grounds and very flat decks. Ronan replied with the bowlers relevant stats. For the England bowlers, their averages, strike rates and economy rates are pretty much the same home and away. The fact that they play so many matches in England doesn't account for their relatively modest performances overall. Their away performances are comparable in every respect.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Agreed - this is the prime opportunity for England to get their hands on the CWC trophy. The ODI team has rebuilt so well since the humilation we suffered in the 2015 CWC when we got knocked out in the group stages. There has been increased coverage here in the UK, as is expected for a home CWC, and the man on the street is expecting England to bring it home. There was a report on the BBC News at Six last night and it wasn't so much a CWC preview as a 'England are favourites, India and Pakistan are playing at Old Trafford as well'.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
I think that, while we don't know how Archer will perform as a batsman, his excellent bowling shown so far this month since he made his England debut is enough evidence to include him in the XI.
Brian
Guest
Agreed but remember their bowling is not that bad as well. They have always struggled in the past with not having express bowlers which means if the ball not swinging they get pummelled. In Wood and Archer they finally have two express bowlers.
Ouch
Roar Rookie
They're strong on paper but paper burns easily when the heat is on.
Paul
Roar Guru
Archer's a complete unknown as both a batsman & bowler at this level, Daniel. At best, he shows promise, but to suggest he's a pretty good bat when he's yet to face an ODI international delivery, is a stretch. That said, they still bat deep and seem in pretty good nick against the opposition they've chosen to play in their warmups
Daniel Jeffrey
Editor
That's an excellent point, Chris. One thing going for England on that front is their experience on those grounds. But you're absolutely right - particularly given we saw all of New Zealand, West Indies and India score 300+ last night.
Daniel Jeffrey
Editor
As others have pointed out, Paul, Archer's a pretty good batsman to have coming in at 9 or 10. Hard to predict their line-up right now - they'll tinker with it a fair bit during the tournament - but I'd go with something like this: Bairstow, Roy, Root, Stokes, Buttler, Ali, Morgan, Woakes, Curran, Archer, Rashid. I'd expect to see Wood and Plunkett get rotated in and out for Curran and Archer, but that's still a deep batting order.
Paul
Roar Guru
again though Chris, their inclusions would mean this lineup more closely resembles a "traditional" ODI team, than the side they've used in recent years, which has Rashid as a very good number 11, but a bowling attack likely to take 6 or 7 wickets and leak 300 runs - but still win on the strength of the batting.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Now or never for England I'd say.
Daniel Jeffrey
Editor
Steyn's a big loss for the Proteas indeed.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
England definitely have a destructive batting lineup, definite talent there, just as the bowlers can potentially be excused their high economy rates because they've regularly been playing in conditions conducive to high scoring, so the batting strike rates are probably artificially inflated compared to the rest of the world because of those same conditions. If Australia, India, South Africa or New Zealand had played a high percentage of their games over the last 4 years in conditions where 350+ scores were the norm, then their batsmen would have more inflated strike rates also. So while they do definitely have a quality batting lineup, I don't think there is quite as much between them and the other top nations batting lineups that some people try to use the stats to suggest.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Checking the stats for the three, Archer's domestic batting record stacks up reasonably well compared to both Tom Curran and Chris Woakes. Smaller sample set, but in List A cricket he has slightly better average and significantly better strike rate than both of them. So possibly won't negatively impact their batting depth. Mark Wood's batting record is certainly significantly worse. He averages 21 in first class cricket, so he's not a complete bunny, but has a single figure average in both List A and ODI cricket, and not with particularly great strike rate. So Archer's inclusion might not necessarily weaken the batting, but Wood's definitely does.
Graham
Guest
they got a bit of luck there with Steyn declared unfit for the first match
Graham
Guest
One thing in our favour is we aren't playing many big hitters at postage size grounds. With the exception of the rose bowl, there is a pretty tight correlation between ground sizes in england and average scores with a 100 run spread between the biggest and smallest. We play England at Lords where 300 is a very good total and our bowlers come into play. In the group stages a big banana peal could be the West Indies who we play at trent bridge. A postage size ground known for big scores