CWC 2019 Power Rankings: Babar Azam new entry while Mitchell Starc surges up board

1. Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh, up one)

Since these rankings were updated, Shakib has added just the half-century and five-for to his titanic World Cup so far. Bangladesh must win out to stand any chance of qualifying for the semi-finals and he was simply too good for Afghanistan in Southampton last Monday.

2. Mitchell Starc (Australia, up six)

Ben Stokes’ ‘mic’ drop and kick of his bat is almost as memorable as the delivery that sent him on his way. That vicious, in-swinging yorker castled England’s chase and four days later Starc came alive against more quality opposition in New Zealand, accounting for their talisman Kane Williamson while on course for a five-for. You don’t want to be batting second against Australia.

3. Ben Stokes (return entry)

If not for Stokes, the hosts’ rather embarrassing wobbles would have descended into sheer humiliation. At his very best, the ginger dynamo is arguably England’s best batsman. His technique is as exquisite as Joe Root and his power as explosive as Jos Buttler, and now he has learned to pace an innings in every situation. He so nearly rescued England against both Sri Lanka and Australia, while his 79 runs from just 54 balls took England’s total out of India’s reach.

4. Aaron Finch (Australia, up six)

David Warner leads the World Cup’s run charts but his captain has been the most effective scorer. Finch’s 504 runs, just 12 fewer than his opening partner have come at a hasty 102.6, while Warner has been decidedly more watchful at the crease. It seems hard to believe now but Australia’s skipper was in a dreadful rut of form in 2018 – now he sits on 1,138 runs for 2019, having added a ton against England in the last week.

5. Babar Azam (Pakistan, new entry)

Just as a dose of Stokes magic in the right places has kept England in the hunt, Babar’s brilliance means Pakistan can still dream of emulating their 1992 World Cup winners. He’s not been the most consistent batsmen in the competition, nor the most prolific, but he’s had quite the last week. In trying conditions against Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and company, Azam hit a wonderful century and backed that up with 45 in the Afghan nail-biter.

6. Kane Williamson (New Zealand, down three)

Williamson has had a rather indifferent week by his standards, but two 40s in games versus Australia and Pakistan – especially with the rest of the top-order toiling – were handy enough for a man averaging 113.5. The problem is that the Blackcaps have seemingly gone into their shells over the past week, and one wonders whether Williamson’s captaincy is a factor. He is more circumspect by nature – Brendon McCullum he is certainly not. Still, New Zealand remain on course with much thanks to him.

7. Jasprit Bumrah (India, new entry)

The golden rule of facing Bumrah is you don’t fight Bumrah. His mere 10 wickets from six games is a measure of the respect batsmen are affording him, rather than any inefficacy on his part. Indeed they want no part of trying to deduce his awkward windmill action and upright gait, which is why the all-star opening and death bowler is yielding an absurdly small 4.4 runs an over.

8. David Warner (Australia, down six spots)

Warner still tops the run charts, and his failure against the fierce opening duo of Boult and Ferguson shouldn’t count against him. Under intense pressure – which has hardly ceased since his return to the international fold – he also gritted out an important half-century against England in victory. Still, it’d be a joy to watch the usual Warner, the IPL 2019 Warner, biff boundary after boundary and win a game on his own. He’s not there yet.

9. Rohit Sharma (India, same)

Rohit remains head and shoulders above even Virat Kohli in the Indian run-scoring stakes, and given the stodginess of the middle-order they’d wish he could bat the entire innings. Though he was partially to blame for a sluggish start in the chase against England, his innings of 102 was brisk enough to give the men in blue a real platform – that they squandered.

10. Mohammad Amir (Pakistan, down four)

It has not been the best of weeks for Amir on a personal level. Expensive against the Kiwis and outshone by Shaheen Afridi against Afghanistan, his time in the limelight has dimmed a little. Let’s not forget though that he remains the reason why Pakistan are still in contention for a semi-final berth and his pace will be crucial in the do-or-die final clash against Bangladesh.