The Cricket World Cup captains. Photo / Getty
Which teams loom as the big contenders to take out the Cricket World Cup when it gets underway next week? Niall Anderson details all the contenders and the pretenders fighting for the trophy in the United Kingdom.
Squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
Coach: Gary Stead
2015 finish: Runners-up
Best result: Runners-up (2015)
Odds: $11 (Fifth)
In short: New Zealand have a history of making the World Cup semifinals – they've done it seven times, and at each of the last three tournaments, but this time, it could be a tougher task. While the Black Caps' squad features plenty of experience, they lack the explosive hitting power of some of their rival squads – potentially a notable weakness on what is expected to be high-scoring surfaces. However, if their bowlers can deliver, they could be right in the semifinal mix once again – and from there, as Kiwi cricket fans might recall, magic can happen.
Squad: Gulbadin Naib (captain), Mohammad Shahzad, Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Coach: Phil Simmons
2015 finish: Group stage
Best result: Group stage (2015)
Odds: $201 (Tenth)
In short: A side capable of tipping over the big favourites if everything goes right, Afghanistan are probably still at least one or two World Cup cycles away from fully profiting from their emerging young talent. With an array of gifted spinners led by Rashid Khan, Afghanistan would have the potential to play big spoilers if this tournament were on the subcontinent. However, on UK wickets less suited to their strengths, and with an unconvincing batting lineup, any team with ambitions of winning the World Cup should be easily accounting for the Afghans.
Squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Coach: Justin Langer
2015 finish: Winners
Best result: Winners (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015)
Odds: $5 (Third)
In short: Australia's World Cup defence looked in dire straits after an average run of results, but a dominant series win over India and a 5-0 sweep of Pakistan has given them renewed hope, and made them one of the form teams coming into the Cup. The reintegration of David Warner and Steve Smith gives their top order an extra dollop of talent, and while Australia didn't look great against what was practically a New Zealand second XI earlier this month, there's enough class in this squad to beat any side, and make a deep run in the tournament.
Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Abu Jayed, Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mosaddek Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal.
Coach: Steve Rhodes
2015 finish: Quarter-finalists
Best result: Quarter-finalists (2015)
Odds: $81 (Ninth)
In short: New Zealand audiences got to see what Bangladesh were about in their ODI series in February, and the answer was, frankly, not much. The addition of world-class all-rounder Shakib Al-Hasan will help, but pace bowling and power hitting remain serious weaknesses with this squad. Three wins over the West Indies this month will boost confidence, but it will require something unprecedented for Bangladesh to make the semifinals.
Squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Coach: Trevor Bayliss
2015 finish: Group Stage
Best result: Runners-up (1979, 1987, 1992)
Odds: $3 (First)
In short: The favourites to claim the World Cup on home soil, and it's easy to see why when you go through their squad. Packed with brutal power throughout their batting lineup, and featuring a ton of bowlers with x-factor, England have been dominant at home, and reached 340 in four consecutive victories over Pakistan this month. The only cause for concern? A relatively poor ODI series against the West Indies in February, and, yes, their history – having never won the World Cup before. 2019 is the perfect time to change that record.
Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Vijay Shankar, Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav.
Coach: Ravi Shastri
2015 finish: Semifinalists
Best result: Winners (1983, 2011)
Odds: $3.50 (Second)
In short: Much like England, India come into this World Cup loaded with supreme talent at every position. In Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, India probably have the best ODI batsman and bowler at the World Cup, and they have game-changing power available in the likes of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. Aside from perhaps a slightly underpowered middle order, there's little to pick holes at in this squad, but, as Trent Boult showed in Hamilton this year, it only takes one magical spell to turn the tables.
Squad: Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Asif Ali, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz.
Coach: Mickey Arthur
2015 finish: Quarter-finalists
Best result: Winners (1992)
Odds: $15 (Sixth)
In short: Stereotypical analysis would suggest that you can't write off the always-unpredictable Pakistan, but recent results show little sign of promise. Pakistan have lost 10 consecutive ODIs, including 5-0 and 4-0 sweeps at the hands of Australia and England respectively. They do have a solid squad, and the England ODIs saw them tally scores of 361, 358, 340 and 297 – so the talent is there. But, it's hard to see them regularly toppling the best teams, and they will need to if they want to make the knockout rounds.
Squad: Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Rassie van der Dussen.
Coach: Ottis Gibson
2015 finish: Semifinalists
Best result: Semifinalists (1992, 1999, 2007, 2015)
Odds: $9 (Fourth)
In short: Finally, the weight of expectation has been lifted off South Africa's shoulders. After years of falling short when they were expected to challenge for the Cup – not even making a final – this time around it seems like nobody is expecting much from this South African squad. Which is why it's potentially a perfect time for them to produce their best World Cup finish yet. With plenty of experience, class in every role, and some powerful operators in the middle order, the stage is set for South Africa to surprise.
Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Avishka Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhananjaya de Silva, Milinda Siriwardana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay.
Coach: Chandika Hathurusinghe
2015 finish: Quarter-finalists
Best result: Winners (1999)
Odds: $51 (Eighth)
In short: Sri Lanka have won eight of their last 42 ODIs, and half of those were against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe or Scotland. Need I say more? (Oh, I'm contractually obligated to say more? Very well….) Anyway, their response to this shocking form was to drop five players, replace them with players who haven't played an ODI since 2017, and appoint a captain - Dimuth Karunaratne – who hadn't played an ODI since 2015. They also left out Kamindu Mendis, who is a joyful ambidextrous bowler. Boo! Yes, they do have some talent, but put it this way - if the Black Caps lose their opener to the Sri Lankans, then it will be a grim indicator of their World Cup chances.
Squad: Jason Holder (captain), Fabian Allen, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Nicholas Pooran, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas.
Coach: Floyd Reifer
2015 finish: Quarter-finalists
Best result: Winners (1975, 1979)
Odds: $17 (Seventh)
In short: Which West Indian side are we going to get at the World Cup? The one which has been the only team to scare England of late, drawing their ODI series 2-2 in the West Indies, or the one coming into the competition off the back of three straight defeats to Bangladesh? If batting is going to win the World Cup, like many are suggesting, then the likes of Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Andre Russell and Carlos Brathwaite pose an enormous threat – up there with England and India for the most potentially destructive lineups in the tournament. Their bowling is another story, and will probably restrict their chances of a deep run, but this team can beat anybody at the Cup.
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