Liam Livingstone (England)
Players such as Livingstone never lead the scoring charts: for them it’s not about the volume of runs, it’s about making a decisive contribution at a key moment to get their team over the line. In the recent series against New Zealand he scored a brilliant, unbeaten 95 in the second game when England were up against it. From 28 for four they went on to post 226 and win. That will have done wonders for his confidence. It is really important to judge players like Livingstone fairly – they often walk to the wicket with their team either 300 for four or 50 for four and in either case their job is not the same as the people who bat before them. He’s bound to get some low scores, but whether he puts together a match-saving longer innings or gets 35 off 14, those runs are worth a lot to the team. If he occasionally gets six off two, that comes with the territory. His bowling is becoming quite important, especially given the doubts about Adil Rashid’s fitness. He will be assisted by the depth of his experience in the Indian Premier League and could be a key asset for England.
Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa)
Another middle-order batter – Klaasen normally comes in at No 5 – with the power to win games almost single-handed. He showed as much against Australia at Centurion recently, hitting 174 off 83 with an incredible 13 sixes. It would be wise not to get too excited by a one-off innings against under-strength opponents at a relatively small ground, but what striking. South Africa have a strong side, with the opener Quinton de Kock and David Miller, who brings more strength to the middle order, demonstrating the depth of their batting resources, but Klaasen looks like a bloke who can be a pure match-winner if he gets going, a player for whom no boundaries are big enough. He is likely to face a lot of spin in the middle overs, which is a particular strength – as Adam Zampa found out at Centurion. Klaasen could be the X-factor for South Africa, but however they fare it will be hugely exciting to see how he goes.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib (Bangladesh)
Sakib made his debut last month, but from what limited amount I have seen of him he looks hugely exciting. A member of the Bangladesh side that won the Under-19 World Cup in 2020, Sakib turns 21 during the tournament but despite his youth and inexperience when thrown into the side against India during the Asia Cup he looked anything but overawed. He bowled the first over of India’s innings and the last, key moments of the match, took wickets in both, and seems to have good pace and good variations. Bangladesh are missing the experienced and injured Ebadot Hossain, but replacing him with a quality fast bowler unknown to many could work in their favour.
Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand)
Mitchell has been in the form of his life for two or three years and strikes me as one of those players who benefit from coming into his national team not as a youngster but later in his career, knowing his game, comfortable in his own skin, and able to play with more authority as a result. New Zealand have him and Devon Conway who are 32 and made their ODI debuts in 2021. Breaking into the Black Caps side at a relatively late stage is likely to mean that at a time when some internationals are thinking about retiring he is doing nothing of the sort, motivated just to stay in the side and play well. He is a really important cog in the team, not just for his runs in the middle order but for his medium-pacers, which may not make him a key bowler – in the majority of his ODI appearances he has not bowled at all – but do give his captain a handy extra option.
Maheesh Theekshana (Sri Lanka)
Sri Lanka have had some good results over the past couple of years, including reaching the final of September’s Asia Cup, but they arrive at the World Cup with a lot of injuries. Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out entirely, while Theekshana picked up a hamstring injury during the Asia Cup and was not on board when the team flew to India as he stayed at home to do intense rehab. But he has been in very good form this year. Of all players who represent participating nations only India’s Kuldeep Yadav, with 33, has more than his 31 ODI wickets in 2023. With his ability to bowl in all three phases of the game Theekshana will be a really important player for his side once he recovers. This year he became the fifth player, and the first spinner, to bowl a maiden in the final over of an IPL innings.
Bas de Leede (Netherlands)
Netherlands are the rank outsiders but they boast a genuinely impressive performer in De Leede, who has played well for Durham this season but seems to save his very best displays for his country. Against Scotland in the World Cup qualifiers in July he took five wickets and then scored 129 off 92 balls, a phenomenal display that ended up being the difference between his team making it to India and staying at home. They won by four wickets and went on to qualify ahead of Scotland on net run rate. At 23, there is plenty of time for him to get better yet and he feels like future captaincy material. He is perhaps someone who can inspire more than his teammates and increase the popularity of the game in the Netherlands.
