South African coach claims England are favourites for World Cup

South African Cricket coach Ottis Gibson believes that England are the favourites to win the Cricket World Cup this year on home soil. On paper, it seems that the English have the most balanced side of all heading into this summer’s tournament.

England the complete package?

The transformation which they have undergone since suffering the humiliation of being eliminated from the group stage of the 2015 World Cup has been nothing short of remarkable. There are very few flaws that can be pointed out in the English side currently.

The likes of Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Moin Ali and Eoin Morgan all excelling in the current side, and they create a deadly batting line-up which will be hard to contain for even the best of bowlers.

These batsmen ooze confidence and this was seen during their victory against Pakistan recently. The Pakistani’s impressively scored 358/9 at Bristol from their 50 overs, following a huge knock of 151 from 131 balls by Imam ul-Haq. In response, the English eased to the target within 44.5 overs. More impressively, none of their batsmen failed at the crease which highlights the strength in depth that they currently have, but will it be enough to fire them to glory?

Will the bowlers let them down?

If there is one weakness in the current English side, it is that it is not rare for their bowling attack to concede more than 300 runs in an innings. However, this is becoming more commonplace within the modern game.

“They’re the favourites, aren’t they?” Proteas coach Ottis Gibson said. “Everybody’s talking about them as favourites. I recall Jimmy Anderson saying some time ago that they’ll have to do something terrible not to win the World Cup, which is good for them. They’re still playing well. They’ve got a good thing going.”

England kick-start their World Cup campaign with a game against South Africa on Thursday 30 May. The English will be the pre-match favourites but they cannot underestimate the South Africans who do have quality within their side.

Featured Image Credit: “England Cricket Team – The Ashes Trent B” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Airwolfhound