The ICC World Cup 2019 Story so far

The World Cup has been underway for a few weeks now, there has been amazing cricket being played it has been a fantastic tournament so far. Although the weather has played spoil sport for a few games, the weather here in England has had its own plans, which hasn’t really helped some games which would have been fantastic to watch, have just been washed out and ended in no result. As the table reflects some of the big known teams are not doing too well, and main two being South Africa and Pakistan, they have not had the best of tournaments and it has truly been reflected through their performances. Lets take a closer look at all the teams and how they have faired so far.

Lets kick things off with England, they have been in fantastic form there is no doubt, as before the World Cup had even begun they won the series against Pakistan they won all the ODI’s, Pakistan didn’t even get a look in. England started off their campaign in style with a mammoth win over South Africa, and they have continued those match winning performances. They have come together as a unit bowling, batting and fielding is in sync and everyone is performing very well. Barring their loss to Pakistan their all round performance has made them one of the tournament favourites to lift the coveted World Cup trophy.

​Before the tournament begun Australia were very quiet in my opinion, this was not the normal entrance that I was use to seeing from the Australian team. They may have been quiet before the tournament, and made a quiet entrance into the tournament as well, they have let their performances do a lot of the talking and just kept their heads down. Normally the ever confident Australia have so much to say, but this team has definitely been a lot more quieter than their predecessors. Their fieriness is seen on the pitch, and they have played some wonderful cricket this is another team who are a joy to watch. They are definitely contenders for the World Cup seeing as though they are the defending champions but their are other teams who will want to be the 2019 champions, so Australia do have some stiff competition. This is another team who has suffered one loss and that was against a very strong Indian team who are unbeaten so far. 

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New Zealand have been undefeated in this tournament they had a bit of a wobble against Bangladesh but they recovered and went onto win the match. They have had a good start to their tournament campaign having remained unbeaten, their match against India would have been a brilliant game for fans to see but the match was washed out. It would have been great to see how New Zealand did fair against India as New Zealand had defeated them in the warm-up game, so India would have been hunting for the win. They might get a chance to meet later on in the tournament in the semis maybe, depending on the match ups. New Zealand have always been that team who have always stayed under the radar in the World Cups, and they have continued that in this tournament as well, though they are a team never to be underestimated.

India were the team who started their campaign a bit later on, than all the other teams as their first match was scheduled in a few days after other teams had kicked off their campaign. India beat South Africa in style to begin their unbeaten run of the tournament, their top order batsman have been firing, they have been scoring and chasing the runs comfortably, this Indian team is settled, they have the team to go all the way and the belief definitely shows within themselves. India are yet another team whose bowling, batting and fielding has been brilliant to watch throughout the tournament so far. This is another team who are well on their way to securing their semi-final berth. The performances from the youngsters in this tournament has been key to India winning the matches, alongside the seniors experience which has created the perfect balance for them.

​Bangladesh have always been the team who you never ever underestimate as they can always spring a surprise on you, as they have the team who can beat you on their day. They have sprung a few surprises in this tournament by defeating West Indies which is a team full of big hitting batsman who love to make it rain in sixes. Another team they have defeated is South Africa they are normally a team known for their high level all-round performances, but this time round they were thoroughly outplayed by Bangladesh in all areas. Bangladesh have given a scare to a lot of teams so there, is still a few matches to play so you never know what can happen. Nonetheless I do look forward to seeing more of these match winning performances from Bangladesh. 

Sri Lanka has been the team where you have seen glimpses of them performing amazing well, but then they have lost their way in matches. What has not helped them in this tournament is having two matches washed out, which they could have ended up winning but now we won’t know. Sri Lanka are definitely a team in transition where new players have come in and they are rebuilding, they did give Australia a scare though, when it looked like they were scoring the ru​ns freely and hitting boundaries galore. They still have a few matches to play so lets what magic Sri Lanka can do.

​When you think of West Indies two things come to mind, they are known to have the big hitting players who love nothing more than to make it rain in fours and sixes. Also the way they celebrate victories is awesome to watch they just celebrate in the best way, and no-one can beat their dance moves. When West Indies started in the tournament they started of very strongly, but it feels like they have lost their way a little bit now, having lost 3 matches and one match with no result so it is crunch time for them.

​​South Africa have been that one team who have always had the team to win the World Cup but they never have, they have always sabotaged themselves by not performing in the crunch games such as the semis. They came in quietly into this tournament and everyone expected them to play well, as each time they have at least got to the semis and then crashed out, but this time round it has been a different story altogether. The team look like a former shadow of themselves they have lost continuous matches back to back barring the victory against Afghanistan, the team has not clicked at all. The batting, bowling and fielding has been questionable we have seen glimmers of brilliant performances, but this team is another team in transition. So definitely South Africa need to work some magic and really get back on track, as they have tough matches ahead of them. 

Pakistan had an abysmal start to their campaign having lost their warm-up game to Afghanistan they never really recovered, they even suffered loss after loss as well. Everyone thought after their victory against England they would be back on track, but their next match was against India who everyone expected they would have such a tightly fought contest but this turned into a one-sided game, their fielding and batting has been lacklustre and they ended up losing another match. The fans back home are really not happy at all, as this is the team who had come to England in 2017 and won the Champions Trophy, now even they look like a former shadow of themselves. Again their have been glimpses of brilliant performances from both the bowlers, and batsman but they are yet to put on that match winning performances again after the England win.

Afghanistan are a team whoever faces them in this tournament, they will see their fighting spirit they give it 110% in each game, yes they have been on the losing side but their spirit is something everyone admires. They definitely should never be underestimated because they are a team who can spring a surprise and the other teams will never see it coming. I think with more exposure to the high level teams Afghanistan definitely can be more of a formidable side in the future, and really give the big guns of cricket a challenge they would relish.