ICC World Cup 2019: Why England's batting unit is a template for every team to follow

The much-awaited 12th edition of ICC Cricket World Cup gets underway on May 30th when the hosts England will lock horns against South Africa in what promises to be a fascinating tournament opener.

Following the recent trend in ODI cricket and the patterns of the scores that we came across in recently concluded England-Pakistan series, it is quite certain that an extremely high-scoring World Cup is on the cards and scores exceeding 330-340 runs will be a norm this summer.

In the wake of this, England look to be an extremely well-settled side as their batting unit is firing on all cylinders having tasted rich vein of success against Pakistan just a few days ago. As a result, they certainly start as fore-runners to lift their first ever World Cup title.

With easy batting wickets, where the ball would nicely come on to the bat and short boundaries, Eoin Morgan's men appear to have all the bases covered. Their unique batting unit, which boasts of a lot of aggression, stability, and depth promises to be a cause of concern for every opposition team.

In fact, with the quality of batsmen England have at their command and the form they are in, their batting unit acts as a template for all the other teams to follow at this year’s showpiece event.

Destructive Openers

On current form, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow form one of the most lethal opening pair at this World Cup and all opposition teams would not only be wary of this duo but also envious.

At this World Cup, we probably might come across many instances where the teams would need to chase targets well beyond 330s and in such a scenario, the pair of Roy and Bairstow are more than capable to launch an onslaught right from the start, thereby ensuring their team gains an ascendancy early on in the chase.

Also, while batting first, as we witnessed in their recently concluded series against Pakistan, Roy and Bairstow provided not only explosive but also dependable opening starts. It is imperative that the duo is on song at this World Cup and if that happens consistently, England might run away with matches at the start.

Anchor, Builder, and Finisher

Joe Root is England's anchor

With Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, the dangerous Jos Buttler coming after the openers, England’s middle order appears to be formidable and can run shivers down the spine of any opponent.

Joe Root will bat at number three and will anchor the innings for England. He is someone like a classical musician amidst an array of pop musicians, going along his business in a serene manner. Most importantly, with batting numbers above and below him being muscular, hard-hitters of the cricket ball, he is their go-to man in a crisis situation.

Should there be any instance where English batting appears to be crumbling, the onus would be on Root to take the lead and stabilize the situation, possibly navigate his side to safe waters.

With a calm and balanced head on his shoulders, England’s captain Eoin Morgan at number four can precisely read any situation like a book and can bat as required, addressing the needs of that particular situation. His calm demeanor at the crease can ease out the nerves of the entire dressing room.

Morgan's adaptive nature, with his innate ability to mix caution with aggression, can bind a batting line-up full of attacking stroke-makers together beautifully.

Jos Buttler the like x-factor of this star-studded English batting line-up. His dominant, game-changing knocks are crucial to the host's fortunes at the world event as his batting brings about a change in the momentum and provides impetus to the innings right through the middle overs till the end. His quick-fire knocks and merciless hitting of the cricket ball can give the English total a little extra push at the end which can very well turn out to be the difference.

The Floaters

Ben Stokes would play an extremely crucial role for England at CWC 2019

All-rounders Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali occupy the crucial number six and seven spots respectively in the English batting set up.

While Ben Stokes muscles the cricket ball, Ali is more of an agricultural, innovative kind of batsman, who relies more on timing and placement rather than power.

They are distinct, yet equally effective in their own way and both being left-handed, add variety to the team as that have four right-handers in the top five.

Most importantly, they are also the floaters of the side and are capable enough to play at any position as per the demand of the situation. Their aggressive style of batting, ability to finish games and effectiveness in the lower middle order provides relief to the top-order batsmen to play their natural game without worrying too much about finishing the innings.

The wagging tail

With the likes of Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid in their ranks, this English team bats extremely deep. Not only can they wag the long handle but also can bat sensibly, if the need arises

They are no push-overs or the typical tail-enders and any team that makes the mistake of taking the English tail lightly may end up paying a huge price in doing so.

Will it finally be England's year?

The English team that went under massive transformation following their horrendous debacle at 2015 World Cup, is now the team to beat at this year’s event.

Their batting unit may have a problem playing in spin-friendly conditions, but with the home advantage and World Cup matches most likely to be played on flat batting wickets, there is no apparent weakness in England’s batting and is the strongest in the department leading into this year’s blockbuster event.

If England’s team at 2015 World Cup resembled a team of an earlier generation which was old-fashioned and outdated, the current team of the present is like a breath of fresh air and one for the future.

Can they finally break the jinx of World Cup debacles and go on to win their first ever World Cup at home? They definitely won't have a better chance than this of doing so.

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