England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced their provisional 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023 on Wednesday, August 18. The biggest news for English fans was the inclusion of red-ball team captain Ben Stokes and the ace batter Joe Root but fans were surprised to see an unknown name in the squad, Gus Atkinson.
With the next ODI World Cup only weeks away, the champions will kick off their preparations with a four-match ODI series at home against New Zealand starting on August 30. Board's aggressive campaign to force Ben Stokes to return to ODI worked well as the star all-rounder will definitely boost their chances in India.
With Stokes taking his role of pace all-rounder, England are looking well placed in their pace options for the World Cup. Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, David Willey, and Reece Topley are all included in the team alongside uncapped Gud Atkinson. So, with six pace-specialist bowlers, England will be having the best bowling attack in the mega tournament.
Atkinson recently made the headlines for clocking a 153 kmph delivery during the Hundred 2023 game for the Oval Invincibles. He has taken the ongoing tournament by storm with nine wickets in the opening four games but that's not only his trait for winning the surprise ticket to ICC ODI World Cup 2023. So, let's find out more about Atkinson and his stats, records before he makes his international debut.
Who is Gus Atkinson?
- Born in Chelsea on January 19, 1998 (25 years)
- A right-arm fast bowler who can consistently bowl around 150 kmph and can bat when needed to be
- Made his First-Class debut in August 2020 in a County Championship game against Essex
- He has made only 14 appearances in First-Class cricket due to injuries related to recurring stress fractures
- He has played only two List A games, the last coming in July 2021
- Atkinson took four wickets on his Lisa A debut in a One-Day Cup game against Yorkshire
- He has taken 45 wickets in 14 First-Class matches at an impressive average of 26.64 with one five-wicket haul so far
- Atkinson has also proved his batting skills with three fifties in First-Class cricket and holds an average of 28.14
- In domestic T20 cricket, he has taken 55 wickets in 40 innings at an average of 19.23 and an economy rate of 8.63
- He plays for Surrey in England's domestic cricket tournaments and recently featured for Desert Vipers (ILT20 2023) and Islamabad United (PSL 2023)
- Atkinson is currently the second-highest leading wicket-taker in the ongoing Men's Hundred 2023 with 9 wickets in 4 innings for Oval Invincibles
