[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

The format of this World Cup has prompted much nostalgia for 1992, and few countries remember the '92 tournament as fondly as South Africa, for whom it was their maiden edition and a return to the international stage after the end of apartheid. (Just don't mention the words "22 runs off 1 ball".) The problem ever since has been underachievement, as South Africa have failed to ever reach the final despite fielding some strong teams, and only won a World Cup knockout game for the first time in 2015. Opinions are divided on whether the class of 2019 is one of the stronger or weaker squads put forward by the Proteas, and given their patchy ODI record (albeit with a good recent run of form), they've got a lot to prove and little time in which to do it.

AB de Villiers is a name of the past now, and the loss of their greatest World Cup run-scorer leaves a big hole in the batting line-up. The pressure will be on an ageing Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock to supply the bulk of the runs, but the latter showed tremendous form in the IPL and will welcome the challenge. The bowling attack has been weakened by injury, with Anrich Nortje ruled out and Chris Morris brought in as a replacement, but provided they remain fit, the likes of Rabada, Tahir and Duminy are proven wicket-takers on the biggest stage. They have the potential, but whether they have the confidence and psychology to match is a question mark.

Highest World Cup total: 411-4 vs Ireland (Canberra, 2015)
Lowest World Cup total: 149 vs Australia (Gros Islet, 2007)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Abraham Benjamin de Villiers, 1207 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Allan Donald, 38 wickets


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

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Perennial heavyweights India have been ticking over nicely in ODIs for a good few years, and despite the shock of losing to Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy final and sliding from 2-0 up to a 3-2 series defeat at home to Australia this spring, they remain firm tournament contenders. Few surprises in their squad selection, which is built around a seam attack of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, spin options of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, and a deep batting line-up that begins with the holy trinity of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, and continues down through one IPL star after another. If there was a problem at all for India in picking this fifteen, it was the sheer embarrassment of riches at their disposal: all-rounder Vijay Shankar has been snubbed despite featuring regularly this year, and explosive wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has also been overlooked despite a brilliant IPL campaign.

India have two major enemies at the 2019 World Cup: English conditions, and pressure of expectation. Last summer was an important learning curve for the men from the subcontinent, but Kohli - who is unquestionably the talisman of this side - still only has one ODI century from twenty-two innings in England, despite an average of 54.46. His ability to adapt to this green and pleasant land will be a key factor in the campaign, and if he does so, then the hopes and fears of the Bharat Army will cease to be a weight on his shoulders. Their maiden World Cup triumph came on English soil under Kapil Dev in 1983, and with the exception of early exits in '92 and '07, they've been there or thereabouts ever since. It should be no different this summer.

Highest World Cup total: 413-5 vs Bermuda (Port of Spain, 2007)
Lowest World Cup total: 125 vs Australia (Centurion, 2003)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Sachin Tendulkar, 2278 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Zaheer Khan & Javagal Srinath, 44 wickets


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

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

And so to the hosts, about whom there's little that hasn't already been said. Buoyed by home advantage, ranked number one in the world, playing one-day cricket more aggressively than any nation has ever done before, England will quite simply never have a better chance of lifting the World Cup than this. The ECB know it, and having seen what the triumph of England Women did for their profile, this summer is a hugely important opportunity for them to increase the interest in cricket and provide a launchpad for the deeply unpopular Hundred competition in 2020.

England have all the ingredients in a team that's been going from strength to strength in white-ball cricket since the World T20 in 2016. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow are the fastest-scoring opening partnership in the history of ODIs; Joe Root is a solid anchor for the middle overs of an innings, while Morgan, Stokes, Moeen and especially Jos Buttler can come in and launch right from the first ball. The bowling attack has also continued to improve, with Jofra Archer seen by many as the last piece of the jigsaw. But injury fears hang like a cloud over the camp, as does the pressure of expectation and the nagging problems on used pitches that arguably killed England in the 2017 Champions Trophy. If they play as we know they can from start to finish, the World Cup is theirs to lose; but in reality, things never go so smoothly...

Highest World Cup total: 338 vs India (Bengaluru, 2011)
Lowest World Cup total: 93 vs Australia (Leeds, 1975)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Graham Gooch, 897 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Ian Botham, 30 wickets


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

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

The runaway titans of World Cup cricket, victors four times in the last five tournaments, and so successful overall that they might as well have their name permanently engraved on the trophy, no one gave Australia a prayer twelve months ago. Smith and Warner were banned and disgraced, the Aussies were thumped by England down under and then whitewashed in the UK, and it seemed the perennial champs couldn't buy an ODI win as they sank to sixth in the ICC rankings. But like a staggering old drunk who pulls himself together just as he reaches the bar, Australia have turned it round in 2019 with a whitewash of Pakistan and then a 3-2 turnaround in India. They defended a lowish total successfully against England in Saturday's warm-up, and suddenly they're looking like the team to beat all over again.

