Following the euphoria of England’s incredible World Cup victory last July, many fans of English cricket have been asking whether the new Hundred-ball competition will ‘cash in’ on securing new audiences that have gained an interest in the game, or do the opposite and become a significant deterrent due to the potential confusing nature of the game. What fans can unanimously agree on is the fact that the competition allows England’s best talent to showcase their skills on a huge stage against the best in the world.

When will the Hundred take place?
The competition will take place from the 17th of July to the 16th of August. Scheduled in the summer school holidays, the aim is to attract more families and younger audiences. 

Haseeb Hameeb (Lancashire)

Haseeb Hameed will be released by Lancashire at end of the county season

The opening batsman scored an impressive 82 on Test debut in India but has since suffered a sudden and inexplicable deterioration in his battinghttps://t.co/KLldi6rEgp pic.twitter.com/7NLqfAY6LO

— i sport (@iPaperSport) August 23, 2019

Sam Northeast (Hampshire)

Dominic Sibley (Warwickshire)

It has been 60 hours since the World Cup final ended, and I am still reeling at the result. But I can't keep ranting about luck, whether bad or good, destiny, rules, karma, and all that ... I already had a good rant on Twitter.

Now it is time to take stock of what happened, get over it, and reflect on this ICC World Cup 2019.

Some thoughts, a lot of ramblings, in no particular order ...

The World Cup Overall
What a tournament! Congrats to the ICC on producing one of the best World Cups ever. For a long time I have maintained that my favorite World Cup was 1992. The fact that Pakistan won aside, it was the best format ever used and produced very exciting cricket with every result mattering.

2019 is right up there for me. Not a single dull moment (barring the washed out games with no reserve days). What fabulous entertainment. Every match mattered, every result mattered, every run mattered, every wicket mattered, and at the end even every boundary mattered!

The best!

The Final
England and New Zealand produced the best World Cup Final ever. Perhaps the best ODI match ever.

Kumar Dharmasena
I have no idea how he is among the top 2 umpires in the world. If his stats prove that he is, then he is surely like South Africa of the old, or India of the new, who perform all the time, but choke when it truly counts.

Pathetic performance in the semi final and final.

Chris Gayle
Sad to see such an icon of white ball cricket depart the World Cup stage without setting it on fire. The only time he performed perhaps kicked Pakistan out of the competition.

Shakib Al Hasan
Talk about rising to the occasion. He has forever been the world's number one allrounder in limited overs cricket. He has always performed for his team. But never has he shone like he did in this World Cup. Runs, wickets, he produced it all.

Player of the tournament for me.

India vs England
I have heard so many conspiracies about this one. India did not chase to screw Pakistan. India did not chase to make it easier for England to qualify for the semi finals. MS Dhoni did not chase to screw Pakistan because of his affiliation with the Indian army.

All bullshit in my opinion.

India is not as strong as everyone is making them out to be. Sure Dhoni's tactics seemed questionable but you know what? Even had he tried, India would not have been able to chase down that total! The semi final against New Zealand is proof of that. The entire World Cup is proof of that with only one successful 300+ chase.

Bangladesh
Quite a tournament they had. Their best World Cup to date, but still a long way to go before they become a consistent threat to the leading teams.

Afghanistan
Overrated, overzealous, overconfident, outspoken, underperformers.

Babar Azam
This was a coming of age tournament for him. He is only 24, mind you. He rose to the occasion and performed like Pakistan's most dependable batsman throughout the World Cup. That match winning century against the best bowling attack in the world was for me the innings of the World Cup.

No one else scored a 100 against New Zealand's attack like Babar did. Yes Bairstow did, but Ferguson did not play that match. No one else chased a total against New Zealand the way Babar did. He is a superstar.

ICC Rules
Require a major rethink.

Think about this: Never in the history of ODI cricket has a team been declared a winner after being bowled out in a run chase.

India
The new chokers of World Cricket? Two World Cup Semi Finals lost. Champions Trophy Final lost. World T20 Final lost. World T20 Semi Final lost. All this in the past 5 years.

This is probably outdoing South Africa's chokes!

Virat Kohli
The best batsman in the world, but his scores in the 3 ODI chokes mentioned above: 1, 1, 5. He seems out of depth as captain. Looks like he is just a shadow and Dhoni is doing all the captaining. I feel like he will struggle with captaining the side once Dhoni retires.

Jason Roy
My favorite batsman. I loved every bit of his batting this World Cup. I believe that he makes all the difference to this England team. Without him, they are not the same at all. He scores and England wins.

He failed against Pakistan; England lost.
He failed in the World Cup Final; England just about tied the match.
He did not play against Sri Lanka and Australia; England lost.

