5 ODI teams with best batting lineups ahead of 2019 Cricket World Cup

#5 New Zealand

Kane Williamson

New Zealand have one of the most destructive batting orders in ODI cricket. Martin Guptill has been their best bet in getting their innings to a flier. The elegant stroke-maker has played some sensational knocks over the years and is a delight to watch with his clean hitting down the down the ground. In recent years, Guptill has been ably partnered by Tom Latham who is a free-flowing batsman.

Skipper Kane Williamson is the wall of the Black Caps middle order. The elegant stroke maker has a perfect blend of attack and defence in his game. He can score at a brisk pace and play second fiddle as a sheet anchor. The veteran Ross Taylor has been in superlative form over the last couple of seasons and would look to bring his valuable experience and keep the runs flowing in the middle overs. Hard hitting Colin Munro has taken the world by a storm with his aggressive batting. Munro makes most grounds look small with his massive ball striking ability.

The Black Caps have some serious firepower with power hitters like Corey Anderson, Jimmy Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme to take the opposition to the cleaners towards the later stages of an innings.

New Zealand Batsmen ODI Record (June 2015-June 2018)

Martin Guptill

Matches 47 Runs 2110 Avg 51.46 SR 93.32 100s 6

Kane Williamson

Matches 49 Runs 2124 Avg 46.17 SR 81.09 100s 4

Ross Taylor

Matches 41 Runs 1805 Avg 60.16 SR 84.50 100s 5

Tom Latham

Matches 48 Runs 1632 Avg 37.95 SR 85.40 100s 4

Colin Munro

Matches 33 Runs 738 Avg 25.44 SR 107.26 100s 0

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The other One Day International teams which didn't make the cut also have some world class batsmen but lack consistency and depth as a batting unit. The likes of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies have individual brilliance but more often than not fail to make an impact as a collective unit.

A look at top ODI batsmen for Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and Afghanistan

Pakistan - Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Shoiab Malik, Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad

Sri Lanka - Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Matthews, Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirammane and Niroshan Dickwella

West Indies - Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Marlon Samuels, Shai Hope and Johnson Charles

Bangladesh - Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hassan, Mushfiqur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman and Mahmudullah

Afghanistan - Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi and Mohammad Shahzad