World Cup 2019: Five major highlights from the first week

#1 350 is not yet a norm in the World Cup

The pitches have been good and competitive with help for batsmen as well as bowlers

The four years preceding the World Cup saw the English pitches change drastically; from pitches known to assist swing and pace to absolute belters with almost nothing for the bowlers. The pitches were made to assist the home team’s renewed style of play. From a conservative ODI side, the English side turned to a side defining a new template for batting.

350 became a norm on the English pitches, with teams scoring and chasing 350 plus scores with ease. The last 3 years have seen the highest ODI total being surpassed twice; England scoring 444 against Pakistan and then 481 against Australia.

The recently concluded series between England and Pakistan saw Pakistan being the first team to score 340 or above in three consecutive matches and England managed to get the better of them every single time. All these led to expectations of 350 plus scores being a norm this World Cup.

Come the World Cup, the pitches seem to be providing some respite to the bowlers, sometimes even giving them huge advantages over the batsmen; something which had not been seen in the last four years. Pakistan scored 348 and the home team could not chase it down, there have been two games where pacers rattled the opposition and bundled them below 150, and the 350-run mark is yet to be breached even after 9 games.

This is a welcome change and something which will only make the World Cup more exciting and competitive.