In all other games that England won comprehensively, Roy's scores: 54, 153, 66, 60, 85. It is quite remarkable that all of his 9 ODI centuries and 14 out of his 18 ODI fifties have resulted in wins for England.

South Africa
Forget choking, they just failed to arrive this time.

Mohammad Hafeez, MS Dhoni, Hashim Amla
Why didn't they announce their ODI retirements?

Lasith Malinga
Even with that belly he produced some manic fast bowling spells. Champion bowler.

Ben Stokes
What a performer! What a cricketer! This World Cup was a true redemption story for him. Dropped for World Cup 2015, taken apart by Carlos Brathwaite in World T20 Final 2016, failed against Pakistan in CT17 Semi Final, and now Man of the Match in the Final of ICC World Cup 2019.

Turnarounds can be magical! He also took the catch of the World Cup!

Australia
What does one say about a team that reaches the final four stage of a World Cup even with an average team. Eternal Champions.

Shaheen Afridi
Find of the tournament? No. He was found well before the tournament. He had a great start to his international career before he hit a stumbling block in matches leading up to the World Cup. He was quite off in his initial WC matches, but then turned it around like a champ.

He was super in Pakistan's last three matches and showed that he can be a true star for the greens!

Mitchell Starc
Almost 50 wickets in two World Cups. Bowlers have not reached that tally in 4 World Cups! He's superb and probably uses the yorker more effectively than any modern day fast bowler.

Also bowled the ball of the World Cup to Ben Stokes.

Martin Guptill
Must suck to be him right now. Poor guy had a terrible World Cup with the bat. And yet he was there needing to score 2 of the final ball of the World Cup to win it for New Zealand.

The best thing he did all World Cup was a throw that caught Dhoni out of his crease and propelled New Zealand to their second successive World Cup Final. And then in the Final, it was his throw that ... I don't even want to say it!

Sri Lanka
Performed way better than expected.

West Indies
Performed way worse than expected. To think some thought they may win this!

Trent Boult
He may have only heard that cricket can be such a leveler, till he experienced it. He caught a ball inches away from the boundary to help New Zealand beat West Indies - in hindsight that catch got New Zealand into the final four. In the World Cup Final, he caught the ball and stepped on the boundary - that lost NZ the World Cup.

He bowled at a phenomenal economy rate of 4.8 throughout the World Cup. But his last 2 overs of the World Cup went for 15 runs each!

Alex Carey
True find of the World Cup. Another champion cricketer produced by Australia. At the start of the World Cup I questioned why he was Australia's first choice wicket keeper. He answered that quite aptly with the bat on multiple occasions.

His stock rose so significantly that Australia promoted him to #5 in the Semi Final!

Pakistan
What does one say about them that hasn't already been said. Ricky Ponting put it best, it is Pakistan vs Pakistan. But undoubtedly, I reckon this was their best World Cup campaign this century and they were very unlucky not to qualify for the Semi Finals.

England vs Sri Lanka
Was it fixed like Rashid Latif alleged? Who knows. Maybe the ICC, the broadcasters and TV Channels, and ECB colluded to provide the World Cup with some impetus. Or maybe not, but games like this is why this format is the best for a World Cup. Made every match count after this one.

Mohammad Aamir
Another redemption story. Handful of wickets at an average of over 90 in the two years before the World Cup, and ended the World Cup as one of the leading wicket takers. Hopefully this is the start of some magical Aamir years with the ball.

Micheal Vaughan
Loved his tweets throughout the World Cup!

Jofra Archer
Another find of the World Cup. Never before has an England bowler shone like this at a World Cup. Only 24 and he is their leader. So much so that he was given the ball for the Final Super Over too. Superstar in the making.

Edgbaston, Birmingham
I have never experienced a crowd like that ever inside a stadium. I've been to cricket matches all over the world in the past 30 years; Edgbaston for Pakistan vs New Zealand was the absolute best!

Kane Williamson
What a Gentleman. What a Cricketer. What a Captain. What a Batsman. What a Human Being. And he is only 28! I wish he wins a World Cup. He made me question whether all that was luck or captaincy tactics that got New Zealand over the line every single time.

He deserved to lift the World Cup Trophy, and I hope that he lifts one in his career!

Sanjay Manjerekar
What a waste of space. If fan boys are allowed to be commentators, what about me? I hope I never have to listen to his voice ever again!

Lockie Ferguson
The world has a new express fast bowler!

Rishabh Pant
What was the fuss all about really? His List A average is 30. His ODI average is under 30. Why is he an ODI number 4? What was all the hype about?

New Zealand
I don't even know where to start. The Kiwis played with my emotions more than Pakistan did.

At first, I thought they did not deserve to be in the World Cup Semi Finals. I felt they were a below average side, had won against weaker teams, got lucky against average teams, lost to all the strong teams, and got lucky to get a free point against India.

