World Cup 2019: Does England have a chink in their armor?

The ICC 2019 World Cup is upon us. The 12th edition of the quadrennial event begins at the Kennington Oval with the home side England taking on South Africa in what is likely to be an exciting encounter. The hosts enter the competition as the highest ranked team in the format and have won 58 out of their 88 games since the 2015 World Cup. In the same time frame, England has the highest win/loss ratio in the period (2.521) with India a close second (2.074). They will, therefore, begin the tournament as favourites to clinch the trophy at Lords on July 14.

It comes as no surprise that England enters the competition with expectations at an all-time high. Since the 2015 World Cup, where they were knocked out in the group stages, they have drastically revamped their approach in the shorter format. Having adopted a more aggressive and attacking approach, Eoin Morgan's men have become a force to reckon with in the format. Since the loss to Australia in 2015; England has won every bilateral series they have played at home.

The major reason behind their resurgence has been their strength and depth in batting. In the last four years, England has struck at a run rate of 6.29 per over. No other World cup teams in the same period have struck at more than six runs per over. The second on the list is Australia at 5.72 per over. South Africa and India closely follow each other with run rates of 5.71 and 5.70 per over. Also, the 400 mark has been crossed five times since the last World Cup out of which England have done it on four occasions. This includes twice breaking the record for the highest score in the format by scoring 444 against Pakistan in 2016 and 481 against Australia in 2019. This stat vividly exhibits England's dominance with the bat and why they are a team to be feared by every other team in the tournament.

Can they be stopped?

Captain Eoin Morgan is the pillar of the batting unit

Considering their overwhelming dominance, the question on every cricket fan's mind is whether they can be stopped. While it may seem a tough task, it is not an impossible one. Eoin Morgan's men have shown that they are vulnerable to batting collapses.

Quite recently, in the final one-day international against West Indies, England were bowled out for a paltry total of 113 in St Lucia. Not so long ago, they could only manage a score of 132 against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium which saw them lose the game by 219 runs.

A match that not many would forget is when England found themselves at 8-5 in Adelaide at the start of 2018. While they managed to score 196, it was not enough as Australia claimed the victory in a close encounter. Another similar encounter took place in 2016 when England found themselves at 20-6 against South Africa at Lords before being bowled out for 153.

Another memorable clash in this context would be England's 2017 Champions trophy semi-final against Pakistan at Cardiff. Having won all their group stage matches in a comprehensive manner, they were looking to seal the victory in style. However, batting first, the hosts could only manage a score of 211, which Pakistan chased comfortably with eight wickets in hand.

On tracks where the ball comes on the bat and the pitch has no aid for the bowlers, it is going to extremely difficult for anyone to stop England. However, on tracks where the ball has a hint of movement or spin, Eoin Morgan's men are not as comfortable. It remains to be seen whether the batting unit has the ability to grind out a tough situation or sustain the pressure of a big match.

Is the bowling as good?

While England's batting prowess has been unparalleled over the last four years, the same cannot be said about their bowlers. Since the 2015 World Cup, English bowlers have conceded runs at a rate of 5.82. Of the ten participating teams, only Sri Lanka (5.83) have done worse in this criteria during the same time period.

In the recently concluded ODI series vs Pakistan, the hosts conceded three 300+ scores and 297 in the four completed games. Earlier this year, the English bowlers went for heavy runs against a Chris Gayle-led West Indies batting unit too.

It doesn't take rocket science to figure out that the English bowling unit is not the strongest or most efficient one at the tournament. Against teams with strong bowling units like India, where the batsmen might not be able to win matches on their own, the bowlers will have to step up. They have not convinced many that they are capable of producing match-winning efforts. Only time will tell whether they are up to the task or not.

Without a doubt, beating England will be a herculean task for any team. Playing at home, they are certainly the overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy for the first time. However, there are chinks in their armour and beating them is not an impossible task.

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