Peter Handscomb has missed out this year, and Josh Hazlewood has been passed over due to recovering from a back injury. Shoulder trouble ruled out Jhye Richardson in the preliminaries, so namesake Kane comes in to replace him, but otherwise Australia are as expected. Pat Cummins is on fire in 2019, stepping up to the plate in the absence of Hazlewood to take wickets as a new-ball and death bowler, and I'd expect his vein of form to continue. When it comes to weight of runs, Smith and Warner have got something to prove. The warm-up in Southampton showed exactly the kind of reception they'll be getting up and down the country this summer, but Smith's ensuing century suggested that it's just going to spur them on to greater heights. With Warner finishing top run-scorer in this year's IPL, the sight of the Cape Town Two raising their bats to a thunderous chorus of boos may well become a familiar sight in the coming months.

Highest World Cup total: 417-6 vs Afghanistan (Perth, 2015)
Lowest World Cup total: 129 vs India (Chelmsford, 1983)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Ricky Ponting, 1743 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Glenn McGrath, 71 wickets


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

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Afghanistan are, if not quite a cricketing fairytale, then certainly a story with a feelgood factor. Their first World Cup appearance in 2015, coupled with a maiden one-wicket victory over Scotland, was a landmark for a nation whose rise in the sport has been meteoric. In the four years since, they've gained Test status and continued to claim white-ball scalps as they vie for dominance of their own subsection of world cricket, nibbling at the heels of the top 8. Leg-spinner Rashid Khan debuted on the big stage in the 2016 World T20 at the age of just sixteen, and within a year he'd been snapped up by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL on his way to becoming one of the most dangerous and prolific bowlers in the world. Rashid's devastating, unpickable googlies were a key weapon in Afghanistan's successful 2018 Asia Cup campaign, in which they topped their group with victories over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, then tied with India and lost to Pakistan only by three wickets; a defeat they avenged last Friday at Bristol in a tense warm-up match. This will be the young man's first World Cup, and backed by the likes of Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the Afghanistan bowling attack could cause some serious upsets; with leading World Cup wicket-taker Shapoor Zadran missing out, I'd certainly expect one of that trio to surpass his haul in 2019.

Just how many upsets, and how far it'll take them, is largely down to conditions and weight of runs. The Afghans have a surfeit of spinners that may come unstuck on pitches that don't turn; as for batting, while veteran Mohammad Shahzad is still a reliable hand, there's a certain amount of excitement and expectation surrounding 21-year-old left-hander Hazratullah Zazai, who's already made his name on the T20 circuit with back-to-back half-centuries against Ireland, then six sixes in an over for Kabul Zwanan in the Afghanistan Premier League last October, before blasting another 162 in 62 balls against Ireland in February as his nation set a new world-record T20 total of 278. For all that, there's no telling just yet whether Zazai's talent can transfer to the fifty-over game, and there remains a certain one-dimensional weakness at the heart of this ODI side which only time and further development will rectify. Nevertheless, I'd be very surprised if Afghanistan don't go at least one better than their single win in 2015, and - whisper it quietly - it may just be one of the traditional heavyweights who comes crashing down to earth at the hands of Rashid, Nabi, Zazai and co.

Highest World Cup total: 232 vs Sri Lanka (Dunedin, 2015)
Lowest World Cup total: 111-7 vs England (Sydney, 2015)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Samiullah Shinwari, 254 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Shapoor Zadran, 10 wickets


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

[themaclad]

England 311 -8

Stokes stand out with 89, thought South Africa bowled with intelligence in the latter stages and took a couple of blinding catches, Markram and Du Plessis, think England may just have enough


However downside is the non stop chatter of the commentators on Sky

[themaclad]

https://twitter.com/i/status/1134134425430757376

Stokes catch all out 207 South Africa

[Lord Snooty]

Good start for England. At the end of our innings, somebody said they've only scored 311. Well it was plenty actually.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Stokes, Stokes, Stokes. That catch is one of the moments he'll be remembered for in decades to come. What a performance.

[Lord Snooty]

Stokes, Stokes, Stokes.  That catch is one of the moments he'll be remembered for in decades to come.  What a performance.

Aye. It were alright!