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The 2019 Cricket World Cup is now less than 3 months away. This time only 10 teams are competing in the tournament and there are no groups which means all teams will get to play each other at least once before the semi-finals. England and India are among the favourites to win the cup this time. As we wait for the tournament to begin here's a dream XI featuring the top world cup performers of the 21st century.
But before we begin, let's discuss the qualification criteria and stats used to build this XI:
- The player should not have played any world cup before the 2003 world cup. Thus, you'll notice GOATs like Sahin Tendulkar, Glenn Mcgrath, Ricky Ponting missing from this XI.
- The XI is based on performances in world cup matches and not ODIs in general.
- A batsman and wicketkeeper should have played in more than 10 innings and a bowler should have bowled at least 100 overs in world cup matches.
- All stats are from ESPN Cricinfo.
Let's begin!
The Top 3: MJ Guptill, TM Dilshan, and Kumar Sangakkara
The top 3 have been selected keeping in mind the premise with which ODI cricket is played in the recent time. The top 3s are tasked with scoring at a steady rate and build a solid foundation which can then be capitalized upon in the last 20 overs when the teams look to double the total. Hence, the average of the Top 3 is given more weight than the strike rate.
Martin Guptill has featured in 2 World Cups so far (2011 and 2015). In his 17 world cup innings, the Kiwi opener has racked up 837 runs at an average of 57.78. He has the best average among all other openers who fit the qualifying criteria above. He also holds the record for the highest individual score in a world cup inning for his 237* against Windies in 2015.
In this XI, Tillakaratne Dilshan features as the opening partner of Martin Guptill. In the 25 innings he has played between 2007 to 2015, he has amassed 1112 runs at an average of 52.95 and a strike rate just shy of 93. He has 4 50s and 4 100s in his name. His highest individual score of 161* also came in a world cup game against Bangladesh.
At No. 3 features, Kumar Sangakkara, the most successful left-handed batsman the game has seen. He has featured in all 4 world cups of this century. And in 35 innings, he has scored 1532 runs at an average of 56.74. He sits at No. 3 in the list of world cup all-time leading run scorers, only behind Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. Having scored 5 centuries and 7 half-centuries in world cups, his highest world cup score of 124 came against Scotland in 2015.
No. 4 and 5: AB de Villiers and Andrew Symonds
AB de Villiers, the Superman of cricket, features at No. 4. In just 22 world cup innings between 2007 to 2015, AB amassed 1207 runs at an average of 63.52 and a smoking strike rate of 117.29. He sits at No. 5 in the list of world cup all-time leading run scorers. His knock of 162* in just 66 deliveries is arguably the best world cup inning ever. He jointly holds the record of most sixes (37) in world cup games with Chris Gayle at the moment.
Yes, this must be surprising for a lot of you, at least it was for me. But, as I started digging the stats, Andrew Symonds, came out to be the best among those who fit the criteria. He averages a surprising 103 in the world cup. Of the 13 world cup innings he has played in between 2003 and 2007, he stayed not out in 8 of them. He scored 143* in his first world cup inning in 2003. But his best world cup inning of 91* came in the semi-final against Sri Lanka in the same world cup which helped Australia reach the finals. He was eventually awarded the player of the match for his knock.
All-rounder: Yuvraj Singh
At No. 6 and as an all-rounder features the Man of the Tournament of the 2011 world cup, Yuvraj Singh. He's the only player in this team to have won a world cup Man of the Tournament award. In his 21 world cup innings between 2003 to 2011, he scored 738 runs at an average of 52.71 and a strike-rate of 90.33. As a bowler, he has picked up 20 wickets at an impressive average of 23.10.
Wicketkeeper/Captain: MS Dhoni
If you would say that MS Dhoni is the best captain of this generation, not many would disagree. And if you would say that MS Dhoni is the best wicketkeeper of this generation, no one would disagree. Often regarded by fans as the flash behind the stumps, Dhoni features as the wicket-keeper in this team.
In the 20 innings he has kept for India, he has effected 32 dismissals (the 3rd most in world cup history). The only other qualifying wicket-keepers who have a better dismissals/inning rate are Brad Haddin and Dinesh Ramdin. But with Dhoni you also get a finisher with a world cup batting average of 42.25 and a captain with a win percentage of 85.29. Couldn't ask for more, right.
Bowlers: Brett Lee, Lasith Malinga, Imran Tahir, and Shane Bond
The team features 3 quicks and 1 spinner owing to the fact that the allrounder is also a spinner and there are other spinning options as well in the form of Dilshan and Symonds. Besides, two bowlers have been selected on the basis of their strike-rates and two on the basis of their average.
In 17 world cup innings between 2003 to 2011, Brett Lee took 35 wickets at a strike rate of 23.5. It's the best strike-rate among bowlers who have bowled at least 100 overs in the world cup. His best world cup figures came against New Zealand in 2003 when he claimed 5 wickets for just 42 runs.
Slinga Malinga features as the 2nd quick in the team. In 21 world cup innings, he has claimed 43 wickets at a strike-rate of 23.8, the second best after Brett Lee. He's the only cricketer to take a double hat-trick (4 wickets in 4 consecutive deliveries) in an ODI when he almost took the game away from South Africa in the 2007 world cup game. His best world cup figures read 6/38 in 7.4 overs against Kenya.
The lone specialist spinner in the team, Imran Tahir, boasts of the best average among qualifying cricketers. With an average of 16.31, he has so far picked up 29 wickets in 13 world cup innings between 2011 and 2015. He has got 4 four-or-more-wicket halls in world cup games. And it's a record which he shares with Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Shahid Afridi
The Kiwi pacer famous for his pace and infamous for his fitness has 30 wickets against his name in 16 world cup appearances between 2003 and 2007. His economy is a meagre 3.5 runs per over in world cup matches. The best among those who qualified the criteria mentioned earlier. Shane Bond averaged 17.26 in world cup games. His best world cup figures read 6 for 23 in 10 overs, which came against arch-rival Australia in a 2003 world cup game.
So, that's the strongest world cup XI of the 21st century. Think we missed someone? Let us know in the comments.
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