Cricket World Cup 2019: The global cricket festival ICC Cricket World Cup is just around the corner as England and Wales are all set to host the mega event from May 30, 2019, to July 14, 2019. It is the first ICC World Cup in a while in which only 10 teams will fight to get their hands over the coveted ICC cricket World Cup trophy.
It is a significant decrease in the numbers of the teams in the championship as 14 members including 10 full members, and 4 associate members participated in 2011 and 2015 championships.
However, this around, only top 8 teams from the ICC ODI rankings automatically qualified for the World Cup, while the other remaining teams battled for the remaining two spots in the World Cup Qualifiers 2018. The ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2018 was held in Zimbabwe where Afghanistan trumped the standings by beating West Indies in the final.
With all the fixtures done and dusted now, England will host the multi-nation event where 10 teams will battle to lift the title at the historic ground of Lord’s on July 14, 2019.
Since the introduction of the World Cup back in 1975, only five teams including Australia, India, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Pakistan have been able to lift the World Cup trophy.
However, with the evolution of the modern ODI cricket and English conditions assisting both batting and bowling, we may see a fierce battle between both bat and the ball in this edition.
Here are the top four teams with the best chances to lift the ICC World Cup 2019 trophy:
Which Team Has A Good Chance To Win The ICC World Cup 2019?
South Africa
Cricket World Cup 2019: The Semi-Finalists of 2015, South Africa, is one of the most consistent teams in the international cricket arena. However, when it comes to ICC World Cups, the Proteas somehow manage to falter every time which has infamously earned them the tag of the ‘chokers.’
However, this time around, with a dominant batting line-up and a fierce bowling attack South African team is looking well-balanced to all set to lift their maiden World Cup trophy.
With the right mix of experience and youth, the Proteas are well-equipped in every department. The Proteas have assembled a capable batting unit consisting players like Amla, de Kock, du Plessis, Duminy and Miller can take any bowling attack in the world to the cleaners. They also have able back-ups in Markram and Van der Dussen.
However, it is their bowling attack which gives the Proteas an edge over their opponents in the tournament. Led by Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi will form an impressive trio which is capable of swing the bowl while bowling at an extreme pace. Imran Tahir will take care of the spin bowling department with a responsibility to provide crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs.
The Proteas have an able leader in Faf du Plessis who has an exemplary record as their ODI captain with 25 wins out of 30 matches and losing only 5. Faf is a shrewd captain who can bring the best out of his players and raise the level of the team performance in whole.
South Africa is a team in form at the moment as they recently defeated reigning world champions convincingly and now they are all set to challenge for the ICC World Cup in England and Wales. They have enough depth and quality in their squad to lift the ICC World Cup trophy for the first time.
If Du Plessis and co. can manage to cope up with the expectations and do not crumble in the pressure then this may be the time when they can get their hands on coveted ICC World cup trophy and flunk the title of the ‘Chokers’ finally for once and all.
Australia
Cricket World Cup 2019 :If one thing is inevitable in the cricketing world, then it is Australia performing well in the ICC World Cup tournaments. 5-time champions Kangaroos are also the reigning world champions.
However, things have gone downwards for the Men in Yellow since their last World Cup triumph but counting them out in the ICC World Cup can turn out to be a huge mistake. Just before the World Cup, the Australian team has regained the form as they inflicted a 5-0 sweep over Pakistan.
With a formidable squad at their disposal, Australia looks well set to defend their title. The comeback of David Warner and Steven Smith after the infamous ball-tempering scandal has provided the batting-line up much-needed booster. While Aaron Finch, Usman Khwaja, and Shaun Marsh are more than capable batsmen to win matches for their team.
Australia has one of the most lethal pace attacks in the tournament consisting players like Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Jason Behrendorf, and Jhye Richardson. Their Spin bowling also is equally effective with experienced Nathan Lyon and young leggie Adam Zampa.
However, the USP of Australian side this World Cup is the presence of two Power-hitters in their middle-order in the form of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis. These both players are the world-class all-rounders with the ability to clear boundaries at will, and they can prove to be the trump card for Australia this World Cup.
Traditionally Aussies are known to punch above their weight in the ICC tournaments and in any way, they cannot be ruled out of ICC World Cup considering their love affair with the competition.
Kangaroos look well-settled just in time for the World Cup, and there is no reason they cannot defend their title and lift the trophy once again.
India
Cricket World Cup 2019: 2-time champions and last edition’s semi-finalists India, once again are the favorites to lift the prestigious World Cup trophy. Led by their charismatic captain Virat Kohli, India has been one of the most consistent teams in the past few years.
Indian Team with England is one most the most settled team of the championship. In Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, they arguably have the best opening pair in the ODI cricket at the moment, and the presence of the world’s best batsman Virat Kohli at number three will make any team in the world a contender.
While the presence of the World’s best finisher Mahendra Singh Dhoni automatically makes Indian Team a world beater, players like Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya will provide a completely different dimension to Indian set-up in English conditions.
The biggest positive for Men in Blue going to this World Cup is their pace bowling attack. Indian pace bowling has been their Achilles heels over the years, but they finally have a pace bowling trio in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami which can dismantle any batting unit and win the matches on their own.
In addition to that the spin-twins of India Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have emerged as the effective bowling partnership, and Virat Kohli will look towards them to break partnerships in the middle overs.
The Indian team has a history to perform well in ICC Tournaments in England as they have won the ICC World Cup 1983 and the ICC Champions trophy 2013 at English soil. They also made it to the final of the ICC Champions trophy 2017 hosted by England where they lost to the champions Pakistan.
Indian team is balanced with a perfect blend of youth and experience and looks good to perform in English conditions once again. Virat Kohli & co. will be looking to make amends to their loss to Pakistan in the final of ICC Champions trophy 2017 and go one step further to get their hands on the World Cup trophy for the third time.
England
Cricket World Cup 2019 : Since their exit from the last World Cup, England have re-branded their style of play and have transformed themselves into a different beast in ODI cricket. As per the ICC Rankings, England is the Numero Uno ODI side in the world, and they are also the firm-favorite to win the ICC World Cup for the first time in their history.
Their ploy to attack the opponent from the first ball has turned out to be the reason behind their success in the recent past. Moreover, England has a perfect combination to compliment their aggressive brand of cricket.
In Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow, they have two aggressive openers, their middle-order consists of Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, and Jos Butler, and they have all-rounders like Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, and Chris Woakes who are the perfect finishers.
With bowlers like Liam Plunkett, David Willy, and Adil Rashid England bat deep and this is one of the few reasons behind their astounding success in ODI cricket at the moment. They have plenty of all-rounders at their disposal which provides them with the number of options in batting and bowling.
Moreover, host countries won the last two World Cups, i.e. 2011 and 2015 so the home conditions will play a vital role in England’s World Cup campaign.
English players are already familiar with the conditions, pitches, and weather. They will also have the crowd support behind them which will motivate the English team to up their game and go all the way in the tournament.
England is indeed a well-balanced team as they have every weapon in their armory required to win the tournament like World Cup. If they can play according to their potential and manage the pressure of the home crowd, then England has every chance to lift the ICC World Cup trophy for the first time in their history that too on their turf.
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