Top 5 ODI teams with best pace attacks ahead of 2019 Cricket World Cup

With the 2019 Cricket World Cup just under a year away, all the One-day teams who have made the cut would now be looking to fine-tune their squads for choosing their best players for the showpiece event.

With the World Cup being held in England, the teams would look to bolster their pace attack so that they are ready to bombard their opponents with pace and swing on seam friendly tracks. England is considered a paradise for fast bowlers and the teams would be looking to get the right balance in their pace attack so as to have the cutting edge in their bowling arsenal.

We take a look at the one-day teams which possess the most lethal seam attacks heading into the 2019 ICC World Cup at England.

For selecting my Top 5 teams, i have taken the ODI records of the top 5 fast bowlers for each nation post the 2015 ICC World Cup.The period taken into consideration is Apr 2015 - Jun 2018

For ranking the team's from 1 to 5, i have considered wicket taking ability of the pacers, depth in pace attack and economy rate as the main parameters.

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#1 Australia

Australia always had a potent seam attack and their current ODI team has a bagful of seamers. The Aussies are spearheaded by left arm seamer Mitchell Starc who is an outright strike bowler. Starc has been sensational in ODIs making regular inroads into the opposition batting with his deadly inswinging deliveries. Starc has formed a handy new ball pair with the tall and lanky Josh Hazelwood. Hazelwood is more in the Glen McGrath mode, relying on his accuracy in line and length. He gets the ball to seam from the right areas to trouble the best batsman.

Australia also have speedster Pat Cummins who can hurry up batsmen with his brisk pace. Cummins bowls in the high 140 kmph mark and gets the ball to swing away on a consistent basis. The Australians have good bench strength in the form of James Pattinson, Kane Richardson and Nathan Coulter Nile who all have been quite successful in the ODI arena.

The seam attack also has James Faulkner who can deceive the batsman with his subtle variations. The Baggy Greens also have medium pacers like Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis who will be effective in the seam friendly pitches in England.

Australian Seamers - ODI Record (Apr 2015 - Jun 2018)

Mitchell Starc - Matches 31 Wickets 58 Avg 24.68 Eco 5.19

Jos Hazelwood - Matches 28 Wickets 50 Avg 24.6 Eco 4.80

Pat Cummins - Matches 27 Wickets 45 Avg. 27.64 Eco 5.16

James Faulkner - Matches 25 Wickets 36 Avg 31.86 Eco 5.55

Mitchell Marsh - Matches 36 Wickets 33 Avg 36.51 Eco 5.64

Note - I haven't taken John Hastings record into consideration as he has retired from international cricket.

2. India

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The Indian ODI seam attack is perhaps one of their best ever they had for a long time. The Indian attack is well rounded with a plethora of quality pacers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar can make the ball swing like a banana and will be India’s best bet in English conditions. Jasprit Bumrah has been outstanding in ODI cricket chipping in with wickets upfront and bowling brilliantly at the death overs. Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah have formed a deadly pace duo which has held Indian cricket in good stead.

Speedster Umesh Yadav is the mean machine who can hurl at ball at menacing speed to knock off a couple of batsmen. Meanwhile Mohammad Shami can be quite handy in England as he makes the ball seam around consistently.

Allrounder Hardik Pandya can be used as the third seamer. Pandya bowls his medium pacers at a brisk pace and chips in with wickets in the middle overs. Meanwhile the likes of Shardul Thakur, Barinder Sran and Siddharth Kaul shall make a strong case for selection.

Indian seamers ODI Record - (Apr 2015 - Jun 2018)

Jasprit Bumrah Matches 37 Wickets 64 Avg 22.5 Eco 4.64

Bhuvneshwar Kumar Matches 41 Wickets 44 Avg 39.93 Eco. 5.41

Hardik Pandya Matches 38 Wickets 39 Avg 37.38 Eco 5.45

Umesh Yadav Matches 23 Wickets 35 Avg 33.8 Eco. 6.35

Dhawal Kulkarni Matches 8 Wickets 11 Avg 29.45 Eco. 4.95

3. New Zealand

Trent Boult

New Zealand have been quite successful in One Day cricket post their stellar show at the last World Cup at home. One of the major reasons behind the Black Caps being a formidable ODI team has been their lethal pace attack.

The Kiwis have the arsenal in their seam attack to trouble the best of batting line-ups. They have seasoned pacers in Trent Boult and Tim Southee who can be a handful in seaming conditions. While Southee gets the ball to move away from the right handers, the left arm Boult can go through the defences with his late in swinging deliveries and potent yorkers.

New Zealand also have Adam Milne and Lockie Ferguson in their ranks who can rack up some serious pace. The seam attack has depth with Matt Henry and Mitchell McClenaghan who have been proven wicket takers in the ODI arena. All-rounders Correy Anderson and Jimmy Neesham can add depth to their pace attack with their medium pace.

