World Cup countdown: England's ODI transformation in last the 4 years
England has hosted the quadrennial event more than any other team — 5 times — but never lifted the cup.
Eoin Morgan the first captain to lead England in two consecutive World Cups
England has picked a squad for the World Cup which sees an amalgamation of capable batsmen and bowlers. Although Alex Hales’ exclusion at the dying moments is a blow for England, one believes it will not be a problem for somebody else to fill his shoes since they have a rich talent pool in the limited overs now.
Moreover, England will be led by Eoin Morgan, who has been in charge for some time now. Stable captaincy has been an issue for the Englishmen in the limited overs for a long time but Morgan has been around for some time now, granting a stable leadership. He will be the first man to lead England in two consecutive World Cups and playing in his third edition as a player. So, quite some experience at the top there.
England’s batting has come of age
England’s bowling is also strong this time and has a fair mix of seamers and spinners. In home conditions, they can prove to be a potent lot. However, it is England’s explosive batting line-up which is their biggest asset now. A poor strike rate has always been a challenge for the English top order with some of their biggest names failing to accelerate when required.
But not with the Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow. They can hit mercilessly. In fact, three of the top team scores in ODIs at the moment belong to England at the moment with the highest of 481 for 6. England looked a disorganised pool of talents in the past World Cups who did not click as a unit. The nation had also been known to be a better player in Tests than ODIs.
But the 2015 exit saw them rethinking the entire scenario and they made the right use of the time in the last four years, thumping and blasting all big teams in the process. England’s only big challenge could be home pressure and overconfidence. But capitalising on those two factors would depend on how well their opponents’ strategize against the English.
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