Team Profile, England: Hosts Desperate To Break World Cup Duck, Justify Favourites Tag

World Cup 2019 hosts England will kick-start the tournament with everything seemingly in place to finally win a trophy that has eluded them for the competition's entire 44-year history. Captain Eoin Morgan, no slouch with the bat himself, can call on a clutch of experienced matchwinners in a star-studded batting line-up featuring Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes. England, who suffered an embarassing first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup following a defeat by Bangladesh, go into the 2019 World Cup as one of the favourites and will be looking to justify that tag when the Cricket World Cup 2019 gets underway on May 30.

The hosts have been in every edition of the Cricket World Cup, but have never won it. They were finalists in 1979, 1987, and 1992. They were semi-finalists in 1975 and 1983, reached the Super 8 stage in 2007, and were in the quarter-finals in 2011.

Eoin Morgan (captain) 

The captain has improved his ODI form in the 2019 compared to what it was prior. He had 756 runs at 22 ODIs in 2018, averaging 42 at a strike rate of 93.79. In the following year, he has scored 420 runs at 10 ODIs, averaging 70 at a strike rate of 113.20.

Morgan will play his 4th World Cup. He played at the 2007 World Cup as an Irish player. His World Cup record is 301 runs at 18 games, averaging 17.70 with a strike rate of 65.72.

Moeen Ali

The all-rounder had played 24 ODIs in 2018, scoring 277 runs with a strike rate of 89.93, averaging 17.31, taking 29 wickets with an economy of 5.1. In 2019, he has scored 70 runs in 9 games, and bowled at an economy of 7.3.

His bowling at World Cup 2015 was underwhelming, taking just four wickets in 5 games at an economy of 5.28. He batted well, though, scoring 192 runs at an average of 38.40 with a strike rate of 105.49. His best score at the World Cup is 107 -- against Scotland.

Jonny Bairstow

In 2018, he scored 1025 runs in 22 games, with a strike rate of 118.22 averaging 46.59, his highest score at the time being 139 off 92 balls against Australia at Nottingham. In the 2019 season, he has scored 312 runs in 9 matches, averaging 44.57 at a strike rate of 126.31.

This is Jonny Bairstow's first World Cup.

Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper)

In the 17/18 season, Buttler scored 526 runs in 22 games, with a strike rate of 115.9 averaging 49.085. He improved his game in the 18/19 season, scoring 571 runs in 18 games, striking at 123.64 at an average of 65.4, in the process getting his best score of 150 vs the West Indies at 77 balls.

He played fairly well at the 2015 World Cup, scoring 141 runs in 6 games at an average of 35.25.

Tom Curran

The bowling all-rounder made his debut against the West Indies on 29 Sep 2017, and has done a very good job, taking 27 wickets in 17 games, with an economy of 6.33. His best figures were a match-winning 5-35 against Australia on 28 Jan 2018. 

This is Tom Curran's first World Cup.

Liam Plunkett 

The bowling all-rounder has played 38 ODIs in the last 3 years, wherein he took 64 wickets at an economy of 6.07, his best figures being 5-52 against West Indies on 24 Sep 2017. 

His last World Cup was back in 2007, where he played three games against New Zealand, Canada, and the West Indies.

Adil Rashid

The leg-spinner has taken 81 wickets in 51 ODIs that he's played in the last 3 years, with his best figures being 5-27 against Ireland in May 2017.

This is Adil Rashid's first World Cup.

Joe Root 

Considered one of England's best batsman, he scored 2283 runs in the 54 ODIs that he's played in the last 3 years at an average of 56.22, with his best score being an unbeaten 133 against Bangladesh at The Oval in June 2017. 

Joe Root had a decent 2015 World Cup, where he scored 202 runs at an average of 40.40, his best score being 121 in 108 balls vs Sri Lanka.

Jason Roy 

He has scored 1829 runs in the 44 ODIs that he's played in the last 3 years, averaging 51.47 at a strike rate of 110.13, his best score being 180 off 151 balls vs Australia at Melbourne on Jan 2018. 

This is Jason Roy's first World Cup.

Ben Stokes 

He scored 1183 runs in the last 3 years, where he played 37 ODIs, with an average of 52.37 and a strike rate of 91.73. His best score is an unbeaten 102 against Australia at Birmingham in June 2017. He's also taken 24 wickets around this time, with an economy of 6.36. 

This is Ben Stokes' first World Cup.

Chris Woakes 

The all-rounder has scored 387 runs in 33 ODIs in the last 3 years, with his highest score being 78 against Australia at Adelaide in January 2018. He also took 54 wickets around the same time, his best figures being 5-54 against Pakistan in May 2019 in Leeds. 

Woakes played 5 matches in the 2015 World Cup, scoring 90 runs and taking 5 wickets.   

Mark Wood

He has played 30 ODIs in the last 3 years, taking 31 wickets with an economy rate of 5.59, his best figures coming against the Windies in February 2019 at St. George's, where he had figures of 4-60.

This is Mark Wood's first World Cup.

Jofra Archer

The Barbados-born made his name playing franchise cricket in different T20 cricket leagues across globe. He became eligible to play for England in March this year but was not included in England's preliminary squad for the World Cup 2019. The 24-year-old allrounder has played just three ODIs for England. He is capable of bowling in excess of 145kmph on regular basis and is known for his clean-hitting and superb fielding.

This is Jofra Archer's first World Cup.

James Vince

He made his ODI debut back in 2015 but has only played 10 matches, scoring 225 runs. He has been awarded for performing consistently for his county side Hampshire where he has scored 4,808 runs.

This is James Vince's first World Cup.

Liam Dawson

He made his ODI debut in 2016 and has played just three ODI matches for England, picking up three wickets and scoring 96 runs.

This is Liam Dawson's first World Cup.

Topics mentioned in this article

England Cricket Team Eoin Morgan Jos Buttler Joe Root Jofra Archer World Cup 2019 Cricket