[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

May

Group Stage

Thursday 30th - England vs South Africa, The Oval (England win by 104 runs)
Friday 31st - West Indies vs Pakistan, Trent Bridge (West Indies win by 7 wickets)


June

Saturday 1st - New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, Cardiff (New Zealand win by 10 wickets)
Saturday 1st - Afghanistan vs Australia, Bristol (Australia win by 7 wickets)
Sunday 2nd - South Africa vs Bangladesh, The Oval (Bangladesh win by 21 runs)
Monday 3rd - England vs Pakistan, Trent Bridge (Pakistan win by 14 runs)
Tuesday 4th - Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, Cardiff (Sri Lanka win by 34 runs, D/L)
Wednesday 5th - South Africa vs India, Southampton (India win by 6 wickets)
Wednesday 5th - Bangladesh vs New Zealand, The Oval (New Zealand win by 2 wickets)
Thursday 6th - Australia vs West Indies, Trent Bridge (Australia win by 15 runs)
Friday 7th - Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Bristol (Match abandoned)
Saturday 8th - England vs Bangladesh, Cardiff (England win by 106 runs)
Saturday 8th - Afghanistan vs New Zealand, Taunton (New Zealand win by 7 wickets)
Sunday 9th - India vs Australia, The Oval (India win by 36 runs)
Monday 10th - South Africa vs West Indies, Southampton (Match abandoned)
Tuesday 11th - Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Bristol (Match abandoned)
Wednesday 12th - Australia vs Pakistan, Taunton (Australia won by 41 runs)
Thursday 13th - India vs New Zealand, Trent Bridge (Match abandoned)
Friday 14th - England vs West Indies, Southampton (England win by 8 wickets)
Saturday 15th - Sri Lanka vs Australia, The Oval (Australia win by 87 runs)
Saturday 15th - South Africa vs Afghanistan, Cardiff (South Africa win by 9 wickets, D/L)
Sunday 16th - India vs Pakistan, Old Trafford (India win by 89 runs, D/L)
Monday 17th - West Indies vs Bangladesh, Taunton (Bangladesh win by 7 wickets)
Tuesday 18th - England vs Afghanistan, Old Trafford (England win by 150 runs)
Wednesday 19th - New Zealand vs South Africa, Edgbaston (New Zealand win by 4 wickets)
Thursday 20th - Australia vs Bangladesh, Trent Bridge (Australia win by 48 runs)
Friday 21st - England vs Sri Lanka, Headingley (Sri Lanka win by 20 runs)
Saturday 22nd - India vs Afghanistan, Southampton (India win by 11 runs)
Saturday 22nd - West Indies vs New Zealand, Old Trafford (New Zealand win by 5 runs)
Sunday 23rd - Pakistan vs South Africa, Lord's (Pakistan win by 49 runs)
Monday 24th - Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Southampton (Bangladesh win by 62 runs)
Tuesday 25th - England vs Australia, Lord's (Australia win by 64 runs)
Wednesday 26th - New Zealand vs Pakistan, Edgbaston (Pakistan win by 6 wickets)
Thursday 27th - West Indies vs India, Old Trafford (India win by 125 runs)
Friday 28th - Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Chester-le-Street (South Africa win by 9 wickets)
Saturday 29th - Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Headingley (Pakistan win by 3 wickets)
Saturday 29th - New Zealand vs Australia, Lord's (Australia win by 86 runs)
Sunday 30th - England vs India, Edgbaston (England win by 31 runs)


July

Monday 1st - Sri Lanka vs West Indies, Chester-le-Street (Sri Lanka win by 23 runs)
Tuesday 2nd - Bangladesh vs India, Edgbaston (India win by 28 runs)
Wednesday 3rd - England vs New Zealand, Chester-le-Street (England win by 119 runs)
Thursday 4th - Afghanistan vs West Indies, Headingley (West Indies win by 23 runs)
Friday 5th - Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Lord's (Pakistan win by 94 runs)
Saturday 6th - Sri Lanka vs India, Headingley (India win by 7 wickets)
Saturday 6th - Australia vs South Africa, Old Trafford (South Africa win by 10 runs)

Knockout Stage

Tuesday 9th - India vs New Zealand, Old Trafford (New Zealand win by 18 runs)
Thursday 11th - Australia vs England, Edgbaston (England win by 8 wickets)

