Hyderabad: The 2019 World Cup came to an end after a mouth-watering contest between New Zealand and host England. England has adjudged champions on the basis of boundary count as both the teams scored equal number of runs after 51 overs of cricket.
This World Cup belonged to bowlers as India's Mohammad Shami and New Zealand's Trent Boult picked up hat-tricks while Australia's Mitchell Starc broke the record of most number of wickets in a single WC held by Glen McGrath.
But, these were not the only records which suggest that the WC was dominated by bowlers. There were five bowlers who did not get smashed for a single six in the entire edition of this World Cup. Out of these five three bowlers bowled more than 20 overs.
So, let's have a look at three of these bowlers.
1. Dwaine Pretorius
South Africa's medium pacer Dwaine Pretorius played only three matches for Proteas. However, in the limited chance that he got, the right-hand pacer bowled exceptionally to claim five wickets in the tournament. He clinched five wickets in the WC19 and bowled with an economy of less than 4. In the 23 overs he bowled in the tournament, he conceded just about 94 runs.
2. Hamid Hassan
Afghanistan failed to perform up to the expectation as they could not win a single game in the entire WC. One vital reason for Gulbuddin Naib led side's failure was a very poor show by their key bowlers. The big names like Rashid Khan Muje ur Rehman and Mohammad Nabi failed to weave his magic in the biggest stage of cricket. But Afghanistan found themselves a very reliable player in Hamid Hassan.
The right-arm pacer took just 1 wicket in 5 games but impressed everyone with his economical bowling. He bowled with an economy of 5 runs per over. Hassan bowled 26 overs in the competition while leaking only 122 runs. He did not concede a single six in the tournament with this he has also bowled 3 maiden overs, the most by any Afghan bowler in this edition’s World Cup.
3. Ben Stokes
This was surely Ben Stokes World Cup. Three years back when West Indies Carlos Brathwaite smashed Stokes for four back to back sixes in the final of WT20 2016, it looked like an end for Ben's international career but he came a long way and has now become the only bowler in this World Cup who bowled more than 30 overs without conceding a six.
Stokes uses his street-smart mind to stay away from batsman's hitting range. He bowled a total of 50.5 overs without being hit for a six. With an economy rate under five, he gave away just 246 runs. He was also England’s second-most economical bowler. In the match against Bangladesh, he picked up 3 crucial wickets which was his best performance in WC with the ball.
