In matter of months, the eyes of the cricketing world will descend on England and Wales as the two nations host the 12th Cricket World Cup.
Four years ago, Australia defeated their co-hosts New Zealand to land their fifth title but as the tournament moves onto European shores, the competition looks hotter than as we wait to see who will be crowned World Champion at Lords on 14th July.
So, who’s playing, who is the favourite in the ICC Cricket World Cup betting, what stadiums can you catch the action at and what is the format?
Who has qualified
The 2019 World is unique as only ten teams will compete as opposed to fourteen that took part in 2011 and 2014.
How it works is that the hosts England and the top seven other teams in the ICC World rankings automatically qualify whilst the two remaining spots were decided in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.
It means the full list of attendees is as follows:
England, South Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Afghanistan.
How does it work?
The process is simple, each team plays against each other in one day 50-over a side cricket with the top four then progressing to the semi-final where it is then knockout cricket the rest of the way.
The winner of the league table plays the team who finishes fourth whilst second and third face off with the two winners meeting at Lords on the 14th July to determine who will be crowned World Champions.
Who is the Favourite?
When it comes to cricket, the wicket becomes key and home advantage plays a bigger role than probably any other sport.
With that in mind, you find it no surprise to learn that the hosts England are the favourites to lift the title.
However, there is another reason why England are fancied. They are after all the number one ranked One Day International side in the World just ahead of India whilst defending champions find themselves ranked fifth.
There is one issue though for the hosts, they have never actually won the tournament.
Three times the Three Lions has made it to the final but defeat to the West Indies in 1979, Australia in 1987 and Pakistan in 1992 has left one of the ICC founder members with nothing to show for their efforts in One Day World Cricket tournaments.
Where can you watch the action?
England and Wales have a plethora of historic cricketing venues and they will all be action during the World Cup.
As already mentioned above, the final will be played at arguably the iconic cricket venue in the world, Lords.
However, the tournament will get underway at another word renowned venue with the hosts kicking off the tournament in a mouth-watering tie against South Africa at the Oval.
In total, 11 stadiums will see action with Headingly, Edgbaston, Bristol City Ground, Chester-le-Street, Cardiff, Old Trafford, Trent Bridge, the Rose Bowl and Taunton all set to host at least one match.
The action gets underway on May the 30th and it is a tournament you won’t want to miss.
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