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The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 will slated to be played in England and Wales from May 30 to June 14. It is said to be one of the most competitive World Cups ever. ICC went with the ten-team format instead of the traditional style where we use to see around 14 teams including the Associate Nations.
On Thursday, the captains of the ten participating teams gathered at the Film Shed in London’s trendy East End for the official media launch of the upcoming World Cup.
During the Captains’ Day event, all the 10 skippers were asked about their top pick for the team that would lift the title. Not just the captains, but all fans and analysts have agreed that the hosts England, the defending champions Australia and the two-time World Cup winner India are the top three selections and favourites to lift the title.
Overall, the hot choice turned out to be England, who have been playing brilliantly well in the 50-over format since their World Cup 2015 debacle.
The Captains speak
Aaron Finch:
It’s a good question, I think, England have been in great form over the last couple of years and along with India, they’ve probably been the standout performers. So you’d have to say England are definitely the favourites.
I think it’s important that some of our guys have got that World Cup experience and having, I think, six players who have been a part of a winning World Cup will hold us in good stead going forward, hopefully. But it’s a different tournament and, once you get out and start playing, the pressure takes over. So it’ll be a great tournament.
Eoin Morgan:
I’ve no idea. I don’t think there’s anybody that’s head and shoulders above everybody else. In a 10-team World Cup, the ten best teams in the world, it’s going to be an extraordinarily competitive tournament. And I think there will be some quality cricket played. We’re really looking forward to playing.
Of course being at home will be a factor. It’s called home advantage for a reason. We get to spend a lot of time in our own beds, we’ll see a lot of our families, and get to prepare like we have done for a number of years now. But England’s a great place to come and play cricket, if you ask any of these guys or any of their players, they love coming here and playing.
Virat Kohli:
We’ve had both our warm-up games televised already so there’s much pressure on the team wherever we play.
The way I look at it, there’s always going to be a huge fan-base for us anywhere we play in the world. But I have to agree with Aaron, I think England is probably – in their conditions – the most strong side in this tournament, but I also agree with Morgs, that all ten teams are so well balanced and so strong, and the fact that this is a tournament where we have to play everyone once, makes it all the more challenging. I think that’s going to be the best thing about this tournament, I see this as probably one of the most competitive World Cups that people are going to see.
