ICC World Cup 2019 | England are a well-balanced side, says Geoffrey Boycott
Former English cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has said that England have a very well-balanced side and stand a good chance of winning the World Cup title for the first time in their ODI history. England have earned the tag of favourites on the back of some incredible performances in recent times.
England whitewashed Pakistan in the ODI giving a glimpse of what’s in the store for the upcoming mega event. The batting power-house had cake-walked 300 plus totals in the series without even sweating it out. Many cricket pundits and experts believe that this is England’s golden chance to lift the coveted title for the first time in their ODI career. Geoffrey Boycott believes England have all the bases covered and have evolved into a formidable unit, which has a golden chance of winning the title this time.
“They have got a very good chance of winning the trophy this time. They are a balanced side. They have learnt to perform under pressure. This is the most important thing to win crunch matches,” said Boycott, reported TOI.
Boycott was a part of the England side that lost the final to West Indies back in 1979 and feels that England have been playing some amazing cricket in last one year or so. England have made it to the finals on three occasions – 1979, 1987 and 1992, but failed to cross the final hurdle. However, Boycott believes that this time the team stand a real chance and he would be shocked if they failed to do so.
“They have been playing a good brand of cricket in the limited overs for the last twelve months. They have worked very hard and now is the time to get the rewards. They have good openers, a fantastic middle-order, the top all-rounders have been delivering and they are also really blessed with good spinners and medium pacers. England were favourites at least three times after the introduction of the World Cup. But this time they are real favourites. We played three finals before and just could not manage to cross the last hurdle. I'll be really surprised if England fail to win the cup this time,” Boycott added.
Alongside England, India are also red-hot favourites going into the World Cup and have played some good cricket in recent times. Boycott acknowledged India as another strong team with an added bonus of impactful spinners, who control things smartly in the middle-overs.
“Another top team. India's plus point is that their spinners are taking wickets in the middle-overs which is vital for breaking partnerships. Like England, India also have a good bowling attack and splendid batting depth. It all depends how the teams perform on the day of the match. Please don't think I have more confidence in England team this time because it is my country. I have criticized my team many times before. I'll do that again when they make a mistake,” Boycott added.
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