The clock is counting down to the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. From May 30 to Jul 14, the world’s best cricket-playing countries will gather in England and Wales.
2019 Cricket World Cup to Use Different Format
The usual suspects are on top of the Cricket World Cup betting odds, but this tournament will look different from previous ones. The ICC has narrowed the field down to 10 teams. Given there are now 12 Test-playing nations, this will be the first World Cup that doesn’t feature all the Test nations. After all the Associate teams were eliminated in qualifiers, this will also be the first World Cup without any Associate members.
Past World Cups have featured some big surprises, but the absence of Associate members doesn’t mean there won’t be upsets this tournament. England, India, and Australia go into this tournament as heavy favourites, and seven other countries will be eyeing the chance to surprise the top dogs and claim the World Cup for themselves.
This year’s World Cup will consist of a single group of 10 teams, with everyone playing each other once. At the end of the group phase, the top four teams will progress to two knock-out semi-finals.
Eye on Cricket World Cup Betting Odds
The top nations are taking this World Cup very seriously, judging by how early they’ve begun preparations. Players from the English national team have already left the Indian Premier League to begin preparing for the World Cup. Players from other countries, including Australia and South Africa, will also soon depart the IPL for England.
According to the World Cup betting odds, England and India are the teams to beat. For example, Paddy Power is paying 9/4 for an England tournament victory, followed by India, 11/4, and Australia, 4/1. After that, there’s some daylight before you get to South Africa and New Zealand, both 10/1, and Pakistan and the West Indies, 12/1. Down the bottom come Sri Lanka, 50/1, and Bangladesh and Afghanistan, both 100/1.
The big three teams also feature heavily in the top tournament runscorer markets. India’s Virat Kohli is considered the likeliest contender to score the most runs, at 13/2. His teammate Rohit Sharma is 12/1 to top score, alongside Aussie David Warner and Englishman Joe Root. Two other English batsmen, Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy are next in line, at 14/1 and 16/1 respectively.
Running the Ruler Over the Top Teams
England deserve to be favourites, given their 2-1 series victory over India last year. Believe it or not, England have never won the World Cup. In fact, the last time they made the World Cup Final was in 1992, when they lost to Pakistan in Australia.
India have the strongest lineup on paper, with star players in both the batting lineup and bowling attack. India is aiming to become just the second country to win the World Cup three times.
Australia isn’t as strong as it used to be, but you can never rule out the country that has won five of the last eight World Cups. The Aussies’ chances will rest on how Dave Warner and Steve Smith perform after returning from 12-month suspensions.
South Africa showed how to beat the Aussies late last year, and they’ll be hoping to carry that form through to the World Cup. Incredibly, the Proteas have never made a World Cup Final, although they’ve been to the semis four times.
New Zealand are always capable of surprises, and fans will remember how close they came to beating Australia in the 2015 World Cup Final.