The home side winning the World Cup was achieved by India in 2011 and was repeated 4 years later when Australia lifted the trophy in 2015 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. It looks like the trend is going to continue for the third time running as England get ready to face New Zealand in the final of 2019 World Cup on Sunday at Lords.
England entered the World Cup as the No. 1 side and one of the hot favourites along with India to be crowned champions. Virat Kohli-led side were knocked out of the competition in the semi-final by New Zealand and now Eoin Morgan’s men can hope to lift the title for the first time.
While New Zealand edged out India in a close semifinal contest, England reached the final more comprehensively after beating arch-rivals Australia quite convincingly.
England are surely red-hot favourites to win the title and here are the reasons.
#1. Rock-solid opening partnership between Roy & Bairstow
After Australia were bundled out for a moderate total in the semifinal, their only hope to claw their way back into the game was by dismissing England’s opening batsmen Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow quite cheaply.
But the form of the openers meant Australia didn’t get a sniff whatsoever in the contest. Jason Roy, in particular, was very severe on Aussie bowlers and the good thing was that he did not take the defensive route to chase down a modest score but an aggressive option that has been their winning formula for the past couple of years.
By the time Mitchell Starc dismissed Jonny Bairstow in the 18th over, the score read 124 and by then the match was effectively done and dusted in favour of the home side.
For New Zealand to have a semblance of chance in the final, the likes of Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson need to have a dream start with the ball to dismiss the two in-form English openers.
#2. Match winners galore
Most teams would envy the current England batting line up, as it possesses power, class and depth right through the batting order. If Roy and Bairstow do not hit you, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan will. If they also fail, the likes of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler can destroy the opposition bowling attack.
It was widely anticipated that this could be Jos Buttler’s World Cup but the fact that the wicket-keeper batsman has had a quiet tournament despite England reaching the final talks about the strength of Eoin Morgan’s side.
Ben Stokes has had a good tournament with the bat in the middle order, especially on the consistent front and that gives license to the England openers to go hammer and tongs right from the get-go.
Against a batting unit that is brimming with confidence and full of match-winners, it would be a herculean task for the Kiwi bowlers to keep the lid on the scoring.
#3. Balanced bowling attack
Although England were considered to have one of the best batting units, their bowling was seen as a weak link before the start of the 2019 World Cup. Many experts felt that this could hurt England going into the back end of the tournament.
Enter Barbados born Jofra Archer! All of a sudden, there was raw pace with the new ball and no longer England were a weak bowling unit. Archer’s importance was evident right from the first match when he hit South African opener Hashim Amla on his helmet which had the right-hander in all sorts of trouble.
The improvement of Chris Woakes especially with the new ball has made this England bowling attack look much stronger. Eoin Morgan is not short of bowling options as he has Liam Plunkett and Mark Wood to attack with pace in the middle overs and the wicket-taking option of leg spinner Adil Rashid.
England have a very balanced bowling attack for all conditions and it will take a special effort for the likes of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor to come good on the big day.
The home side is all set to lift the 2019 World Cup trophy on Sunday at the iconic Lords balcony.
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