G20 Over, G10 Begins

AHMEDABAD: It’s been less than a month since India successfully hosted the G20 summit and now the world’s attention is once again fixed on the country as it is set to host the 10-team ICC World Cup from Thursday.

A golden generation of England cricketers who have transformed the white ball format template forever will begin their 50-over World Cup title defence against an injury-battered New Zealand in a repeat of the 2019 final in the tournament’s opening match.

England is an ageing side, but few will dare to bet their green bills against Jos Buttler’s outfit to add a third World Cup to its shelf in four years, as they are also the current T20 World Cup holders.

Trying to win that elusive ICC World Cup, New Zealand will be in a state of worry for more than one reason. They will not have captain Kane Williamson, who though had played the warm-ups, and senior pacer Tim Southee in its ranks as both are still on the recovery path after respective surgeries. Southee’s fitness will be monitored closely as he is recuperating from a recent surgery on his fractured thumb. He had dislocated his finger during the ODI series against England. But that is only a tip of their bigger concerns. The Ahmedabad pitch is generally an ally of batsmen, and England have a bionic batting line-up for whom skull-crushing their rivals is a favoured hobby.

The whole ferocity surrounding their batting has only gone up after the return of Ben Stokes, as he had decided to come out of retirement for the big event. vThe maverick all-rounder has a troublesome knee that may curtail his role as a bowler in the tournament, but Stokes loves big occasions. He had left indelible marks on two World Cup finals in 2019 and 2022, and to count him out to do an encore will be naïve. But Stokes will not be the only batting Cyclops, the Kiwis will have to negate on the morrow. England has one of the longest batting orders. They have explosive batters in Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow and Harry Brook and then more conventional batters like Joe Root and Dawid Malan.

Their bowling unit also not to be undermined. Mark Wood’s express pace and IPL experience give England some edge, but leg-spinner Adil Rashid will also be a vital cog in their bowling department. On the other hand, without Williamson and Southee, New Zealand certainly lost a big chunk of experience and fire but the Kiwis have consistently punched above their weight in the ICC tournaments.

Their final appearances in the 2015 and 2019 50-over World Cups and in the 2021 T20 World Cup will underscore that point.