CWC 2019: 5 things we learned from the warm-up fixtures
The warm-up fixtures before the commencement of the 2019 World Cup are now done and dusted. All eyes will now be on The Oval in London, which will host the tournament opener between England and South Africa. The matches gave a fair indication of how the teams stack up ahead of the tournament and what their combination is likely to be when the action gets going. The teams also got an indication of how the conditions are likely to be during the tournament.
Here, we note down the 5 important things which we learned from the warm-up fixtures:
India finally have the answer to the No.4 puzzle
Before the start of the tournament, all the debate around the Indian team revolved around who should bat at the No.4 spot. There were a number of candidates – Vijay Shankar, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik and also the name of MS Dhoni being given an honourable mention. But with Rahul’s blistering century against Bangladesh in Cardiff, the debate should be settled at least for the first couple of round of fixtures. Rahul looked composed and authoritative and his skills as an opener should also help India see out the new ball in case they lose early wickets.
Conditions play hide and seek with the teams
10 warm-up matches done and we still don’t have a fair idea on how the pitches will pan out during the tournament. Except for the game between West Indies and New Zealand at Bristol, every other game saw the bowlers having a big say in the proceedings. There has been a fair amount of grass covering on the surfaces, which has given some assistance to the seamers and overcast conditions have also been a big help. This goes against the expected trend of the pitches being belters for batting and it remains to be seen whether the pitches maintain their characteristics from the warm-up games and keep the bowlers alive in the contest.
Steve Smith’s form warms Australian hearts
Australia already looked a strong unit heading into the World Cup due to their performances in India and UAE. The only question which lingered around was how would David Warner and Steve Smith fare after their reintegration. Warner’s form during the IPL showcased that he hadn’t lost any of his dominant streak. Former skipper Smith though was in indifferent form. But his century against England in a warm-up fixture has allayed a lot of those fears and Australia now look like a frightening proposition for their opponents.
West Indies and England in the race for 500-total
“It is definitely a goal we can try to achieve at some point. Definitely, it would be great to be the first team to cross that 500 mark and I am sure we have the batting firepower to do it,” said Shai Hope after West Indies bludgeoned the New Zealand bowlers in Bristol to score 421 runs. With the array of power-hitters which they have in their squad, it is looking like a competition between England and the Caribbean outfit on who will first breach the 500-run mark in the ODI format. With the pitches being conducive to batting and the boundaries short in nature, it is increasingly looking possible that this landmark will finally be achieved during the 2019 edition of the World Cup. Who gets there first, is a different question altogether.
Pakistan in tatters
The Pakistan squad is looking disjointed and demoralized. After back-to-back hammerings in the series’ against Australia and England, Pakistan have a lot of areas of concern which they need to address. The poor form continued in the warm-up match against Afghanistan as they slumped to a shock defeat. The next warm-up match against Bangladesh got washed out which has left a lot of questions lingering over their heads. They will have to make a big improvement in all the departments of the game if they are to pose a serious threat to any of the big teams when the tournament starts.
