The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 finished in the most dramatic of ways! As England took on New Zealand in the final at Lord’s, the spiritual home of cricket, seven weeks of games came down to a final Super Over.
As the nation held its breath, England’s heroes held their nerve and lifted the trophy for the first time in history, defeating New Zealand by the narrowest of margins.
The dramatic final topped off a memorable Cricket World Cup that witnessed some exceptional performances. Over the 48 games played, we’ve seen a total of 676 wickets fall and 359 sixes hit! There’s been something for everyone.
At GoDaddy, we love cricket. So we were pretty pumped to be sponsors of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. As a round up, we’ve picked our Greatest XI from the tournament.
1. Rohit Sharma (INDIA)
India’s opening batsman had a wonderful tournament scoring a whopping 648 runs in 9 matches.
Sharma scored five centuries during the tournament with his highest score of 140 coming against Pakistan at Old Trafford.
He averaged an impressive 81 and set the tone for many of India’s innings.
Sharma hit 67 fours (the most in the tournament) and 14 maximums. Impressive stuff!
2. David Warner (AUSTRALIA)
Australian opener announced his return to the world stage with a bang, amassing 647 runs in 10 matches.
Warner scored three centuries during the tournament. His highest score of 166 came against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge, and was also the highest individual score of the 2019 tournament.
He averaged 71.88 in the tournament. Hitting 66 fours and 8 sixes. Way to go.
3. Kane Williamson (NEW ZEALAND) - Captain
New Zealand’s talisman was named the Player of the Tournament. The ever reliable batsman scored 578 runs in 9 innings. With his elegant stroke play he averaged 82.57 in the tournament.
Williamson scored two centuries during the tournament; scoring 106 against South Africa before following it up with an impressive 148 runs against the West Indies at Old Trafford.
Throughout the tournament he hit 50 fours and 3 sixes. His prowess with the bat was complemented by his temperament and leadership as a captain. As such, we’d have Kane as the captain of the GoDaddy Greatest XI. What a player!
4. Joe Root (ENGLAND)
Joe Root had a wonderful World Cup campaign scoring 556 runs in 11 innings.
His highest score of 107 runs came against Pakistan at Trent Bridge, and was echoed with the now legendary chant of ‘Rooooooooottttt’!
Joe scored 2 centuries and 3 fifties during the campaign, hitting 48 fours with his elegant strokeplay.
Joe also chipped in with the ball averaging 27.50. Nice!
5. Shakib Al Hasan (BANGLADESH)
Shakib Al Hasan was a standout player for Bangladesh. The all-rounder scored an impressive 606 runs in only 8 innings. Averaging 86.57, he finished the tournament with the highest batting average.
He scored 5 fifties and 2 centuries during the tournament, with a top score of 124* against the West Indies.
Shakib hit 60 fours with the bat, but he also contributed with the ball picking up 11 wickets and topping off a phenomenal tournament. Well played Sir.
6. Ben Stokes (ENGLAND)
England’s star all-rounder had a tournament he won’t forget anytime soon. Stokes topped off an excellent World Cup campaign by picking up ‘Player of the Match’ in the final to go along with his winners’ medal.
He scored 465 runs at an average of 66.42 in 10 innings. He scored 5 half centuries during the tournament hitting 38 fours and 11 sixes.
Stokes also picked up 7 wickets at an average of 35.14. Go on Ben!
7. Jonny Bairstow (ENGLAND) - Wicket-keeper
Right, we know Jonny didn’t keep wicket during this tournament, but we couldn’t pick our Greatest XI without including Jonny Bairstow. So we’ve opted to give Jonny the wicket keeping gloves and bat him a bit lower down the order!
Bairstow had a wonderful tournament scoring a whopping 532 runs in 11 innings at an average of 48.36. Let us not forget how scoring back-to-back hundreds in vital games ensured England qualified for the semi-finals.
His highest score of 111 came against India at Edgbaston, before a fine innings of 106 against New Zealand at Durham. He also scored two half centuries and hit 67 fours (the joint most in the tournament). Go! Go Jonny, go, go!
8. Mitchell Starc (AUSTRALIA)
The Aussie snared the most wickets in the 2019 tournament, taking a staggering 27 at an average of 18.59.
His best bowling figures of 5/26 came against New Zealand at Lord’s. He also took another 5 wicket haul against the West Indies at Trent Bridge where he finished with 5/46.
The pace and swing of Starc struck fear into numerous batsman throughout the competition, reflected by his strike rate of 20.51. That’s a wicket every 3 overs!
His 27 wickets sets a new record for the most wickets taken in a Cricket World Cup, as he surpassed the great Glenn McGrath’s record of 26. Not many batsman would want to face this guy!
9. Jofra Archer (ENGLAND)
The new kid on the block, Jofra Archer, had a super first Cricket World Cup with England.
The 24 year old picked up 20 wickets and looked cool, calm and collected throughout. He bowled the most dot balls in the tournament, 371 of them in fact.
Jofra’s 3/27 against South Africa at The Oval, were his best figures in the tournament, but his skills with the new ball and at the end of an innings were exceptional.
10. Mark Wood (ENGLAND)
England’s fast bowler took 18 wickets during the tournament. Regularly bowling in excess of 90mph Wood always looked dangerous with the ball in hand.
Wood’s tournament best of 3/18 came against the West Indies at Southampton. He bowled 276 dot balls during the competition and finished the tournament with a bowling average of 25.72. Yes Woody lad.
11. Jasprit Bumrah (INDIA)
India’s opening bowler had a great tournament picking up 18 wickets.
He rushed batsman and bowled some outstanding spells. He also bowled the most maidens in the tournament.
His bowling average for the tournament was a rather tidy 20.61. He set the tone for the innings well when he bowled and picked us some big wickets.
Time to bowl out
So there you go, that’s our Greatest XI from the Cricket World Cup 2019. Agree? Disgaree? Then tell us your dream team.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the tournament as much as we have. And, seeing as you’re here, check out our guide to the business of cricket. It may come in handy for the summer of cricket ahead.
