What: Cricket World Cup
The 50-over World Cup is cricket’s flagship tournament, usually played every four years, and involves the best teams around the globe. It has been held 11 times since 1975.
This is not to be confused with the T20 World Cup, previously called the World Twenty20, which is also a global competition. Like in the case of the Cricket World Cup, the T20 World Cup is organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) – the world governing body for the game – with the key difference being it is played in the 20-over format.
The ICC also plans to organise the first World Test Championship, which will essentially be the World Cup for Test teams.
When
This year's edition is set to be held from May 30-July 14.
Where: England and Wales
England and Wales will jointly host the competition given the game at large is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
It will be held in 11 stadiums across 10 cities: Edgbaston (Birmingham), Bristol County Ground (Bristol), Sophia Gardens (Cardiff), Riverside Ground (Chester-le-Street), Headingley (Leeds), Old Trafford (Manchester), Trent Bridge (Nottingham), Ageas Bowl (Southampton) and County Ground (Taunton), and Lord's Cricket Ground and The Oval (London).
Lord’s, widely considered the 'Home of Cricket’ for its history, will host the final.
Who: 10 teams
The teams - in alphabetical order with ODI rankings in brackets - are Afghanistan (10), Australia (6), Bangladesh (7), England (1), India (2), New Zealand (3), Pakistan (5), South Africa (4), Sri Lanka (8), West Indies (9).
Based on rankings, instituted by the ICC and which usually reflects current form, England and India are early favourites to win the title. The fact England, led by Eoin Morgan, are the host team is a double-edged sword: they should ideally thrive in home conditions with the crowd behind them, but they could also crumble under the burden of expectation.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli's India are riding on the highs of the Asia Cup title win in the UAE, as well as bilateral series victories in Australia and New Zealand.
Australia, the defending champions, are ranked sixth and have been troubled by the absence of former captain Steve Smith and former vice captain David Warner, who are both serving 12-month bans for their roles in a ball-tampering scandal last year. Their expected comebacks ahead of the tournament could be the shot in the arm Aaron Finch's side need, and once the tournament gets under way, all the teams will start on a even keel.
A brief history:
Winners: Australia have won the World Cup a record five times – in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015. Other multiple winners include the West Indies (1975 and 1979) and India (1983 and 2011). Pakistan (1992) and Sri Lanka (1996) have both won once.
Hosts: The tournament will be held in England for the fifth time, and Wales for the third time. In England, it was previously held in 1975, 1979, 1983 and 1999. Wales staged matches in 1983 and 1999, alongside England.
India have played host three times (1987, 1996 and 2011); Australia-New Zealand (1992 and 2015) and Pakistan (1987 and 1996) twice; Scotland-Ireland-Netherlands (1999), South Africa-Zimbabwe-Kenya (2003), and the West Indies (2007) once.
The West Indian co-hosts included Barbados, Jamaica, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and St Kitts.
Prize money:
Winners will get US$4 million (Dh14.6m), the highest prize money to date. The total prize pot of $10m will see the runners-up assured of $2m and the losing semi-finalists $800,000 each. There are prizes for each league match won: $40,000, and for passing the league stage: $100,000.
The schedule (all UAE times):
May 30: England v South Africa, The Oval, 1.30pm
May 31: West Indies v Pakistan, Nottingham, 1.30pm
June 1:
- New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Cardiff, 1.30pm
- Afghanistan v Australia, Bristol, 4.30pm
June 2: South Africa v Bangladesh, London, 1.30pm
June 3: England v Pakistan, Nottingham, 1.30pm
June 4: Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, Cardiff, 1.30pm
June 5:
- South Africa v India, Southampton, 1.30pm
- Bangladesh v New Zealand, The Oval, 4.30pm
June 6: Australia v West Indies, Nottingham, 1.30pm
June 7: Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Bristol, 1.30pm
June 8:
- England v Bangladesh, Cardiff, 1.30pm
- Afghanistan v New Zealand, Taunton, 4.30pm
June 9: India v Australia, The Oval, 1.30pm
June 10: South Africa v West Indies, Southampton, 1.30pm
June 11: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Bristol, 1.30pm
June 12: Australia v Pakistan, Taunton, 1.30pm
June 13: India v New Zealand, Nottingham, 1.30pm
June 14: England v West Indies, Southampton, 1.30pm
June 15:
- Sri Lanka v Australia, The Oval, 1.30pm
- South Africa v Afghanistan, Cardiff, 4.30pm
June 16: India v Pakistan, Manchester, 1.30pm
June 17: West Indies v Bangladesh, Taunton, 1.30pm
June 18: England v Afghanistan, Manchester, 1.30pm
June 19: New Zealand v South Africa, Birmingham, 1.30pm
June 20: Australia v Bangladesh, Nottingham, 1.30pm
June 21: England v Sri Lanka, Leeds, 1.30pm
June 22:
- India v Afghanistan, Southampton, 1.30pm
- West Indies v New Zealand, Manchester, 4.30pm
June 23: Pakistan v South Africa, Lord's, 1.30pm
June 24: Bangladesh v Afghanistan, Southampton, 1.30pm
June 25: England v Australia, Lord's, 1.30pm
June 26: New Zealand v Pakistan, Birmingham, 1.30pm
June 27: West Indies v India, Manchester, 1.30pm
June 28: Sri Lanka v South Africa, Chester-le-Street, 1.30pm
June 29:
- Pakistan v Afghanistan, Leeds, 1.30pm
- New Zealand v Australia, Lord's, 4.30pm
June 30: England v India, Birmingham, 1.30pm
July 1: Sri Lanka v West Indies, Chester-le-Street, 1.30pm
July 2: Bangladesh v India, Birmingham, 1.30pm
July 3: England v New Zealand, Chester-le-Street, 1.30pm
July 4: Afghanistan v West Indies, Leeds, 1.30pm
July 5: Pakistan v Bangladesh, Lord's, 1.30pm
July 6:
- Sri Lanka v India, Leeds, 1.30pm
- Australia v South Africa, Manchester, 4.30pm
July 9: 1st semi-final (1 v 4), Manchester, 1.30pm
July 11: 2nd semi-final (2 v 3), Birmingham, 1.30pm
July 14: Final, Lord's, 1.30pm
TV and live streaming
To watch the World Cup, tune in to OSN Sports Cricket HD or create an online account with Wavo for US$54 (a little less than Dh200). The account will provide customers access to two channels, OSN Cric Xtra 1 and OSN Cric Xtra 2.
