Cricket World Cup Semi-Final Team Previews
The Cricket World Cup is coming to its climax with the semi-finals looming. Australia, New Zealand, India and the hosts England all looking to achieve the ultimate goal One Day International cricket.
India
India topped the group stage of the tournament with 15 points having won 7 out of 9, with one no result and their only loss coming to England. India have looked very impressive throughout this tournament with both the bat and the ball.
One of the main strengths of this Indian team is the top of their batting order; Rohit Sharma has been destructive throughout this tournament and his attacking style has seen him accumulate a tournament topping 647 runs. India’s batting line-up is strong throughout with the ICC’s number one ranked batsman coming in at number 3; Kohli brings a tenacity that is unrivalled in cricket. The Indian captain has scored over 11,000 runs in his career and has the ability to swing the game in India’s favour. Hardik Pandya and M.S Dhoni provide India’s middle order with a lot of power with both looking to accelerate the innings in the final 10 overs as they have done in this tournament. Pandya’s ability to take the game away from the opposition is shown by his strike rate of 139.56 in this tournament.
India’s bowling attack in just as potent as their batting line-up; they possess 2 of the top 10 bowlers in the world with Jasprit Bumrah leading the world and the Indian bowling attack. Bumrah has been the most dangerous of the Indian bowlers taking 18 wickets in the group stages. Bumrah coupled with Mohammed Shami creates a potent opening bowling attack consequently making India a very difficult team to beat.
Australia
Second place Australia will look to win a sixth Cricket World Cup and will look to do so with a balanced team. Australia’s opening partnership has been the most successful partnership of the tournament and often provide a strong base for Australia. David Warner and captain Aaron Finch make up the opening partnership and have scored 638 and 507 runs respectively. The batting in Australia’s team does not stop at the openers; the unorthodox Smith bats at number 4 for Australia. Smith is widely considered to be one of the best batsmen in the world and provides great stability to the Australian batting line-up.
Despite the strength at the top of the batting line-up, their middle order has faltered throughout the tournament. The highest average within this middle order is held by Glenn Maxwell with an average of 22.14; others such as Alex Carey have managed to pitch in with good scores, but this is not a consistent occurrence.
Where Australia truly flourish is the strength in their bowling attack. They possess a fierce, powerful pace attack that reflects Australian bowlers of days gone by. This pace driven attack is headed by Mitchell Starc who tops the wicket taking list in this tournament with 26 and Pat Cummins who has taken 13 wickets. This attack is rounded off with Jason Behrendorff, Marcus Stoinis and the spinners Adam Zamper and Nathan Lyon creating a well-rounded and devastating attack.
England
The hosts have faltered in their quest for their maiden World Cup title with losses to Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan but nevertheless have reached the semi-finals with a chance to restore themselves as the world’s number one team.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has tipped England to win the tournament and said that they are the favourites from this point forward. These thoughts are echoed by England bowler Liam Plunkett, “We know when we play our good cricket we can beat anyone in the world.”
England have every right to be confident with their chances in the World Cup due to the strong and deep batting line-up. England openers Johnny Bairstow and Jason Roy often provide a stable start to the England innings with both averaging over 50. Jason Roy missed two games due to injury but his reintroduction into the team has rejuvenated the team. Much like India, England possess one of the best batsmen in the world at number three. Joe Root is ranked as the seventh best batsmen in the world by the ICC and acts as a stabling force in the England line-up. The batting for the hosts does not stop after Joe Root, captain Eoin Morgan who scored 143 against Bangladesh bats at four, with Ben Stokes at five and the ever-destructive Jos Butler at 6. Jos Butler is the key batsman to the England line-up, he has the ability to take the game away from the opposition and is regarded one of the most dangerous batsmen in the last 10 overs of the innings. This is an England team that bats deep into the line-up which has become increasingly beneficial for England in this tournament.
The England bowling attack has also been revamped with the introduction of Jofra Archer into the bowling attack. Archer has injected sheer pace into the bowling attack which has resulted him in taking 17 wickets in his maiden World Cup. Archer is just one piece in a strong attack; Chris Woakes has shown his class in this tournament by taking 10 wickets, Mark Wood has been fantastic throughout this World Cup by taking 16 wickets with an economy rate of 5.23. The bowling attack is completed by Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid; they all pose a great threat and create a well-rounded bowling attack.
The defeats that England have suffered during this World Cup meant that the last two games of the group stage against India and New Zealand were must win games with one loss knocking them out of the tournament. Michael Vaughan sees this as a major strength for England heading into the semi-finals, “The fact England have won two must-win games on the trot must stand them in good stead that they can cope with that pressure.”
New Zealand
New Zealand started their World Cup campaign well winning their first 5 games but lost the last 3 games in the group stages. They scrapped through and finished fourth in the standings.
The Kiwi bowling attack is the main reason behind their early success; the pace bowling of Trent Boult, Lochie Ferguson and Matt Henry. This trio have combined for a total of 42 wickets with Ferguson the pick of the bowlers. These three alongside the bowling of Jimmy Neesham have carried New Zealand through the group stages of the competition.
This bowling attack has been the highlight of New Zealand’s World Cup campaign as the batting order has failed throughout. New Zealand opener Martin Guptill is often relied upon to get his side off to a good start but this has not been the case in this campaign; Guptill has scored a total of 167 runs this tournament with an average of 20.87. His poor form is encapsulated by his two ducks so far in the World Cup. New Zealand’s batting woes are not restricted to Guptill; they have struggled throughout their line-up with the only reliable batsmen coming in the form of their captain Kane Williamson.
New Zealand’s terrific bowling attack is completely undermined by the poor form of the New Zealand batsmen and also weakens New Zealand’s chance at winning the World Cup.
