Defending Champions Go into World Cup with Depth
England head into the 2023 World Cup in India as the defending champions after they beat New Zealand in a memorable final in 2019 at Lord’s. They will be bidding to become the first team to defend the trophy since Australia in 2007.
Albeit over a shorter form, England showed how good they are with the white ball when they won the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022 to become double world champions. Many of those players have been named in the squad which will travel to India.
Buttler Will Lead a Strong XI
This will be Jos Buttler’s first Cricket World Cup as captain of England, as he took over from Eoin Morgan following the 2019 tournament. The wicketkeeper has become one of the most dominant white batters in the sport.
Buttler’s experience of playing the IPL will help, not only with his batting but also aid his field placements through the tournament in India.
With the likes of Joe Root, Jason Roy, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, and Sam Curran supporting him, Buttler will lead a squad that has a lot of experience playing major tournaments in all three formats of the game.
England is second best in the sports betting at +375 to win the tournament, which are great odds considering their record in ODI cricket over the last four years. The 2019 winners have just the hosts India ahead of them in that outright market.
Ben Stokes Returns to the Team
The biggest surprise in the England squad for the 2023 Cricket World Cup was the inclusion of Test captain Ben Stokes. The all-rounder retired from ODI cricket in 2022 but after a conversation with Buttler, he has decided to make a U-turn and return for the tournament.
Stokes was the hero for England in the 2019 Cricket World Cup against New Zealand. He scored 84 not out to help force the game into a Super Over. Alongside Buttler, he also helped the hosts set the Kiwis a target of 15 runs in the extra six balls, with England eventually winning on the boundary countback rule.
Harry Brook on the Reserve List for Now
The return of Stokes means Harry Brook is the unfortunate England batsman to miss out on the squad. The Yorkshire player is the first reserve, so he will still travel to India in case there is an injury during the tournament.
Brook has been in good form this summer, shining with the bat in the Ashes, Hundred, and England T20 internationals against New Zealand. Should he get the opportunity to play his first Cricket World Cup, he will be a player many teams will fear.
Woakes and Wood Showed Their Class in Ashes
Pace bowlers Chris Woakes and Mark Wood were two of the starts of the Ashes series against Australia. They will now be hoping to show what they can do with the white ball in India.
Woakes and Wood have a lot of experience of playing franchise cricket in the sub-continent, so they should be very familiar with the wickets and conditions during the tournament.
England’s opening game of the World Cup will come against New Zealand on October 5.
Steven Bal
A journalist by profession, writes on diverse topics such as IPL, T20 World Cup Cricket. Cricket runs in his veins. Steven Bal has hundreds of exclusive stories and articles to his name. Cricket Analyst & Commentator with over 2000 live shows on Radio, Tv, and Digital platforms.