Here is my player to watch from each First Round team. I’ve primarily picked younger players, and posted on Reddit to see what fellow posters think. Check that out if you want to join the discussion or comment below. Click their headings for their player profiles, and their names in the text for a video or watched the embedded videos of some of their efforts so far.
Group A
Charith Asalanka (SL)
The loss of batsmen Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella and Angelo Mathews for different disciplinary and contractual reasons has left some major holes in Sri Lanka’s batting line-up, however an exciting recent addition to the team has been batsman Charith Asalanka. 24-year-old Asalanka made his ODI and T20i debuts this year and has shown signs of being a viable option for them going forward. His ODI form has been more impressive, particularly in the recent matches against South Africa, where he scored his first two international half-centuries in back-to-back matches. His T20 outputs were less promising, however fans will be hoping his self-confidence has grown and that he can prop up the Sri Lankan batting order as they face the challenging line-ups of Ireland, Netherlands and Namibia in the First Round.
21 year-old quick Josh Little has grown into his role as a major cog in the Irish line-up over a short space of time, and could prove to be a major point-of-difference for the Ireland team in the first round. A left-armer with the capability to bowl around 140kph as well as his range of change-ups, Little has a combination of skills that when put together make him a rare commodity in Irish cricket. He plays with aggression and with his heart on his sleeve, and could prove to be their most important bowler in the early stages of the World Cup.
Another pace bowler who has the potential to shake up his First Round opponents is Brandon Glover. Despite not being at his very best recently, as pointed out by Reddit user styxwade, I feel that he does have the potential to hurry up his opponents and use skills gained in County and international cricket so far. styxwade also points out Shane Snater and Vivian Kingma, two very viable options who are not in the main squad, as better alternatives, and with Paul van Meekren, Timm van der Gugten and Logan van Beek also included in the Dutch pace battery there is a chance Glover will not feature straight away, however should he be given an opportunity I feel he can provide a variation with his extra pace to their line-up.
There was some great discussion on my Reddit post about Namibian squad members like JJ Smit, their captain and 2019 qualifiers player-of-the-tournament Gerhard Erasmus, ex-South African international David Wiese and emerging player Jan-Nicol Loftie-Eaton, however I have chosen Scholtz for his consistency and know-how on the international stage. He is an accurate left-arm spinner with a T20i career economy of less than 5.5 runs an over, and I believe his control will give Namibia an option to lean on, particularly in the middle-overs of their First Round clashes. I am pleased to see excitement around Namibia, and believe that this group is one that will be extremely closely contested in the First Round.
Group B
Afif was a standout performer with the bat in recent series against Australia and New Zealand. Despite being only 22 years of age he has now played nearly 30 T20 internationals for Bangladesh, and although he is picked primarily for his batting in the middle-order, his tidy left-arm spin could well play an important role depending on conditions in Bangladesh’s First Round matches.
Munsey has earned a reputation for being one of the cleanest strikers in Associate cricket, giving him an imposing stature at the top of the order for Scotland. With a strike rate of over 150 across 41 T20 matches the Scots will be hoping he can get them off to some fliers in these fixtures, and they will be heartened by the form he began to show at the back-end of their narrow series defeat to Zimbabwe in September. Experienced batsmen like Calum Macleod and Kyle Coetzer will also play a major role, however I feel that Munsey’s power hitting at the top will give Scotland a crucial edge in the early stages of the tournament.
Vanua’s all-round skill-set makes him an exciting package as the Barramundis look to shrug off some undesirable form and make an impact on their first major tournament. He is a veteran of their line-up and has become a player they look to when in need of revival or to make an impact on a match, as shown in this man-of-the-match effort against Kenya in 2019. His own personal form has shown glimpses of what he can do in recent times, and he will be desperate to regain his best form to help spur on his team in the First Round of the tournament.
Oman’s dominance in the ICC Mens Cricket World League 2, where they have won 12 of their 15 matches, has been headlined by the consistent form of top-order batsman Aqib Ilyas. Batting at number 3, he has amassed 644 runs at an average of over 70 in the 12 fixtures he has featured in, making him a dangerous prospect for his opponents, particularly PNG and Scotland who he has faced and impressed against in the past. Although he is a newcomer to international cricket, he will be a player his opponents will not be taking lightly in the First Round.
Russ Haylock Sportswriting 