Sunday 14th - New Zealand vs England, Lord's (Match tied after super over - England win on boundary count)

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Cricket World Cup Records





Highest score: Australia 417-6 vs Afghanistan (Perth, 4th March 2015)
Lowest score: Canada 36 all out vs Sri Lanka (Paarl, 19th February 2003)
Highest match aggregate: 688 runs, Australia vs Sri Lanka (Sydney, 8th March 2015)
Lowest match aggregate: 73 runs, Canada vs Sri Lanka (Paarl, 19th February 2003)
Highest successful run chase: Ireland 329-7 vs England (Bangalore, 2nd March 2011)
Highest margin of victory: 275 runs, Australia vs Afghanistan (Perth, 4th March 2015)
Highest run-scorer: Sachin Tendulkar - 2,278
Highest average: Abraham Benjamin de Villiers - 63.58
Biggest innings: 237 not out, Martin Guptill vs West Indies (Wellington, 21st March 2015)
Fastest double century: 138 balls, Christopher Gayle vs Zimbabwe (Canberra, 24th February 2015)
Fastest century: 50 balls, Kevin O'Brien vs England (Bangalore, 2nd March 2011)
Fastest half-century: 18 balls, Brendan McCullum vs England (Wellington, 20th February 2015)
Most sixes in an innings: 16, Christopher Gayle vs Zimbabwe (Canberra, 24th February 2015)
Highest partnership: 372, Marlon Samuels & Christopher Gayle vs Zimbabwe (Canberra, 24th February 2015)
Most centuries in a tournament: 4, Kumar Sangakkara (2015)
Most half-centuries in a tournament: 7, Sachin Tendulkar (2003)
Most runs in a tournament: 673, Sachin Tendulkar (2003)
Most sixes in a tournament: 26, Christopher Gayle (2015)


Highest wicket-taker: Glenn McGrath - 71
Lowest average: Glenn McGrath - 18.19
Lowest economy rate: Anderson Roberts - 3.24
Most wickets in a tournament: 26, Glenn McGrath (2007)
Best bowling figures: 7-15, Glenn McGrath vs Namibia (Potchefstroom, 27th February 2003)
Most extras conceded in an innings: 59, Scotland vs Pakistan (Chester-le-Street, 20th May 1999)

[Lord Snooty]

I think that highest score will be broken. The game's moved on considerably even in the last four years.
Will it be England winning this time? Could well be. But amongst all the good innings, there's always that one shocker.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

The highest aggregate will certainly be broken: I'd be amazed if we don't have quite a few games with 700+ scored.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Full Squads

England: Eoin Morgan ©, Jos Buttler (vc & wk), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib ©, Rashid Khan (vc), Aftab Alam, Asghar Afghan, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shinwari

Australia: Aaron Finch ©, Patrick Cummins (vc), Alex Carey (wk), Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza ©, Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Soumya Sarkar, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mosaddek Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed

India: Virat Kohli ©, Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Kannur Lokesh Rahul, Vijay Shankar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami

New Zealand: Kane Williamson ©, Tom Latham (vc & wk), Tim Southee, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin De Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor

Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Babar Azam (vc), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Afridi, Wahab Riaz

South Africa: Faf du Plessis ©, Quinton de Kock (vc & wk), Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jean-Paul Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Chris Morris, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne ©, Dhananjaya de Silva (vc), Angelo Mathews, Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera (wk), Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep

West Indies: Jason Holder ©, Christoper Gayle (vc), Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fabian Allen, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

The World Cup could hardly have come at a worse time for Sri Lanka, who enter the tournament as rank outsiders for the first time since 1992, with the very real possibility that they could end up whipping boys of an all-in-one round-robin group phase. It would be a serious humiliation for a nation who became a force in world cricket when they lifted the trophy in 1996, and continued to punch above their weight well into this decade, but they come to England on the back of years of turmoil. The Golden Generation have mostly retired, and their batting line-up is now a game of musical chairs; they're without a bilateral series win since 2016, they've won only one of their last ten ODIs, they've snubbed Chandimal, Dickwella and Dananjaya in their final squad, and the captaincy has been handed to Dimuth Karunaratne who hasn't played an ODI in over four years. In the 2018 Asia Cup they finished bottom of their group, below both Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and it would take a brave man to bet against it happening again.

