In just over a month, the Cricket World Cup starts. Before the opening match between England and South Africa at The Oval, there will be plenty of speculation over the makeup of each squad of players. The regulations demand that each country names a squad of 15 players by April 23rd, but changes can be made up to May 22nd. Therein lies my frustration with the futility of the April deadline. It’s a pointless exercise apart from it generates good copy for cricket journalists.
England’s squad announcement was dogged by the speculation over Jofra Archer’s inclusion or, as we now know, exclusion. Chris Woakes was asked about Archer, before the announcement, and commented that it would be “morally unfair” if Archer were to be selected. I found the comments disappointing as Woakes may have been one of those to make way. The ECB chose to change residency rules and, therefore, Archer’s inclusion would be no more wrong than any other player ousting a squad member. Woakes went on to say that he didn’t think it would have disrupted the team which I found contradictory. In any case, Archer was not included but still has a window to impress before the squad gets locked down.
Sri Lanka decided to go down and different path and wreck their chances before a ball has been bowled. Experienced players in Chandimal, Akila, Dickwella and Tharanga were omitted while captain Lasith Malinga found himself ousted from the job. Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne was given the role as he appears to be the only one who gets on well enough with coach Chandika Hathurusinghe. Karunaratne has not covered himself in glory with a recent drink-driving charge but still gets to lead his country. It speaks volumes of the turmoil that Sri Lankan cricket faces at the moment.
Australia’s announcement was unsurprising as disgraced duo of Steve Smith and David Warner were recalled for international duty. Warner’s IPL form warranted his inclusion whereas Smith is yet to find his feet since the debacle in Cape Town. Love him or hate him, Warner is a phenomenal talent with the bat and will be one to watch at CWC19. He is bound to be the pantomime villain of the tournament, but Warner’s precocious talent could carry Australia to a sixth title. One major disappointment, should Langer’s men prevail, would be the endless crowing of Shane Warne who has been calling an Aussie victory for months. The only thing that Warne has done more of in that period is announce many variations to his choice of players for the Australian squad. Still time for one or two more variants, Shane?
One rumour that proved not to be true was an international comeback for AB De Villiers. The thought of seeing ‘ABDV’ playing for the Proteas was an exciting one. However, it was not to be. Instead, news of De Villiers looking for a BBL contract filtered through to South African fans on Friday. South Africa’s selectors looked to Hashim Amla, along with Aiden Markram, to bolster the batting line up. Reeza Hendricks found himself on the list of ‘noticeable absentees’ for CWC19 as did Chris Morris. South Africa’s squad was already bereft of Duanne Olivier, who had abandoned international cricket for sunny Yorkshire, but may not be missed. Steyn, Rabada, Ngidi and Imran Tahir look like a good bowling unit to go into the tournament with.
Not wanting to miss out of contentious selections, Pakistan decided that Mohammed Amir’s form was abject therefore Junaid Khan and Mohammad Hasnain were better options. Hasnain could be the man to make way should Amir find his form against England. However, his two ODI wickets at 78 each are still more appealing than Amir. Having missed 2011 and 2015 due to a match-fixing ban, Amir’s best chance to play in the Cricket World Cup was this year. He will be 31 when the 2023 tournament comes around, but he may have to wait another four years if his form does not return soon.
The big call out from India’s squad was the somewhat surprising omission of Rishabh Pant. Dinesh Karthik won the race for the second wicketkeeper/batting role. Perhaps Pant hasn’t shone in ODIs but he’s a fabulous talent plus a character that the game sorely needs. At 21-years-old, Pant will undoubtedly be first choice for India when the tournament rolls into India in four years’ time. I still think it is surprising that Pant was not selected but India’s squad is not particularly young. Seven of the squad are in their thirties, including MS Dhoni at 37, while Kuldeep Yadav is the youngest at 24. India’s selections appear to be ‘safe’ but that may not be enough to take out their third Cricket World Cup.
I feel that New Zealand are dark horses for the tournament. Kane Williamson is an astute captain and world-class batter. Guptill, Taylor, Nicholls and Latham have the ability to score quickly. All-rounders such as Neesham, de Grandhomme and Santner will do a solid job for the Blackcaps while Southee and Boult will appreciate English conditions. While England, India and Australia are attracting attention it is the Blackcaps who could prevail on July 14th.
On the subject of omissions, the most serious ones are that players from countries such as Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands, Scotland and Zimbabwe will not be present in 2019 or 2023. A ten-team Cricket World Cup will be fascinating but a tournament with more teams must be the way forward. The quality of Associate cricket has increased infinitely since the last round-robin tournament in 1992. ICC needs to understand that a Cricket World Cup needs, perhaps, sixteen teams to make it a truly world tournament. As FIFA are looking to increase the number of participants, it’s a shame that the ICC is contracting the number of participants.
Jonathan