Right, there’s a World Cup in Australia. The pitches are fast and bouncy, the boundaries are long. The hosts, also defending champions, are the bookies' favourites, alongside England and India. There are favourites among the players, too. There’s current run machine Mohammed Rizwan and his opening partner, equally a glutton for runs, Babar Azam. There’s David Warner and Glenn Maxwell for the Aussies; Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for India, and Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes for England.
But then there are others, not as fancied as their brethren, but perhaps capable of being as valuable as those hallowed names. Here below are five of those men:
Mark Wood
In a team with Jos Buttler, Alex Hales and Ben Stokes, it takes something special for a bowler to stand out. Mark Wood recently clocked 156kmph in a match against Pakistan. He has also been, on average, the quickest bowler in T20s for the past two years.
Coming back from a double-elbow surgery, Wood has been cautious about not straining himself too much. He has played only four T20Is since the last World Cup, but the comeback has been promising. He has taken nine wickets in 12 overs at an economy rate of 6.50.
Much of how his tournament goes depends on how his body holds up. But, given that the team management has been re-building him for the World Cup, he should be good to go. Expect fierce competition on who’s the fastest between Wood, Lockie Ferguson, Anrich Nortje and Mitchell Starc.
Haris Rauf
Pakistani cricketer Haris Rauf
While Shaheen Afridi may get more of the headlines, it is Haris Rauf who knows how to take wickets in Australia. A Melbourne Star, Rauf has played in the Big Bash for three seasons and has taken 30 wickets in 18 matches at a stunning strike rate of 12.77, and at an economy of 7.71.
A quick man, Rauf seems to hurry the batters more than others who bowl the same pace. He recently broke the Kiwi batter Glenn Phillips’s bat with a thunderbolt. He has a good slower ball, too, and is great at the death.
Rauf meets India on his 'home ground' of MCG on October 23.
Tristan Stubbs
South African batsman Tristan Stubbs
This is more of a pick on potential than based on sample size. Just ask the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who shelled out 9.2 million rand (around Rs4.12 crore) for the young batter in the SA20 auction last month. This was the highest bid in a league with David Miller, Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada.
He already plays for the Mumbai Indians and the Manchester Originals in The Hundred. As of now, he has 807 runs at a strike rate touching 160 in his 37 T20 matches.
At 6’4”, Tristan Stubbs has long levers that help him launch balls into the crowd. A gift on display in his first T20I innings, where he scored 72 off 28 balls against England this July.
Finn Allen
New Zealand player Finn Allen
The 23-year-old is the successor to Martin Guptill as New Zealand opener, and might even push the veteran down the order come match day. A clean hitter, Allen is strong down the ground and has scored 2,040 runs in 72 T20s at a massive strike rate of 171.57. He has played in The Hundred and is part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad.
He has the power to compensate for a lack of timing and will be part of the strategy of starting the innings with explosions—like England with Jos Buttler and Alex Hales.
One concern, though, is that he hasn’t really played against any top teams, except Pakistan, and the bright lights of the World Cup will certainly lead to some nerves.
Matthew Wade
Aussie cricketer Matthew Wade
One of the heroes of the previous World Cup—he hit Shaheen Afridi for a hattrick of sixes to get his team into the final—Mathew Wade has been the third-highest run getter (274) for Australia in T20Is since. Only Aaron Finch (410) and David Warner (349) have scored more, but they are openers. Wade bats in the lower-middle order.
Also, he bats better in Australia, with a career strike rate of 144.03, and has a lot of experience in the format, having played in the BBL, The Hundred and the IPL, the last of which he won with the Gujarat Titans this year.
He is not Australia’s best batter, but he has been good in his role. And though nearly 35, and in the midst of upstarts like Tim David, expect Wade to be one of the less flamboyant but perhaps more consistent finishers this tournament.
