England batter Joe Root has started the Fab 5 World Cup race with a brilliant fifty in ENG vs NZ match on Thursday. The 33-year-old scored a brilliant 77 to push England’s total to 282. However, his innings ended in losing cause as New Zealand registered a 9-wicket win.
The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 has begun and all eyes are on cricket’s biggest batting stars as the ‘Fab 5’ who are set to engage in a fierce battle for supremacy in the run-scoring department throughout the tournament. While earlier, India’s Virat Kohli, Australia’s Steve Smith, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, and England’s Joe Root were part of the ‘Fab Four’, the emergence of Pakistan’s Babar Azam, whose form and class forced one to extend the ‘Fab Four’ to a ‘Fab 5’.
Most Runs Among Fab 5 in World Cup 2023
| Name | Match | Runs | 50s/100s | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Root | 1 | 77 | 1 | 77 |
| Babar Azam | – | – | – | – |
| Virat Kohli | – | – | – | – |
| Steve Smith | – | – | – | – |
| Kane Williamson | – | – | – | – |
Here we look at the Fab. 5 of Babar Azam, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root and compare their numbers in World Cup 2019.
Most Runs Among Fab 5 in World Cup 2019
| Name | Matches | Runs | 50s/100s | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kane Williamson | 10 | 578 | 2/2 | 148 |
| Joe Root | 11 | 556 | 3/2 | 107 |
| Babar Azam | 8 | 474 | 3/1 | 101* |
| Virat Kohli | 9 | 443 | 5/0 | 82 |
| Steve Smith | 10 | 379 | 4/0 | 85 |
One last dance for Fab Four?
The ODI World Cup 2023 may be the last ODI tournament in which the ‘Fab Four’ batters – Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, and Joe Root, participate together.
With all 4 players in their mid 30s, there is a high chance we might not see them feature in next ODI World Cup. By the time the next 50-over World Cup arrives in 2027, all these four players will be in their late 30s.
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