KABUL (SW) – The 2019 ICC cricket World Cup hosted by England and Wales will kick-off on Thursday and would will conclude on 14 July.
The inaugural match will see host England play South Africa at The Oval. It is the fifth time that the Cricket World Cup will be held in England and Wales, after 1975, 1979, 1983 and 1999. The format for the tournament will be a single group of 10 teams, with each team playing the other nine once, and the top four at the end of the group phase progressing to the semi-finals.
This means a total of 45 matches will be played, with each team playing a total of nine matches.
The top four teams from the group will progress to the knockout stage. A similar format was previously used in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, though that tournament featured nine teams instead of 10.
Afghanistan would feature in its second World Cup after the maiden appearance in 2015. The Afghans would face mighty Australia in the maiden match on June 1 at 4:30 pm Afghanistan Time at Bristol. The two have so far played two ODIs, both have been won by Australia.
Afghanistan’s Schedule and Time Table at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019:
June 1 (Saturday): Afghanistan vs Australia – Bristol – 4.30 pm
June 4 (Tuesday): Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka – Cardiff – 2.00 pm
June 8 (Saturday): Afghanistan vs New Zealand – Taunton – 4.30 pm
June 15 (Saturday): South Africa vs Afghanistan – Cardiff – 5.00 pm
June 18 (Tuesday): England vs Afghanistan – Manchester – 5.00 pm
June 22 (Saturday): India vs Afghanistan – Southampton – 2.00 pm
June 24 (Monday): Bangladesh vs Afghanistan – Southampton – 2.00 pm
June 29 (Saturday): Pakistan vs Afghanistan – Leeds – 2.00 pm
July 4 (Thursday): Afghanistan vs West Indies – Leeds – 2.00 pm
England are ranked the No. 1 team in the format. Their batting looks solid with the likes of Baristow, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali in very good nick. The hosts are confident of a good show this time to lift the trophy.
India head into the World Cup as one of the favorites alongside England. With a strong batting lineup and a good mixture of variety in the bowling, India are touted to be the team to beat in the tournament. Led by Virat Kohli, India’s top three look very strong with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, alongside the skipper.
Ever since the 2015 World Cup, no batsman has scored more runs than Kohli and Rohit and Dhawan, known to play big tournaments well, the formidable top three are expected to challenge the adversaries on the field.
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