Cricket World Cup 2015: Top Run-Scorers, Wicket-Takers and Averages After Day 1

The infancy of a major tournament is the perfect time to lay down a marker, and with the Cricket World Cup now underway in Australia and New Zealand, what better place to impress than in the opening matches of the competition?

Both hosting nations enjoyed emphatic wins in their tournament curtain-raisers, and naturally there were players aplenty looking to make their mark.

As such, we were treated to plenty of blistering bowling, fantastic fielding and brash batting from the four teams involved; the stars of the day were both donning the iconic green and gold, however, as Aaron Finch and Mitchell Marsh shone with bat and ball respectively.

At the conclusion of Day 1, here’s a look at the leading men in the batting and bowling disciplines, and a closer examination of some of the standout performances.

Player	Team	Runs	Average
Aaron Finch	Australia	135	135
James Taylor	England	98	N/A
Corey Anderson	New Zealand	75	75
Glenn Maxwell	Australia	66	66
Brendon McCullum	New Zealand	65	65
Lahiru Thirimanne	Sri Lanka	65	65
Kane Williamson	New Zealand	57	57
George Bailey	Australia	55	55
Martin Guptill	New Zealand	49	49
Angelo Mathews	Sri Lanka	46	46

Player	Team	Strike-Rate	Runs	Balls
Brad Haddin	Australia	221.42	31	14
Glenn Maxwell	Australia	165.00	66	40
Corey Anderson	New Zealand	163.04	75	46
Luke Ronchi	New Zealand	152.63	29	19
Brendon McCullum	New Zealand	132.65	65	49
David Warner	Australia	122.22	22	18
Mitchell Marsh	Australia	115.00	23	20
James Taylor	England	108.88	98	90
Lahiru Thirimanne	Sri Lanka	108.33	65	60
Aaron Finch	Australia	105.46	135	128

Player	Country	Wickets	Runs
Mitchell Marsh	Australia	5	33
Steven Finn	England	5	71
Jeevan Mendis	Sri Lanka	2	5
Corey Anderson	New Zealand	2	18
Daniel Vettori	New Zealand	2	34
Mitchell Johnson	Australia	2	36
Tim Southee	New Zealand	2	43
Mitchell Starc	Australia	2	47
Adam Milne	New Zealand	2	56
Suranga Lakmal	Sri Lanka	2	62

Bowler	Team	Economy	Overs	Runs
Jeevan Mendis	Sri Lanka	2.50	2.0	5
Daniel Vettori	New Zealand	3.40	10.0	34
Mitchell Marsh	Australia	3.66	9.0	33
Rangana Herath	Sri Lanka	4.11	9.0	37
Tim Southee	New Zealand	4.30	10.0	43
Shane Watson	Australia	4.33	3.0	13
Mitchell Johnson	Australia	4.50	8.0	36
Angelo Mathews	Sri Lanka	4.66	6.0	28
Mitchell Starc	Australia	5.22	9.0	47
Grant Elliott	New Zealand	5.50	2.0	11

Finch Stars, Entertaining Knocks from Maxwell and Anderson

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It was only a matter of time before the first century of the tournament was notched, and much to the delight of the capacity crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, it was the Aussie opener who had the honour during their thunderous 111-run win over fierce rivals England.

Finch set the tempo for the Australian batting effort with an all-encompassing innings, helping himself to 135 runs from 128 balls. It could have been so different for Finch, however, as noted by writer Glenn Mitchell:

Once he was settled, Finch was irresistible, though. The opener played with a real aplomb and set up a perfect platform for the Australian big-hitters to take the game away from England. As noted by Glenn McGrath, it was a really classy century from Finch:

One of the players who benefited most from that knock was Glenn Maxwell, a man branded as the "Big Show." His powerful hitting pushed Australia way past the 300-run mark as he helped himself to 66 from 40 deliveries.

In the day’s earlier game, Corey Anderson played a comparatively brash knock for New Zealand.

Phil Walter/Getty Images

He too was able to capitalise on the good work of an opener—Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum smashed 65 from 49 balls up front—to make 75 from 46 balls, as New Zealand motored to a final score of 331/6.

As noted by the Black Caps’ Twitter account, the all-rounder was awarded the man-of-the-match award for his display:

The other impressive batting effort of the opening day came from England’s James Taylor. He strode to the crease with his team in disarray, and while his efforts never looked likely to give England a shot at winning the match, his varied shot-making and powerful hitting during an unbeaten 98 was a shaft of positivity on an otherwise dreary day for his country.

Marsh Comes of Age, Finn Bags a Hat-Trick

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Mitchell Marsh wasn’t expected to be the man securing a five-for against England, but the 23-year-old showcased bags of promise with this exemplary performance, finishing up with figures of 5-33. He decimated the England middle order with his precision bowling and was ably assisted by some stunning efforts in the field.

The catch from Steve Smith to help Marsh bag his five-wicket haul was particularly special, as we can see here courtesy of FOX SPORTS Cricket:

To accrue so many wickets on your World Cup debut is a remarkable achievement for Marsh, and this performance will give him plenty of momentum moving forward. As noted here by Chris Robinson of The Sunday Times, it’s no easy task to take a five-for in this competition, even for the game’s most illustrious players:

The other standout bowling performance of the day came from England’s Steven Finn. He’d toiled throughout the innings as he struggled for line and length, but with three balls remaining, he injected some late positivity into the visitors’ hopes.

Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Granted, all the victims came after Australian batsmen looked to slog, but wickets are wickets after all!

Nonetheless, the manner in which they were accrued meant that Finn was a little understated celebrating what should be a cornerstone achievement, per cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle:

England’s bowling left much to be desired in the most part, however. The continued reluctance of this team to hit the middle of the pitch in the last 10 overs is becoming a major concern, and it’s imperative that this facet of their play improves enormously if England are going to stick around for the quarter-finals.

All statistics courtesy of ESPNcricinfo.