World Cup 2019: Analysis of England's Campaign

The host nation made it to the final of a World Cup for the first time since the 1992 World Cup. Including the 1992 World Cup Final the English cricket team has made it to the final on three occasions but failed to convert a single time. However, going into the tournament England was coming in as one of the best teams in the 50 over format and were one of the favourites go all the way.

England's 2019 World Cup campaign arose from the disappointment of their 2015 World Cup campaign. In 2015, England was knocked out in the group stage after losing a crucial game to Bangladesh. The shock group-stage exit, especially coming at the hands of Bangladesh, pushed the English ODI system into a rebuild and the team essentially spent the last 4 years making sure that the same thing wouldn't happen again.

2019 World Cup squad

Despite the disappointing 2015 campaign, both captain Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler kept their positions as captain and vice-captain into the 2019 World Cup. They were joined by fellow 2015 World Cup squad survivors Joe Root, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali.

However, England had strengthened their 50 over batting line up with the likes of Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow added to the mix. England also had a pace contingent that was up there with the best, especially in English conditions with the likes of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, the latter of whom was added to the squad right before the start of the tournament.

2019 World Cup performance

What can be said about England's World Cup performance? The English started the tournament strongly with a convincing victory over South Africa. The match was an important first challenge for the favourites as a loss would have put them on the back foot. However, they lost momentum after their defeats against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the middle of the group stage.

A hard-fought win against India seemed to both ensure their place in the knock-out stages and rejuvenate the side heading into the end of the tournament. England then got over the first knock-out hurdle soundly beating the defending World Cup Champions in an 'edge of your seat' game against New Zealand that finally saw England lift their first-ever World Cup trophy.

Standouts and discoveries

Despite only being selected in the World Cup Squad weeks before the tournament, Jofra Archer proved an invaluable asset to England during the World Cup. While Archer was notorious for his ability to bowl 140/150 kph fastballs, it was his unplayable slower deliveries that completely undid Australia during the semi-final. Archer would finish the World Cup as England's highest wicket-taker, as well as their most economical bowler in the tournament. Despite his relative inexperience, he was also chosen to bowl the Super Over of the World Cup final, such was his importance as a bowler.

On the batting end, both Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow scored over 500 runs for England through the campaign. However, it was undoubtedly Jason Roy who became a talismanic figure for the English batting line-up. Roy missed several games in the middle of the tournament due to a hamstring issue but still managed to score 443 runs at an average of 63.28.

Disappointments

It is hard to find too many disappointments when the team won the World Cup, However, Eoin Morgan didn't have the greatest of tournaments considering batting form. If you remove his destructive 148 innings against Afghanistan, his stats look significantly worse. Aside from the innings against Afghanistan, Morgan scored only 223 runs from his 9 other innings, taking his average from 41.22 to 24.77. Outside of the century, Morgan only managed to score above 50 on one other occasion during the tournament.

Another player who didn't reach his full potential during the tournament was Moeen Ali. During the build-up to the tournament, Ali was a pivotal player bowling spin during the middle overs and also able to provide stability with the bat when needed. However, Ali scored only 75 in his 5 innings during the tournament and was one of England's most expensive bowlers.

Also Read Campaign analysis of Afghanistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Australia, India, and New Zealand.

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