ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Team Profile: England Cricket Team

England will face New Zealand in the opening game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on October 5 in Ahmedabad.

The countdown for the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 has begun. The biggest cricket tournament in the world will start in India on October 5 with the top ten best teams in the world. Everyone is really excited to see all the teams come out and produce some memorable performances. The tournament will be played in a round-robin format before the semi-finals stage.

All ten teams will play one match each against the other nine opponents, and the top four will qualify for the semi-finals. England will enter the tournament as the defending champions and probably the best white-ball team currently that has a totally aggressive template to play with. England will face New Zealand in the opening encounter on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Performance in the last ICC Cricket World Cup:

England were the best team in the last edition of the Cricket World Cup. Despite losing three games in the group stage and finishing in third place, England went on to win the tournament. England hosted the tournament and were favorites ahead of the game, but that World Cup win under Eoin Morgan changed England's position in the World Cup.

After that, they broke many records in white-ball format and even became the first team to win the ODI and T20I World Cup simultaneously. In the 2019 edition's semi-final, England beat defending champions Australia in the semi-final by eight wickets in Birmingham. Chris Woakes was the start for them. Then, in the dramatic final against New Zealand at Lord's, Ben Stokes' match-winning 84 took the game deep, and the game was tied. Later, England won the match on the basis of the boundary count. Though it was a controversial one, the result matters.

England’s squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:

England's squad is full of match-winners, and some big names feature on the list. Jos Buttler will be leading the team, who won the 2022 T20 World Cup as captain. England made a last-minute change when they replaced Jason Roy with Harry Brook. The batting order looks formidable, and if one can say this is the best in the tournament, it won't be the wrong statement.

The top order will have the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes, and these are some of the biggest modern-day stars. On the other hand, Stokes' return in ODIs has given England a big edge to defend their title. One big area in which England are better than other teams is the availability of all-rounders.

England have 7-8 players in the squad that can bat and bowl, which is just a luxury to have. The pace department will be led by Chris Woakes and Mark Wood. Sam Curran, David Willey, Reece Topley, and Gus Atkinson are other pace bowling options. Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali are the specialist spinners in the team. All in all, this is the team to beat in this competition.

England squad for World Cup 2023: Jos Buttler (c), Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.

England’s strongest playing XI for ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:

England's World Cup squad has some new faces, while most of the players are those who won the 2019 edition. The biggest strength of this team is the firepower they have from start to finish. Any player in the squad can change the game's situation with his power hitting. England recently played a 4-match ODI series against New Zealand and won it 3-1.

That series almost gave an indication of what could be the possible playing for England and the batting position of players for the coming tournament. Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan are set to open, which will give the team right-hand and left-hand batting options. Joe Root is slotted at No. 3 and has brilliant stats at that position. Ben Stokes recently scored 182 (England's highest individual score) at No. 4.

Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, and Liam Livingstone are next to do the finishing job for the team. Then, the all-rounders, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes, are pretty solid at No. 8 and 9. Adil Rashid at No. 10 and Mark Wood at No. 11 solidify the batting depth. Rashid and Moeen are the spin options, along with Root. Wood, Curran, and Woakes are the pace-bowling options. Not to forget Livingstone, who can bowl off-spin and leg-spin both.

England's strongest XI: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler (C) (Wk), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

England’s coaching staff for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:

Matthew Mott, who is the head coach of English team, will be leading England's management. Mott has also been coach of the Australian women's cricket team and has pretty vast experience. He was the head coach when England won the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.

And now, the ODI World Cup 2023 will be his second big tournament, and he will look to continue to be successful as England's coach. England's legend Graham Gooch is the batting coach, and he was one of the finest players ever produced in his country. Neil Killeen is the bowling coach for the team.

The conditions in India will favor spin more; thus, the ECB has appointed former Kiwi spinner Jeetan Patel as the spin-bowling coach. Carl Hopkinson is the fielding coach on the team. Overall, just like the team, England's support staff is also star-studded.

Strengths :

1. Firepower: The biggest strength of England is the power-hitters they have on the team. From Bairstow to Curran, they have a player who can change the game situation in a span of a few overs, which can put pressure on the opposition.
2. A Bunch of Genuine All-rounders: A genuine all-rounder is a necessity in the game of cricket. And how strong a team can be when they have 5-6 in the playing XI. This England side has 5–6 players that can perform in both departments in the game, which can never let the game go.
3. Experience of Playing in India: Notably, players like Bairstow, Buttler, Stokes, Moeen, Livingstone, Wood, and Curran are the regular faces in the IPL, which means they spend almost two months in India, which will certainly help them in the tournament.

Weaknesses:

1. Problem of Plenty: Yes, most of the English players are in-form and doing well. But sometimes, it can be problematic. Having so many options can lead to the decision of whom to pick and whom to drop, and that can sometimes go against you.
2. Not Specialists Bowlers: Having all-rounders in the team is incredible, but it also weakens the specific departments. All-rounders have a mix of both batting and bowling, but they are not specialists in one department, which can make a difference some time. On the pitches in India, you can't rely on the players who can bowl some overs; you need bowlers who are specialists to bowl.
3. Problem against spin: There is no doubt that England have incredible batting depth, but the biggest concern for them is batting against spin. Over the years, the biggest concern for England has been scoring against spin, and in India, their record is not that good.

English players to watch out for in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:

There are a number of match-winners in England's squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, and here we will talk about those.

Ben Stokes is the biggest player in the English side and needs no introduction when it comes to performing on the big stage. Whether it is the 2022 T20 World Cup final or the 2019 World Cup final, he was the one who won England the game. And England will expect something similar from him this time around.

Jos Buttler has been a prolific scorer in the IPL for the Rajathan Royals, and his knowledge and experience of playing in India will certainly benefit England in every sense. Buttler is a game-changer, and batting in the middle order will strengthen England for sure.

Mark Wood is among the fastest bowlers in the tournament at the moment, and there is no batter who wants to face a ball at over 150 km/h regularly. That makes Wood so special, and he is the one to watch out for.

England’s fixtures for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:

England will play the first game on October 5 against New Zealand. They will face all nine other teams once. The match against Australia is on November 4 in Ahmedabad, but before that, they will face the hosts India on October 29 in Lucknow.

England will be playing in eight different venues in the tournament during the group stage. They will only play two games in Ahmedabad. The English team will play in Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Kolkata in the same order. The only stadiums where they will not play a World Cup game are in Hyderabad and Chennai.

What to expect from England cricket team in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023?

Being the defending champions, they will enter as the top contenders to lift the trophy, and they will put everything into defending their title. With a star-studded lineup and the players who were part of the 2019 World Cup-winning team and have performed under pressure once, the English fans have high hopes from their team.

England have a great record against all the teams in the last few years, and that can also be counted. There are a few teams that can challenge the English team, but the experience of playing in the IPL will also give them an edge. In short, if England end up winning the 2023 World Cup, it will not be surprising at all.