ICC World Cup 2019: The top five batsmen and bowlers going into the tournament

• 64 out of the 150 players have featured in previous World Cups
  
• Among the 64, Chris Gayle is the highest run scorer and Malinga is the highest wicket-taker at World Cup level. Martin Guptill and Mitchell Starc stood out in 2015.

With just a day to go for the 2019 World Cup to begin, the 86 players who have never featured in the tournament will be impatiently waiting to make their mark. 64 players out of the total squad strength of 150 were part of the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.


In 2015, the likes of Martin Guptill, Shikhar Dhawan, Steve Smith and Chris Gayle sparkled with the bat, while Mitchell Starc and Trent Boult were the joint-highest wicket takers with 22 wickets each. Tom Latham (NZ) and Sheldon Cottrell had the unfortunate situation of being the only 2 players among the 64 to have not played a game. Several players have excelled in previous editions, with Gayle having played his first World Cup in South Africa, way back in 2003.


An analysis of the performances of the old guard at the World Cup in general and the 2015 edition, in particular, will perhaps give some clues on who among them is likely to outperform the newcomers.


Most runs in World Cups
Chris Gayle is at the top of the list, having played 26 World Cup games thus far. Gayle scored the first-ever double century in a World Cup when he scored a scintillating 215 in a group encounter against Zimbabwe in 2015. His effort was bettered by Martin Guptill, who smashed 237 not out (the highest individual score in a World Cup game) against the West Indies in the quarter-finals of the same edition.

Guptill’s 237 ensured that he was the highest run-scorer in the 2015 World Cup. However, the MVP of among the batsmen was Steve Smith, whose consistency was one of the fulcrums that led to Australia’s triumph.


Table: Top 5 run-getters in World Cups among the current squads



Table: Top 5 run-getters in the 2015 World Cup among the current squads




Most wickets
Lasith Malinga etched his name in World Cup folklore when took 4 of 4 balls at the death during a magical spell against South Africa in Providence on March 28, 2007, almost taking Sri Lanka to an improbable victory. Having featured in two more World Cups, Malinga is the highest wicket-taker among the active players. He is followed by Tim Southee, who is best remembered for his 7/33 against England in 2015. Mitchell Starc was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the 2015 edition. His 22 wickets came at a frightening regularity - he had a strike rate of 17.4 (balls are taken per wicket) and an average of 10.18 (runs conceded per wicket). Starc has the lowest strike-rate among bowlers who have taken 20+ World Cup wickets.

Table: Top 5 wicket takers in World Cups among the current squads


Table: Top 5 wicket takers in the 2015 World Cup among the current squads