WORLD CUP POWER INDEX: Who made the biggest impact on the tournament in week one?

The Cricketer has employed a highly scientific* algorithm to track the relative impact of the players over the course of the tournament. Here are the top XI in the rankings at the end of the first week of competition

1 - Ben Stokes (England)

Anyone who can single-handedly put cricket on both the front and back pages of not one, not two but three national newspapers in the week of an all-English Champions League final and amid the carnage of Brexit is a walking, talking, cricketing powerhouse.

2 - Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)

Went to 250 ODI wickets during Bangladesh’s victory over South Africa at The Oval, becoming the fastest man to pair the impressive haul with 5,000 runs in the format. He also made 75, the bedrock of his team’s best ever ODI score. A quite remarkable cricketer.

3 - David Warner (Australia)

You just get the feeling that this is going to be Warner’s World Cup. He owned the crease at Bristol, barely looking unsettled either by Afghanistan’s bowling attack or the relentless jeers and scraping of sandpaper from the stands. By his own bombastic standards, his was a relatively lethargic 89 but 89 it still was, and it guided his team home to the most comfortable of opening-day wins. 

^{Australia's David Warner was in the runs against Afghanistan}

4 - Oshane Thomas (West Indies)

Fizzed into action with four wickets in the crushing victory over Pakistan, knocking over the middle order like skittles in an alley with furious short-paced stuff. The Jamaican and his Windies colleagues are a thrilling sight in full stride - raw pace and huge entertainment value.

5 - Jofra Archer (England)

Immediately proved his worth in England’s World Cup squad - as if there was ever really a debate about his inclusion - with a manhandling spell against South Africa. The Proteas could barely get him off the square as he finished with 3-27. Oh, and he also drove his first ball faced as a batsman in international cricket for four.

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6 - Matt Henry (New Zealand)

Any vague hopes Sri Lanka might have had of making a winning start to their World Cup campaign were dashed, slashed and diced by Henry on Saturday morning. The seamer clattered through the top order to put the Sri Lankans on the way to a Cardiff calamity.

7 - Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

Cool, calculated and utterly brutal, Guptill rushed through his work against Sri Lanka like an office clerk with his mind on Friday happy hour. His 73 runs took just 51 balls, featuring two sixes and eight fours, and the game at Sophia Gardens was done in time for a late lunch.

8 - Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh)

The wicketkeeper enjoyed a fine day out at The Oval, weathering the South African storm to make an 80-ball 78 in an excellent partnership with Shakib Al Hasan before running out the dangerous Quinton de Kock in the reply. And all while fasting.

^{Shakib Al Hasan helped Bangladesh beat South Africa}

9 - Andre Russell (West Indies)

Delivered a message to all those scoreboard operators he feels have slighted him with a devastatingly quick spell against Pakistan. “I just think they should put some respect on my name were ‘medium pace’ should go to ‘fast’,” he said, after picking up 2-4 in three overs. I’d do what Dre Russ asks, if I were you guys.

10 - Chris Gayle (West Indies)

One cat-like catch in the slips followed by 50 belligerent runs with the bat all while being barely able to move. Gayle is going to be worth the entry money alone this summer.

11 - Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan)

With Afghanistan in something of a funk against Australia, the middle-order batsman smashed a glorious fifty, including 21 in a single over off Adam Zampa. The boisterous crowd inside the County Ground in Bristol loved every single second of it.

*not at all scientific

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