15 JULY 2019 STATE OBSERVER NEWS JAMMU
New Zealand skipper and Player of the Tournament Kane Williamson has been named as the captain of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s World Cup team, which also features two Indians as well as six players from the dramatic summit showdown of the marquee event at iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground on Sunday. England, who lifted their maiden ICC World Cup trophy after scoring more number of boundaries than New Zealand following the super-over in the final ended in a tie, are the most represented with four selections in the Playing XI.Meanwhile, two players from runner-ups New Zealand also feature in the team, which is named by a panel selected by the ICC to honour players who performed well in the tournament. The other representatives come from the losing semi-finalists India and Australia, who have two each players each, while Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan rounds out the team. The side was selected by former internationals and commentators Ian Bishop, Ian Smith and Isa Guha, along with cricket writer Lawrence Booth, while ICC General Manager Cricket, Geoff Allardice, was the fifth member and convener of the committee. Jason Roy gets the nod at the top of the order for his tone-setting brilliance for England that saw him overcome injury during the tournament to help his side to the title, the ICC press release stated.The England opener had five scores of more than 50 in seven innings he played during the tournament, including one massive ton against Bangladesh in Cardiff and also produced the throw from the outfield that tied the Super Over and gave England the glory. India’s Rohit Sharma has been named as Roy’s opening partner in the ICC World Cup 2019 Playing XI–which is one of the easier selections considering the fact that the former was the tournament’s top run scorer and cracked a record five centuries in all. Williamson comes in at No.3 and will also captain the side. The New Zealand skipper created history by scoring more runs than any captain has ever done before at a World Cup and led his side with aplomb from start to finish. Joe Root will come in at No.4 for this team after a World Cup that saw him finish as England’s top run scorer, fifth overall in the tournament, with centuries against Pakistan and West Indies and three half centuries. Shakib Al Hasan scored his runs this summer batting at No.3 for Bangladesh, but for much of his career he has come in at No.5 and it is there that he appears in this team as well. The Bangladesh batsman had a quite wonderful tournament, averaging 87 with the bat with two centuries and five further half centuries, and yet still managed to chip in with 11 wickets as well with his left-arm spin. Fellow all-rounder Ben Stokes is also a cast-iron selection – his heroics in the final were the stuff of fairytale but he was also a picture of consistency throughout the tournament for England. Alex Carey has been named as the wicketkeeper in this XI after he effected 20 dismissals in the recently-concluded marquee tournament, only New Zealand’s Tom Latham had managed more, while the Australian also bludgeoned 375 runs at an average of 60. Alongside Carey is his compatriot Mitchell Starc, who is also the tournament’s top wicket-taker with 27 scalps.Jofra Archer, who was the hero of the Super Over in the final and appearing in his first World Cup, claimed 20 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 4.57 to earn a spot in Team of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019. New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson finished second in the wicket charts with 21, including three in the final as well as an astonishing catch, while also going at less than five runs an over. Last but by no means least is Jasprit Bumrah, the world number one ODI bowler who lived up to that billing with 18 wickets while still only going for 4.41 runs an over – better than any other bowler on the top wicket takers list. The team of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 (in batting order) is as follows:
