ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Top 5 World Cup debutants – Batsmen

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 came to one of the most thrilling of conclusions on Sunday. England won in the most unbelievable and quite debatable fashion. Prior to the World Cup, the tournament was thought to be dominated by bat, but it wasn’t to be. The World Cup though, was a stage for a few of the new-comers to shine and quite a few batsmen have done well. Here is a list of the batsmen who have shone playing the World Cup for the first time.

1. Jonny Bairstow-

Jonny Bairstow, even though in his first World Cup, was already renowned as one of the most destructive opening batsmen in World Cricket. He lived up to the hype that was created around him and England before the World Cup. He scored 532 runs in the 11 matches that he has played in this World Cup  including back to back centuries against India and New Zealand in must win games. He is perhaps the easiest pick in the list.

2. Babar Azam-

Babar Azam is considered one of the most exciting rising talents in World Cricket right now and his performance in the World Cup didn’t disappoint. In eight matches in the tournament, he scored 474 runs at an average of 67.71. The 24 year old currently holds the record for the fewest innings to reach to 1000 and 2000 runs in ODI cricket, and he is second behind Virat Kohli in the list of fewest innings to score 3000 runs in ODIs.

3. Jason Roy-

Jason Roy, like Bairstow is another devastating opener and pair has been influential in England’s resurgence in One Day Cricket. Alex Hales’s exclusion from the World Cup squad meant that the competition for Roy would be even lesser and he reveled in the position with 443 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of well over 100.

4. Nicholas Pooran-

If West Indies are going to make a list of positives from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Nicholas Pooran would be on the top of it. Just 23 years of age, Pooran averages 52.42 in the tournament and has shown great temperament for his age. Selected on his record in T20 leagues, he has adapted well to ODI cricket and certainly looks like an excellent prospect going into the future for West Indian Cricket.

5. Rassie Van Der Dussen-

Rassie Van Der Dussen is probably one of the very few positives in South Africa’s dismal World Cup campaign. He scored three half centuries in the World Cup including a match-winning 95 in the final game against Australia. The 30-year old looks good enough to fit into the team after Ab DeVilliers’s retirement, though no one  can replace the super human cricketer that DeVilliers was.