The 2023 World Cup is nearly upon us with nine of the competing 10 teams currently in action, cramming in some last minute preparation for the showpiece event in India.
To bet on the World Cup with our Match Centre Partners bet365 head here.
Over the tournament, we will be assessing the form of the runners and riders with our power rankings.
Here’s how the 10 teams are faring at the moment:
1. India
The hosts laid down imposing marker ahead of the tournament with their largest ever victory over rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup. They’ve got greats of the game, elite players arriving at their peaks and in Shubman Gill, the most exciting young batter in the tournament. They’ve looked a class above their regional counterparts at the Asia Cup – the fitness of Bumrah will be crucial though, his cross-phase excellence elevates India above the rest.
2. Australia
Top of the world rankings and with a series victory in India under their belt already this year, Australia are perhaps not quite getting the attention that they deserve. Their most pressing selection question is a good one to have – how do you fit an in-form middle order player into their squad, let alone their XI? They’re a vastly experienced group without being over the hill and Travis Head, with his top order belligerence and under-rated off-breaks, is a World Cup newbie with the potential to make a seismic impact.
3. New Zealand
Runners up in the last two World Cups, is this finally New Zealand’s year? The Black Caps are bolstered by the returns of Kane Williamson and Trent Boult and earlier this year showed their prowess in sub-continental conditions by securing a series win over Pakistan in Pakistan. Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell are excellent additions to the side that reached the 2019 final while Tom Latham has gone up a level as an ODI middle order batter.
4. England
England’s recent form has not been that convincing, although that is in part down to almost never having a first choice squad available which brings with it its own issues. While their competitors are fine tuning their instruments, England are trying to remember how to hold theirs. The recent form of Liam Livingstone and Ben Stokes is welcome but the likes of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow – ODI titans in their own right – are desperately short of ODI action and without Jofra Archer or a high-class back-up to Adil Rashid, their bowling attack doesn’t have the same sting as it did four years ago. Their biggest advantage is the format of the tournament – it is long enough for them to afford finding their rhythm during the competition and not before it.
5. Pakistan
The mauling at the hands of India was a reality check but this has otherwise been a relatively smooth entry into the tournament. Their top four ranks among the best there is in the tournament while their pace triumvirate of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf is formidable. How their lower middle order spin-bowling all-rounders fare in both disciplines will go some way in defining just how successful they are.
6. South Africa
South Africa boast a formidable side on paper with the likes of Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen stepping up to another level in the format in recent times. Their bowling attack is similarly impressive; newcomer Gerald Coetzee – a fiery young quick who has the potential to be an effective middle overs enforcer – bolsters an already imposing battery of quicks. They have home series wins over India and England in recent years and pushed India close in India last year – they are serious semi-final contenders. They are short on high class all-rounders, and how Marco Jansen and Markram fare in their secondary disciplines could go some way to defining their tournament.
7. Sri Lanka
Unbeaten in 13 games before giving India a scare in a low-scoring thriller at Colombo, Sri Lanka were head and shoulders above the rest in the summer’s World Cup Qualifier. Their batting looks light but since 2019, they have integrated an almost completely new group of bowlers. Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana are already IPL regulars while 20-year-old slow left-armer Dunith Wellalage has already troubled some of the best sides in the world. If they’re handed surfaces that play to their strengths, they could be a real handful.
8. Bangladesh
Bangladesh finished second in the ODI World Cup Super League but they are at best outsiders for the knockouts. They are in the midst of an underwhelming Asia Cup campaign and have lost their last three bilateral series, including one at home to Afghanistan and another away to Zimbabwe. Their batting line-up is short on firepower though their pace attack is arguably the most threatening they have ever taken to a major tournament. It could be a coming of age tournament for Mehidi Hasan; the all-rounder has recently been moved up to open the batting and marked his promotion with a century against Afghanistan.
9. Afghanistan
Afghanistan are vastly improved on the side that ended the 2019 tournament winless. In Fazalhaq Farooqi they have an incisive left-arm quick and in Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz they possess one of the most thrilling opening partnerships in the tournament. Like Bangladesh, Afghanistan are unlikely to seriously threaten for a top four spot but expect them to claim at least one high profile scalp at one stage or another.
10. Netherlands
It is a good summary of where the world game is at right now that Netherlands, the side most in need of high quality World Cup preparation, are the only team currently not in action. They are a stronger squad than the one that came through the Qualifier with the likes of Colin Ackermann and Roelof van der Merwe once more available. If they better Afghanistan’s performance in 2019 they’d have done well.