Then, after they beat India in the Semi Final and the way they did it, I was turned. I was a fan. Kane Williamson had completely impressed me with his captaincy and calmness. Now I wanted them to win the World Cup.

And they would have had it not been for some really cruel shit. Forget about the rules and the super over and boundaries. That throw from Guptill ... sigh. How cruel can cricket be.

I was as sad for New Zealand as I have ever been for Pakistan. They did nothing wrong. Played the best cricket possible. Did not lose the Final, yet lost the World Cup. Tragic. Just Tragic!

England
If there is anything such as destiny, this is it. If there was ever a team destined for something, this is it. Congratulations to them for this World Cup win and for inspiring millions through their amazing turnaround story.

Kicked out of World Cup 2015 in the league phase, England planned to become team supreme in white ball cricket. The last 4 years was the build up, and this is their moment to cherish. They have been the world's leading ODI unit for over two years and now they have a World Cup trophy to show for it.

The players would be happy no doubt. But it is really the fans who will be cherishing this win more than anyone. Some of them have waited for 44 years to witness this day!

England finally have a World Cup trophy, but they still cannot say that they have won a World Cup Final!

My World Cup XI
Rohit Sharma, Jason Roy, Kane Williamson, Babar Azam, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Stokes, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Lockie Ferguson, Jasprit Bumrah, Shaheen Afridi

England have been on an imperious march to the World Cup since their failure in the competition four years ago in Australia and New Zealand.

The Three Lions were humiliated, failing to reach the knockout stage of the tournament. Eoin Morgan’s men played a brand of tepid cricket that put them well behind their rivals at the top of the sport. Their failure proved to be a watershed moment for England in one-day cricket and inspired a revolution in their style, which has made them the front runners for the World Cup.

Over the last three years, Morgan’s men won nine bilateral series in a row before their surge was ended against the West Indies in a draw in the Caribbean. In their run, they defeated Australia home and away, New Zealand and Sri Lanka on the road, along with a narrow 2-1 victory over India last summer. The Three Lions are a machine in the 50-over format, boasting the best batting unit in the world, while Adil Rashid has developed into one of the leading spin bowlers in the world.

England have few weaknesses, although the most glaring of them were exposed in their series against the West Indies. Their batsmen have been on song for 90 percent of the time since the last World Cup, but they have still displayed a propensity to stage dramatic collapses. Their defeat to Pakistan in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy was a case and point, while further meltdowns against Sri Lanka last year and the West Indies in the final match of the series.

England’s ability to mount huge totals has been their biggest strength since the last World Cup. It results from their aggressive style of play that has seen them break the world record for the highest ODI total twice, coming within 19 runs of being the first team to post 500 last year against Australia. However, the same attitude can also result in rare failures. It only takes one of those days to halt their charge at the World Cup.

Although Joe Root does not boast the same striking ability as the rest of his team-mates in the line-up, he could be the Three Lions’ most important player in the tournament. He plays the anchor role to perfection, allowing the rest of the unit to tee off around him.  Root displayed that ability with back-to-back centuries against India in 2018, and it’s the reason why backing him to lead the way at the tournament with the most runs would be one of the best betting tips available, especially in familiar conditions in England.

Mark Wood's double-strike gives England an opening#WIvENG https://t.co/VDBuNIYUog pic.twitter.com/R4V8lJdJOs

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 27, 2019

The Three Lions have also been exposed at times in their bowling ranks. Without James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the 50-over game, England lack a world-class seam option. Chris Woakes has had his moments, although, on other occasions, he has been cannon fodder. In the Caribbean, Chris Gayle took him to task with ease and there are other openers that are also capable.


Mark Wood proved his worth in the ODI series against the Windies. He could be England’s ace card in the World Cup, highlighted by his match-winning spell of 4-60 to stop Gayle and company chasing down 418 in the fourth ODI. Wood has the raw pace to trouble the leading batsmen in world cricket. Paired with Rashid, it provides Morgan with a dangerous one-two punch to turn a match on its head. It will still take a complete effort from England to clinch their first World Cup crown, but they have star men that can put blemishes on their few weaknesses heading into the tournament.

Questions about the relevance – or otherwise – of the 50-over game refuse to go away, with the T20 format so popular globally and the ECB’s new 100-ball concept that will shorten the game yet further.

Root Ready to Blossom

British Conditions Not to Everyone’s Liking

A lot has been said about the sort of bids that Ben Stokes and Tymal Mills attracted at the recently held IPL auction.

Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants (and who came up with that name?) for US$ 2.16 million, the highest bid ever made for a non-Indian player at the IPL, and the highest bid ever for any player after Virat Kohli.