New Zealand Seamers - ODI Records (Apr 2015 - Jun 2018)

Trent Boult - Matches 41 Wickets 82 Avg 24.46 Eco 5.39

Tim Southee - Matches 39 Wickets 45 Avg 43.22 Eco 5.70

Matt Henry - Matches 25 Wickets 44 Avg 28.13 Eco 5.81

Adam Milne - Matches 18 Wickets 22 Avg 35.68 Eco 5.43

Lockie Ferguson - Matches 16 Wickets 21 35.61 Avg Eco 5.84

4. South Africa

Dale Steyn

How can one leave behind the South Africans when we talk about pace. The Proteas are second to none with a strong fast bowling arsenal. Seasoned veteran Dale Steyn has fully recovered from his injuries and would be raring to perform in the upcoming World Cup. Steyn is still a force as he gets the ball to seam around both ways at a good pace.

Kagiso Rabada has staked his claim as one of the best seamers in ODIs. Rabada bowls consistently in the 145-150 kmph region and swings the ball both ways to bamboozle batsmen. Rabada is pretty good at the death too and can bowl the yorker at will. Veron Philander can be handful with his lethal swing in English conditions. Philander has a perfect release and gets the ball to dart around to wreak havoc among batting lineups. The Proteas also have Wayne Parnell who can bring a bit of variation with his left arm angle. Meanwhile, Lungi Ngidi seems to be an exciting prospect in the making.

The Green and Gold Brigade also have medium pacers in Chris Morris and AL Phehlukwayo who would be handful in England. So despite the retirement of pace ace Morne Morkel, the South Africans have the firepower to unsettle the best of batting lineups.

South African Seamers - ODI Records (Apr 2015 - Jun 2018)

Kagiso Rabada - Matches 48 Wickets 75 Avg 27.57 Eco 5.11

Chris Morris - Matches 29 Wickets 29 Avg 41.51 Eco. 5.54

Wayne Parnell - Matches 19 Wickets 29 Avg 26.93 Eco 5.82

Andile Phehlukwayo - Matches 25 Wickets 26 Avg 37.50 Eco. 5.67

Dale Steyn - Matches 12 Wickets 18 Avg 36.1 Eco 5.89

Note - I haven't taken Morne Morkel into consideration as he has retired from international cricket.

5. England

Steven Finn

Hosts England would relish playing the upcoming World Cup in home conditions. England have quality in their pace attack to torment their opponents. The English pacers have a lot of experience bowling in home conditions and would bring in their valuable experience at the World Cup.

Seasoned English seamers Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett would look to exploit the pace friendly conditions at home to their advantage. Speedster Steven Finn can cartwheel a few stumps with his express pace and steep bounce.

All rounder Ben Stokes would certainly be handy with his medium pace and could be used effectively as the third seamer. One cannot rule out the possibility of Stuart Broad making a comeback into the ODI setup after being overlooked in recent seasons. England have a promising crop of fast bowling talents in Mark Wood, David Willey and Tom Curran who all have made an impact in ODI cricket.

England Seamers - ODI Records (Apr 2015 - Jun 2018)

Chris Woakes - Matches 42 Wickets 62 Avg Eco 28.14 Eco. 5.14

Liam Plunkett - Matches 38 Wickets 66 Avg 27.69 Eco 5.87

Ben Stokes - Matches 43 Wickets 38 Avg 39.26 Eco 6

David Willey - Matches 36 Wickets 37 Avg 38.18 Eco 5.68

Mark Wood - Matches 28 Wickets 29 Avg 46 Eco 5.46

Pakistan just missed the cut

Hasan Ali

Pakistan has produced a plethora of world class seamers and their current crop is no less menacing. Pakistan have some world class in Mohammad Aamir, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz and Hasan Ali who can run through any sides and win matches for their country. Mohammad Aamir is their front line pacer who sets up his dismissals with his nagging out swing. Wahab Riaz can produce some match winning spells when he gets his rhythm going.

In recent years, Hasan Ali has been their strike weapon in ODI's picking up a bagful of wickets. Hasan who bowls at a brisk pace hurries onto the batsman with his deceptively quick deliveries. Hasan bowls a tight line and has a bagful of variations to trouble the batsmen.

Pakistan also have Rahat Ali and Faheem Ashraf who can bowl their medium pace to good effect in English conditions.

The ODI teams which dint made the Top 5 have world class seamers but lack depth in their pace attack.

Sri Lanka - Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Mallinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Nuwan Pradeep

West Indies - Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach, Jason Holder

Bangladesh - Mustafizur Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain

Afghanistan - Shahpor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Hameed Hassan