If they have a prayer of going anywhere in this World Cup, it lies with Lasith Malinga and Suranga Lakmal, who between them can knock over the very best of batsmen. Malinga had another solid IPL, holding his nerve with the last ball of the tournament to clinch the trophy for Mumbai, and Lakmal's new-ball swing bowling could prove a massive threat in English conditions. But they'll need their batsmen to give them something to defend, and that challenge will more than likely be the undoing of a side looking at their first group stage exit of the twenty-first century.

Highest World Cup total: 398-5 vs Kenya (Kandy, 1996)
Lowest World Cup total: 86 vs West Indies (Manchester, 1975)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Kumar Sangakkara, 1532 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Muttiah Muralitharan, 68 wickets


Tournament Schedule: New Zealand, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies, India

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

The perpetual World Cup enigmas arrive in England on the cusp of what could prove to be a new dawn in fifty-over cricket. The tournament hasn't been kind to them: forty years have passed since the second of their two triumphs, without an appearance in the final since 1983 and no semi-final since 1996. It was a trial for the Windies to even make it to this edition of the World Cup, with their highly fortuitous Duckworth-Lewis victory over Scotland in the qualifiers coming courtesy of an absolute howler of an LBW decision just as the rain began; and having missed out on the 2017 Champions Trophy due to slipping out of the ICC top eight - the same handicap that forced them to go through World Cup qualifying - it'll be their first fifty-over tournament since 2015. On paper, it doesn't look inspiring: this decade has seen the West Indies become a T20 powerhouse at the expense of the game's other formats, and as a result they haven't won an ODI series since 2014, and have lost both home and away to Bangladesh in the last twelve months. But a ding-dong 2-2 series draw against a formidable England at the end of the winter showed which direction the islanders are heading in, and it's a promising one.

First and foremost, there's a changing of the guard underway. Neither Sunil Narine or Kieron Pollard made the cut for this tournament, and Chris Gayle has announced that it'll be his last hurrah before retirement (with a possibility of becoming the team's all-time leading World Cup run-scorer first; just 282 runs needed to surpass Brian Lara). The Dad's Army of white-ball cricket has found its new generation under the bright lights of the CPL, and they're represented in the form of pinch-hitter Shimron Hetmyer and pacemen Oshane Thomas and Sheldon Cottrell, the latter already a cult figure around the world for his drill-sergeant wicket celebrations. With Gayle and Evin Lewis up top, the Windies have one of the most destructive opening pairs in the game, and in the form of Shai Hope a top-class touch-player who can anchor an innings through the middle overs. Andre Russell just had the most explosive IPL in years, doling out some serious humpty to all comers, and if Dre Russ maintains form then there's no reason why he and Hetmyer shouldn't pile on valuable runs at the back end of an innings. The question will be whether their bowling is incisive enough on foreign soil, with all the added pressure of their first major tournament in years. If so, then there's a chance the West Indies can go far, and that alone should be enough to please nostalgic English fans of a certain age.

Highest World Cup total: 372-2 vs Zimbabwe (Canberra, 2015)
Lowest World Cup total: 93 vs Kenya (Pune, 1996)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Brian Lara, 1225 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Courtney Walsh, 27 wickets


Tournament Schedule: Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

2019 marks the twentieth anniversary of Bangladesh's first appearance at the Cricket World Cup, a tournament which saw them claim a famous landmark victory over Pakistan, and now the Bengali boys are back where it all began. It's been a slow but fruitful journey for the one-time minnows, who cracked the ODI top eight a few years ago and still sit above West Indies and Sri Lanka in the rankings, and in that time the World Cup has given them some memorable moments including an opening game win over India in 2007 and the victory against England that took them to their first quarter-final in 2015. Eight of the players who appeared back then remain in a fairly stable squad, but their ODI form ever since has been a mixed bag. A win against New Zealand was their only high point in the 2017 Champions Trophy; they completed a historic series win in the West Indies last year, then reached the final of the Asia Cup before further series wins at home to the West Indies and Zimbabwe, but New Zealand took them to the cleaners in March, delivering a chastening reminder that foreign climes are seldom beneficial to Tigers.