Great for him. Really, for Stokes this is one hell of a deal. He is a wonderful cricketer no doubt. He has just been made Vice Captain of England and he is definitely one of their star performers in Tests and ODIs.

But he has an extremely poor T20 record; international and otherwise.

He averages under 15 with the bat in T20 Internationals. He has a highest score of 38 in 18 innings. Not a single 50.

In 68 domestic T20 innings, he has crossed fifty 5 times.

His strike rate is in the mid 130s, but then that is just about average for a T20 performer.

So what got him this huge pay cheque?

His bowling?

Ha! He's the same bowler who got hit for 4 consecutive sixes in the final over of the World T20 final by Carlos Remember the Name Brathwaite. He lost that cup for England.

And that was not a one off.

Ben Stokes is among the 10 bowlers with the worst ever economy rate and worst ever average in the history of T20 Internationals !!!



Yet Rising Pune Supergiants dished out over 2 million dollars for him.

Just wow.

Now we come to Tymal Mills.

Have you even heard of him?

He has played 4 T20 Internationals for England, where he averaged 40 with the ball. More recently, he has turned out for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League, who bought him for US$ 70,000.

And you know what Royal Challengers Bangalore paid for him?

US$ 1.8 million ! The highest ever paid for a specialist bowler.

Unbelievable!

Thora paisa mujhe bhi dedo yaar... I can promise a better effort with the ball than either, 100%.

Jos Buttler enhanced his ever-growing reputation in limited-overs cricket with a series of fine displays for England during the ICC World Twenty20.

The wicketkeeper-batsman entered the tournament under the weight of expectation as the Three Lions’ power player in the middle order following his strong displays against South Africa over the winter.

Buttler struggled in the early stages of the competition with low scores against the West Indies and South Africa along with a paltry six runs against minnows Afghanistan. However, when England needed a performance, the 25-year-old rose to the occasion with an impressive 66 not out against Sri Lanka, which proved to be decisive in securing a 10-run victory over Angelo Mathews’ men to keep his side in the tournament.

Buttler was in imperious form against New Zealand, firing three sixes in quick succession to get the Three Lions over the line and into the World Cup final.

His power was on full display again in Kolkata against the West Indies in the final as he dispatched the bowling of Sulieman Benn over the boundary three times in England's counterattack. However, he made 36 before he was caught going for one big shot too many off the bowling of Carlos Brathwaite, ending his innings when he was just beginning to hit his stride at the crease, while he was powerless to watch as Brathwaite powered the Windies to victory.

Despite England's defeat, Buttler's 191 runs earned him a place in the ICC team of the tournament for his exploits in the middle.

HERE IT IS! The ICC #WT20 Men's Team of the Tournament!
What do you think of the XI??https://t.co/UntNYqlEjD pic.twitter.com/orEHnIc1bc

— ICC (@ICC) April 4, 2016

Buttler made a strong impression on the crowds in India with the noise level elevating every time he entered the pitch, bat in hand, which will stand him in good stead when he begins his career with the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

The franchise bought the services of the wicketkeeper for £385,000 after the England and Wales Cricket Board allowed him to play for the duration of the competition, as a result of him losing his Test place to Jonny Bairstow.

Mumbai will be aiming to follow up their efforts from their triumphant 2015 campaign, when the club secured their second title, with another success. Their Indian Premier League cricket odds to win the crown stand at 5/1.

Adding Buttler will add power to their batting lineup, with stars such as Keiron Pollard, Lendl Simmons and skipper Rohit Sharma already amongst their ranks.

The 25-year-old will be desperate to make a lasting impact as one of only three English players plying their trade at the tournament along with Kevin Pietersen and Sam Billings.

Buttler demonstrated that he has all the shots in his repertoire to be one of the dominant players in the IPL after notching 12 sixes in the World T20, the second highest in the competition.

Most Sixes in #WT20 2016: Tamim Iqbal 14, Mohammad Shahzad/Jos Buttler 12, Chris Gayle 11, AB de Villiers 9, Martin Guptill 8. #Stats

— Geo Cricket (@Geo_Cricket) April 4, 2016

He will also get the chance to further develop his skills against high-quality spin bowling on the turning tracks of the Sub-continent, which can only benefit England and his county side Lancashire in the future.

The challenge will be great for the 25-year-old as England players have struggled to hit the heights of their foreign counterparts, but if any player can buck the trend it will be Buttler.

Jon Price one of the worlds most renowned sports bettors has tipped his hat to let the minority of Cricket Bettors that he has his eye on the popular Indian sport. With over 1 million bettors vying to make money off of cricket it is hard to distinguish and to turn a big profit because certain sportsbooks limit the amount you can wager on a cricket matchup.