The Cricket World Cup is unquestionably the biggest prize of all for those who play this sport – as well as one of the most anticipated tournaments for fans of it – and the next one is due to take place in two years time. The 2019 tournament will be held in England and Wales, which has led to speculation about whether the men’s team can triumph on home soil in the same way that the women’s team did during their World Cup tournament here this summer. So can the England men achieve the same?
The last Cricket World Cup was during 2015 and proved to be a big disappointment for England. Having been drawn in Pool A England ultimately failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the event – with two wins and four defeats from their six matches played. The team came under severe criticism from both the fans and the media following their poor performance in that tournament and an improvement in the next one – especially as it is being staged in England – is an absolute must. Fortunately there are clear signs that the team has improved in the two years since that let-down, with the England and Wales Cricket Board having taken action in the wake of the 2015 World Cup – by sacking head coach Peter Moores. Although they announced in the immediate aftermath of the team’s exit that he would keep his job it came as little surprise to most that he was sacked in May 2015, when results following the World Cup did not get any better. Things looked pretty grim for England at that point; with Moores the second successive coach to be fired for bad results, but his replacement Trevor Bayliss has managed to implement effective changes in the playing style in a very short period of time.
Under his command, England’s One Day International side claimed wins over Pakistan and 2015 Cricket World Cup finalists New Zealand, as well as beating World Cup holders Australia to regain the Ashes. This suggests that they are in far better shape for the upcoming tournament, with Bayliss having shifted them to a style of play that is much more aggressive and attuned to the modern day game – with the help of his chosen Twenty 20 and OID captain Eoin Morgan. A similar change has been brought about with the Test side, led by Joe Root, which has helped to make the team more entertaining to watch as well as improving the results, although Bayliss argues that this is just the typical modern approach to cricket rather than his particular strategy. If there is something that needs to be worked on before the World Cup it is Bayliss increasing his knowledge of English cricket players that are not part of the current international set-up – to give him a chance of finding the depth of squad quality he has acknowledged will be needed to compete against the likes of Australia in the big tournaments.
There are certainly a few more England cricket fans who would be willing to put a bet on the team at sports bookmaker mentioned in casinoonline.co.nz to win the next World Cup now than there would have been two years ago, but do you think they can do it?
