With the Cricket Word Cup starting next month predictions are coming in quicker than a Brett Lee yorker. Well, we are here to tell you that there are only five teams who can legitimately win the tournament.
Here’s why:
1. England
Hosts of this year’s World Cup have all the pressure on them to win it all following a disastrous 2015 campaign where they didn’t make it out of the group stage. One of the main reasons why we believe England can win the tournament is because of one player: Jos Buttler. The wicketkeeper batsmen can be one of the most damaging batsmen in the world on his day as seen earlier this year against the West Indie when he hit 150 off just 77 balls. If England utilise Buttler as bat him up the order they’ve got a real chance.
2. India
Virat Kohli. We could really leave it there but we won’t. The Indian skipper is a once in a lifetime player who has already amassed 49 ODI hundreds at 30 years of age. His struggles in England against the red ball were quashed when he was the leading run scorer in last year’s Test series. If your number 4 batsmen averages 59.57 after 227 matches well, you’d have to be silly not to think India can win their second World Cup since 2011.
3. South Africa
Cricket pundits always have the South Africans as one of the favourites to win the World Cup and this year’s tournament is no different. On paper they have stars all around with wicketkeeper batsmen Quinton de Kock, captain Faf du Plessis and bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir it would be a shock for them not to be around at the pointy end of the tournament.
4. Australia
The current world cup holders hit form at the right time, after dominating Pakistan 5 – 0 away and coming from 2-0 to win the series against India in India. Captain Aaron Finch’s men have won their last eight games after only winning three from fifteen beforehand. The recent form has been led by star batter Usman Khawaja who has hit 5 half centuries and raised the bat twice in the last 10 games. Not to mention captain Aaron Finch and danger man Glenn Maxwell all performing in the recent weeks. With the ball Australia’s depth has been put on show with Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins being rested, but Jye Richardson and Adam Zampa have loved the responsibility. Not to mention the return of Steve Smith and David Warner, who will be raring to prove themselves after a year they’d like to forget. The depth and form of the Aussies put them in serious contention for winning back to back World Cups.
5. New Zealand
The black caps will be back with a vengeance this May after finishing runners up in the last World Cup. They have won their last seven from eleven matches and are currently sitting in third, tied with South Africa, in the ICC World Cup rankings. They also boast having two of their batters in the top ten ICC ODI rankings in Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill. Not to forget star wicket taker Trent Boult who sits in at number 2 in the ICC ODI rankings. The Black Caps may go under the radar but definitely not a team to sleep on.
By Cormac Pearson & James Cusack
