The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 starts this week in England and Wales.
Here is your guide to the quadrennial 50-over extravaganza.
When does it start?
The World Cup begins on May 30 with hosts England playing South Africa at Kennington Oval, London (3:00pm IST). The ten-team World Cup ends on July 14.
How many teams are competing?
England, India, Afghanistan, Australia, West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
What are the squads?
To see all ten World Cup squad lists, click HERE.
How many matches are there?
The World Cup comprises 45 league matches followed by the semi-finals and final.
(ALSO READ: India matches: schedule, venues, time, TV schedule)
Where can I see the schedule?
Here is a breakdown of individual team schedules with timings in IST.
INDIA FIXTURES | SOUTH AFRICA FIXTURES | AUSTRALIA FIXTURES | BANGLADESH FIXTURES | NEW ZEALAND FIXTURES | ENGLAND FIXTURES | PAKISTAN FIXTURES | WEST INDIES FIXTURES | SRI LANKA FIXTURES | AFGHANISTAN FIXTURES
What are the venues?
The World Cup will be contested across 11 venues in the United Kingdom. Manchester’s Old Trafford has the most matches – six – while the iconic Lord’s in London hosts five matches, including the final on July 14. Edgbaston in Birmingham also hosts five matches, including the second semi-final. The rest of the venues are Bristol, The Oval, Headingly, Trent Bridge, The Rose Bowl in Southampton, Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens, Durham’s Riverside and Taunton in Somerset.
(ALSO READ: FULL COVERAGE – Squads, schedule, fixtures, results, news)
What is the format?
Similar to the 1992 World Cup, with the absence of quarter-finals, the 2019 World Cup does not have groups. All ten teams play each other and the top four enter the semi-finals.
Where can I watch?
In India, the World Cup will be telecast on the Star Sports network and streamed on Hotstar.
Where can I follow live scores and updates?
CricketCountry will have reporters at various World Cup venues in England and Wales bringing to you all the latest. You can follow all the matches and get all the latest news, results, analysis, photos and videos on our dedicated World Cup page .
For all World Cup features and analysis, click HERE.
For World Cup videos, click HERE.
To see World Cup photo galleries, click HERE.
What is the World Cup commentary roster?
The ICC has put together a fine list of experts. The commentator for the World Cup are: Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Ian Bishop, Michael Holding, Wasim Akram, Sourav Ganguly, Michael Clarke, Kumar Sangakkara, Simon Doull, Michael Slater, Ramiz Raja,Sanjay Manjrekar, Ian Smith, Brendon McCullum, Graeme Smith, Shaun Pollock, Mark Nicholas, Isa Guha, Pommie Mbangwa, Athar Ali Khan, Ian Ward, Mel Jones, Alison Mitchell and Harsha Bhogle.
Who are the favourites?
Ranked No 1 in ODIs, England are the hot pick given their success in white-ball cricket since the 2015 World Cup as well as their form and home record. Second-ranked India, led by Virat Kohli, are also a top team given their success home and away in the past three years.
Defending champions Australia look a rejuvenated team since they beat India in India a few months ago, and with the return of David Warner and Steve Smith, plus a fit-again Mitchell Starc, they are looking ominous.
Beyond these three, it is tough to predict a fourth semi-finalist.
What are the teams competing for?
The World Cup trophy, of course, plus a prize of $4 million for the winning team. The runners-up will receive $2 million. Teams that lose in the semi-finals will get $800,000. For each victor in the league stage, a team will get $40,000.
