England's Cricket World Cup defence begins on Thursday with the opening match of the 2023 tournament and captain Jos Buttler will be hoping to play a pivotal role.

England won the 50-over World Cup for the first time in 2019 in dramatic fashion, with Buttler taking the throw from Jason Roy on the final ball of the Super Over to run out New Zealand's Martin Guptill and claim the victory on boundary countback.

It was a sensational end to the nerve-jangling final at Lord's and Buttler, who was vice-captain throughout that tournament, has since been handed the reins following the retirement of Eoin Morgan.

The 33-year-old is now preparing for his third World Cup, having also played for his country at the 2015 edition in Australia and New Zealand, and he has been in solid one-day form in 2023.

Across his 11 ODI innings this year, Buttler has made scores of 46, 94*, 131, 9, 76, 26, 72, 30, 38, 36 and 30. If England are going to become just the third team to successfully defend the title, the captain's form will surely be crucial to that.

Cricket World Cup Most Sixes odds

Rohit Sharma - 13/2
Glenn Maxwell - 8/1
Liam Livingstone - 8/1
Mitch Marsh - 8/1
Shubman Gill - 9/1
Heinrich Klaasen - 9/1
Jos Buttler - 10/1
Dawid Malan - 11/1
Jonny Bairstow - 12/1
Ishan Kishan - 12/1
Travis Head - 12/1
KL Rahul - 14/1
David Warner - 14/1
Ben Stokes - 16/1
 

Buttler yet to hit top gear at a World Cup

There is no denying how destructive a batter Buttler is in limited-overs cricket and it's no surprise to see England 10/3 to win the World Cup 2023 with a player of his quality in the side.

However, the wicketkeeper-batter is yet to really shine with the bat in his two previous World Cups, scoring just 141 runs at the 2015 edition, before then ending as his country's sixth-highest scorer with 312 runs in 2019.

He has hit a total of 10 sixes during those two tournaments - two in 2015 and eight in 2019 - and he can be backed at 10/1 to clear the rope the most times this time.

Buttler will have to go some way to achieve this, as Chris Gayle won this accolade eight years ago when smashing 26 sixes, before Morgan ended up top of the pile four years later with 22.

Skipper has shown previous in India

One bonus for Buttler and England ahead of the World Cup is the form the captain has shown in the Indian Premier League.

Buttler ended the 2022 IPL as the top run scorer and there is every hope he can replicate those performances in the 50-over format in the country.

He piled on a sensational 863 runs that year, 247 more than the closest challenger, and he cleared the rope a leading 45 times to also end top of the sixes category.

Buttler opens for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, a position he has thrived in, but he often comes in lower down the order for England.

Sharma tops the betting

Rohit Sharma is the 13/2 market leader to hit the most sixes and he showed his strength at the 2019 World Cup when hitting 14 sixes, leaving him third behind Morgan (22) and Aaron Finch (18).

The 36-year-old has amassed 10,112 ODI runs during his career and he has recorded the most sixes for his country, clearing the rope no less than 292 times.

Playing on home soil in front of expectant crowds, Rohit will be hoping to put on a show and guide 2/1 India to World Cup glory for the first time since 2011.

South African powerhouse Heinrich Klaasen is also worth keeping an eye on at 9/1, having struck 13 sixes in his recent 174 against Australia, with the right-hander having cleared the ropes 23 times in his last eight ODI innings.

Livingstone fancied to shine

Liam Livingstone is the shortest price at 8/1 from an England perspective to hit the most sixes and he has cleared the rope 22 times from 14 ODI innings, recording a highest score of 95 not out.

That top score came in the recent one-day series against New Zealand and he could prove to be an integral part of the side, as he also provides a spin option with the ball.

Jonny Bairstow can be backed at 12/1 and he rattled off a quick-fire 34, which included one six, in the warm-up victory over Bangladesh on Monday.

Moeen Ali showed what he is capable of in that win with a tremendous knock of 56. He cleared the rope six times and is 66/1 to hit the most sixes at the World Cup.