The ICC Cricket World Cup is just around the corner, with hundreds of million of eyes all preparing to watch proceedings unfold across England and Wales. Australia go into the tournament as the reigning champions and one of the most successful international teams in history, but they will go up against a strong Indian team and a very strong England team.
That begs the question, who will win the World Cup and where should your money go? To try and answer that question we’re going to look at the four leading teams in the market: England, India, Australia and South Africa.
South Africa
At 11.00 for the win at Dafabet for exampl, South Africa are the high-priced fourth favourites, with the bookies predicting that they will go close but will ultimately fall at the final hurdle. And they could be right, because while the South Africans will field a very strong team and present some huge problems for their opponents, they will struggle to get over the final hurdle and probably won’t make it past the semi-finals, assuming they even make it that far.
New Zealand and Pakistan will prove to be a very difficult match for South Africa and will be vying to finish ahead of them in the league stage in order to get to the knockout rounds before them. Even if they do manage to edge ahead, they still have to beat two of the top three teams, and it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to manage that.
South Africa have a very strong fielding setup and can cause problems for even the best batters in the world, but they are weak on the batting side and will struggle to score big against the likes of England, Australia and India.
Australia
The Aussies may be the most decorated side in ICC World Cup history, but they go into this tournament as the third favourites, with few predicting that they will get the better of either England or India.
They do have a great record against India on the biggest stage of them all and they have beaten them in the knockout stages during three of their last four World Cup wins, but this could be a different tournament altogether. They have a strong batting setup, but they are not the best on the other aide and even with Smith and Warner at their peak, it’s hard to see how they could get past the host nation should they meet them.
England
This could be the start of a new golden age for English cricket as they have one of the best teams they have fielded in a long time and they also have the advantage of being the host nation. They couldn’t have asked for a better setup and will be very disappointed if they lose.
That, however, could prove to be their downfall. The English press and fans have a way of expecting too much from their teams and then getting angry when they don’t deliver. We’ve seen this at its most extreme with soccer, but it also applies to cricket. Being the best team and the host nation is a recipe for disaster. