Even though England had actually never won the ICC World Cup title, it was one of the top favourites to win the title – an impressive feat which the English cricket team was able to pull off.
What Was Behind England’s Success?
England was one of the oldest teams to participate in the World Cup since its inception in 1975 and among the oldest full members of the ICC. Considering this, it may feel very counter-intuitive that 2019 was the first year England took the cup home. However, it entered the competition with very high hopes.
First of all, England got into the tournament as the ODI rankings number one – but only with a narrow margin. The team won more than 70 percent of the games it played since the 2015 world cup, placing it above – but just slightly above – India with 65 percent and South Africa with 64 %.
England suffered a humiliating defeat in 2015, being eliminated very early on on the tournament. The loss was at the time attributed to a bad style of playing that was not aggressive enough. England has completely reshuffled its team since then and emphasized batters and bowlers in their team structure.
In fact, the English team was a crucial component in its success. It had top-notch batters and bowlers that guaranteed its capacity to score fast and score high. The team broke plenty of records between the 2015 and 2019 cups, setting the hopes of the audience high.
Finally, the team secured some top talent for their tournament season. The captain of the team Eoin Morgan was seen as the best leader the team could have hoped for and was seen not only as a top player but also as an excellent manager of people. Team top talent also included stars like Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, and Jason Roy.