ICC World Cup 2019: 5 Openers who are key to their team's success

Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

Guptill has been one of the mainstays of the Kiwi batting for a while now. He is adept in handling swing and bounce and very skillful in hitting through the line. The explosive opener also has the ability to handle the short ball well and can hit some towering sixes over mid-wicket and in the 'V'.

Guptill's penchant for big scores is well known as he holds the record for the highest ever score in World Cup cricket, where he dominated the West Indies bowlers and ended up scoring 237 in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final.

Guptill has been in good form of late, having scored centuries against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He might have failed against the quality of Indian steamers in New Zealand, but we cannot discount the fact that Guptill has the game which is tailor made for English conditions. If Guptill is successful in giving flying starts to the Kiwis and ends up scoring big centuries, New Zealand will certainly become one of the favorites.