From Livingstone to De Leede: my six players to watch at the Cricket World Cup | Mark Ramprakash

Late-blooming batsmen, key all-rounders or impressive young bowlers – who will prove the matchwinners in India?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. Continue reading...