English cricket is having somewhat of a renaissance at the moment, with a fresh looking side racking up some impressive wins of late and fans and media alike growing fond of the new-look team.
Ahead of the Cricket World Cup, which is scheduled to be hosted by England and Wales from 30 May to 14 July 2019, the English media and fans will undoubtedly heap a whole host of pressure on their heroes and expect them to go far in a competition where they’ll have home advantage, which can be the all important ingredient when it comes to cricketing success.
Some of the pressure has arguably been heaped on themselves somewhat after recent comments from captain Eoin Morgan, where he’s suggesting him and his teammates expect to go far in their homeland and potentially bring home the prize come mid-July. On the World Cup, Morgan recently said: “At the moment we are favourites, so presuming nothing goes horrifically wrong between now and the start of the World Cup, that will probably stay the same. Some of our cricket has been mind-blowing and it’s full credit to the team.”
Before adding that he sees Pakistan, who are currently priced at 9/1 (bet365), to be a team firmly challenging his side for the trophy, saying: “World Cup history suggests that going into the World Cup you have to be ranked in the top three or four in the world in order to be genuine contenders, so you’d probably have to consider the top three or four and then you’d probably throw Pakistan in there, because on their day they can beat any team.”
England also face strong competition from the usual suspects, including Australia who are currently priced at 5/1 (bet365) to win the World Cup, India rated as 3/1 to lift the trophy and the likes of South Africa at 7/1 and New Zealand coming in at 9/1. You can check out this list of bookmakers UK to see how different betting companies have rated each team’s chances.
England head into the tournament in a rich vein of form and undoubtedly oozing with confidence that such an impressive run can bring. England have now won nine multi-game bilateral series in a row, which is why they are strong favourites for the World Cup after being priced at 5/2.
But with huge pressure on their shoulders, a stern test awaits this England side despite their new-found confidence and strong tournament credentials. They’ll have a home crowd watching on – which can go for or against you, the media spotlight will be firmly on them and the team are expected to adapt smoothest of all when it comes to the conditions an English summer can bring.
Captain Morgan isn’t worried though, suggesting there’s even more improvement to come from the team, saying: “We aspire to be the best versions of ourselves that we can possibly be and it has worked, particularly with our batting. I think in the last year and a half our bowling has progressed really nicely and we’re almost probably further ahead than anybody thought we would be, even myself, before the 2019 World Cup but it just means we’ve got more to build on hopefully for next year.”
In what promises to be a thoroughly enjoyable but tense tournament, England’s cricketers will be hoping their notable improvement carries on in a competition they’ll be expected to perform in. It’s a different test, but Eoin Morgan and his team have proven that they’re more than up to the task ahead as they continue their impressive turnaround.
Written in collaboration with freebets.co.uk
Meh, white ball. The fact England are dire in tests is the worry.. so many white ball hitters about now