That said, I'd expect them to comfortably avoid embarrassment and dish out one or two bloody noses this summer. Unusually for a subcontinent side they're without a wrist-spinner, but a handy pace-attack led by left-armer Mustafizur "The Fizz" Rahman may be enough to compensate; certainly expect The Fizz to pick up plenty of wickets at the back end of an innings. Tamim Iqbal remains the run-scoring talisman, though he's yet to find a settled opening partner; nevertheless, having spent a month in Ireland to accustom themselves to conditions, and won their tri-series against the hosts and the West Indies in that time, the Tigers have given themselves the best possible chance of a decent showing in England. Unlikely to make the knockout stages but also unlikely to be wooden spooners, 2019 will be all about the scalps they can claim, as they've been doing consistently for twenty years.

Highest World Cup total: 322-4 vs Scotland (Nelson, 2015)
Lowest World Cup total: 58 vs West Indies (Dhaka, 2011)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Shakib Al Hasan, 540 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Shakib Al Hasan, 23 wickets


Tournament Schedule: South Africa, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Australia, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Predicting what Pakistan are going to do in any given tournament is the most thankless task going, not least because it so often seems to be a mystery to Pakistan themselves. Two years ago they came off a poor streak and an indifferent group phase to win the Champions Trophy with emphatic victories over England and India, and that win-when-it-counts triumph is the biggest comfort the men in green have, because their form in 2019 is nothing short of shocking. A warm-up defeat against Afghanistan is just the latest in a lengthy run of adverse results that's seen them lose 4-0 to England, 5-0 to Australia and 3-2 to South Africa, and in a bid to shake things up, Junaid Khan and Abid Ali have been replaced by Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz.

Their record at the World Cup is a proud one. 1992 remains the only time they've lifted the trophy despite strong showings throughout the Eighties and Nineties, and after underperforming in the 2000s, this decade has seen them in contention again. If they're to repeat the exploits of two years ago then Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam will be key contributors with the bat, while veteran left-arm quick Riaz is a reliable wicket-taker in an attack that also boasts the exciting young talent of Shaheen Afridi, who won his first Test cap after just three first-class games. Ten players from the Champions Trophy survive into this World Cup, and they've got the knowhow to go all the way again. But they've got to dig themselves out of a sizeable rut very, very soon.

Highest World Cup total: 349 vs Zimbabwe (Kingston, 2007)
Lowest World Cup total: 74 vs England (Adelaide, 1992)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Javed Miandad, 1083 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Wasim Akram, 55 wickets


Tournament Schedule: West Indies, England, Sri Lanka, Australia, India, South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Bangladesh

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

In the run-up to this tournament, it's become all but a cliché for pundits to utter the words "don't write off New Zealand". And to be fair, if their World Cup history has been a tale of nearlys and might-have-beens, there's no doubting their pedigree and ability. Their first ever final in 2015 ended in disappointment, but the Kiwis now have that experience under their belt, and can potentially learn from it this summer.

Astle and Seifert are out, replaced by Tom Blundell and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi. Colin Munro and Martin Guptill are the hard-hitting opening pair that will seek to build a platform each game for Kane Williamson to take deep, and there's no doubting that the captain has the ability to do precisely that. Ross Taylor has remained a consistent run-scorer for over a decade now, and there's no shortage of clout in the middle-order too, with Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner huge hitters on their day. With the exception of the hosts, no team is more likely to be at home in English conditions than New Zealand, and that will work hugely to their advantage if Trent Boult can get the new ball swinging in to right-handers and away from lefties as he did so dangerously in 2015; alongside him, Tim Southee is searching for the four scalps that will make him the country's leading World Cup wicket-taker of all time.. The only question mark over the Kiwis is their lack of preparation against top-class opposition: of the thirteen ODIs they've played in the last year, they've whitewashed Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in six, but won only two of the remaining seven against heavyweights Pakistan and India. With what looks on paper to be the easiest start to the competition, they could build up early momentum to take them all the way, but a few stumbles under pressure could prove their undoing.

Highest World Cup total: 393-6 vs West Indies (Nelson, 2015)
Lowest World Cup total: 112 vs Australia (Port Elizabeth, 2003)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Stephen Fleming, 1075 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Jacob Oram & Daniel Vettori, 36 wickets


Tournament Schedule: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan, Australia, England