ICC World Cup 2023: Tom Moody Expects Gus Atkinson To Show His Best Form For England In ODI WC

Former Aussie player, Tom Moody heaped praise on Gus Atkinson who has been newly included in England’s provisional ODI World Cup 2023 squad. Moody said that Atkinson will show his best form in the upcoming extravaganza tournament.

Gus Atkinson has been included in the squad after Jofra Archer suffered an injury on his right elbow which forced him out of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Archer has still not recovered from his injury for which Atkinson got an opportunity to travel to India. Recently, Gus Atkinson made his name in the cricket fraternity after he displayed a stellar performance in The Hundred.

While speaking to the PA news agency, Tom Moody said that he expects to see the 25-year-old wearing the Three Lions jersey more than Surrey since he has good ball speed which can help him to get included in the squad more than usual.

“I think he’ll do very, very well. Given the opportunity, I see him continuing to spend more time in an England shirt than a Surrey or an Oval Invincibles shirt. He clearly has good ball speed and has a grounded character and personality. He’s an exciting talent. Those types of bowlers don’t tend to come along that often,” Tom Moody said.

When someone sees someone who can bowl at a certain pace, everyone expects them to bowl at that pace: Tom Moody on Gus Atkinson

While talking about Atkinson’s pace, Moody said that everyone expects to see someone deliver at the same speed once they start throwing at that pace but it is not possible in terms of physical standpoint and also conditions.

“It’s the demands of international cricket and the expectation. When someone sees someone that can bowl at a certain pace, everyone expects them to bowl at that pace all the time. But at times that’s not possible purely from a physical standpoint and also conditions may not allow you to run in and let fly at that pace consistently,” Tom Moody added.

England will face New Zealand in the inaugural match of the ODI World Cup 2023 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

England’s provisional ODI World Cup 2023 squad: Jos Buttler (C), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.