ICC WORLD CUP 2019: The 2019 Cricket World Cup gets under way on Thursday morning. It promises to be a cracking start as host nation & World No.1 side England take on No. 3 side South Africa at The Oval. Here we preview the upcoming tournament.
This year’s World Cup sees a few changes from the 2015 edition, writes Gerard Browne. The main alteration being the number of teams reduced from 14 to 10. Instead of two groups of seven, all 10 teams will complete in one group, meaning every team are guaranteed 9 games. Eleven venues throughout England & Wales will play host to what is sure to be a tournament full of thrills & spills over the next six weeks.
ENGLAND
England come into the tournament as the best ranked ODI side in the world and are in excellent form. At the time of writing they are the favourites, trading at 3.1. Since the turn of 2019, England have hardly put a foot wrong in this format of the game. They’ve played seven ODI Series, winning six. They only exception was a drawn series vs the West Indies in February. Their recent ODI series vs Pakistan was the most impressive result, winning 4-0. Jason Roy was the Player of the Series and it was easy to see why. The Surrey man hit 87 runs in the 2nd ODI, 76 runs in the 3rd, and 114 in the 4th ODI. Captain Eoin Morgan was also in good form with the bat, hitting 71 runs in the 2nd ODI and 76 runs in the 5th. Chris Woakes was England’s main man with ball in hand. He claimed nine wickets during the series. Jos Butler, Johhny Bairstow & Ben Stokes remain key players for the hosts. England suffered the embarrassment of a group stage exit in 2015 but it would be a huge shock if they don’t make the knockout stages this summer.
INDIA
World no. 2 India will also fancy their chances of going all the way. They are trading at 4.5 to win the World Cup at the time of writing. Their ODI form has been quite strong over the past 12 months and if they click on any given day, they will be hard to beat. They recorded impressive ODI series victory over West Indies, Australia and New Zealand since the tail end of last year. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were excellent in the series vs Australia in January, both scoring a century. The pair are the top two ranked ICC batters in ODI Cricket. India boast the cool head of MS Dhoni, aged 37, who will be appearing in his fourth World Cup. This trio of players alone are capable of posting a big score. With some world class bowlers in their ranks such as Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohanmad Shani, who was Player of the Series vs New Zealand in February. India reached the Semi-Finals in 2015 and they look good to at least repeat that feat this year.
SOUTH AFRICA
England and India have been strong in the one day format but you cannot overlook South Africa, priced at 10 on the exchange. With 13 wins in their last 16 ODI matches, including home wins over Pakistan and Sri Lanka this year, they pose a real threat. Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis are in great form with the bat, with De Kock currently 5th in the ICC ODI Batting rankings. Meanwhile Imran Tahir & Kagiso Rabada are in the top 5 ICC ODI Bowling rankings. A case could be made that Rabada on current form is the best bowler in the world. The 24 year old looks a special talent. It’s hard to believe that a proud and strong Cricket nation like South Africa have never won the World Cup but they will feel this could be their time. England, India & South Africa will be many punters’ favourites to reach the Semi-Finals.
NEW ZEALAND
It is expected the last Semi-Final berth will fall to either 2015 Finalists Australia and New Zealand, and Pakistan. It’s fair to say that New Zealand are coming in under the radar. The Black Cats are trading at 11.5. They only lost one of their last four ODI Series. In Ross Taylor they possess the third best batter in this format. If Kane Williamson is brings his recent form into ODI, New Zealand will cause a lot of teams problems. Fellow teammates Seamers Trent Boult and Tim Southee are as good as they come. New Zealand are definitely a dark horse.
AUSTRALIA
Defending champions Australia seem to be finding form at just the right time and this is reflected in their price of 4.9. The Aussies have won their last eight straight ODI games, reversing their home series defeat to India in January by getting one over them on Indian soil two months later. Following on from this was a statement win, beating England in a warm up game on Saturday just gone. Boosted by the return of David Warner and Steve Smith following their suspensions for the ball tampering incidents in March 2018 is another plus. Both players reminded us just how good they are in the IPL. It would be foolish to write off Australia, who have won four of the last five World Cups.
PAKISTAN
Pakistan won the ICC Champions Cup two years ago in England but their ODI form has been hot and cold ever since. Twice they were whitewashed 5-0 by New Zealand & Australia, but did record their own whitewash series victory over Sri Lanka and went on to win away to South Africa. However a recent hammering by England will have done little for their confidence. Batsman Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam are going to be key for Pakistan. Whilst 19 year old Mohammad Hasnain is one of the most exciting bowlers around with his fast deliveries. We have Pakistan as 6th favourites trading at 24, but if they can find consistency they will have a major say in this World Cup.
BANGLADESH
That takes us on to the remaining four teams. Bangladesh have taken huge strides in recent years. They were a surprise package four years ago making the Quarter-Final and went one step further in 2017 reaching the Semi-Finals of the ICC Champions Cup. Confidence will be high having recently won the Ireland Tri-Series that also included the West Indies. Shaklb Al Hasan is the top ranked ICC All-Rounder in the game. They are capable of upsetting any of the big boys. If you envisage another surprising run, they are trading at 80 to win the World Cup outright.
WEST INDIES
West Indies are an unknown quantity heading into the tournament but one thing is for certain, not many bowlers will look forward to facing Chris Gayle. The 39 year old showed in the ODI Series vs England in the winter that he is still very much a threat. Shai Hope has stood up this past year and has an average of 72.17 with the bat. The Indies bowling attack is strong with Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel and all-rounder Andre Russell. The Windies can be backed at 27.
SRI LANKA
It’s hard to make a case for either Sri Lanka or Afghanistan. Sri Lanka’s ODI form has dropped in recent years. They seem to be in transition as coach Chandika Hathurusingha has left experienced names at home and is giving youth a chance. Angelo Matthews, Dhananjaya De Silva, and Lasith Malinga are the players to watch out for. That said, it’s no surprise they are at very long odds at 140.
AFGHANISTAN
This will only be Afghanistan’s second appearance at a World Cup. There will be plenty of Irish eyes looking on with interest as to how they perform as it was Afghanistan who claimed the last qualifying spot ahead of Ireland in March 2018. Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi are two of the best all rounders in the game and brilliant spin bowlers. They are the lowest ranked side in the tournament but are not to be taken for granted as they got the better of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup last year. Despite these big scalps, Afghanistan remain our total outsiders at 160.
VERDICT
It is fair to say this is a wide open World Cup as no shortage of six teams will surely feel they can go all the way. England, India and Australia will be many punters favourites. However, I’m going to go for an outsider and a dark horse in the shape of South Africa. They’re in good form and trading at an attractive price of 10.0 to come out victorious this summer.
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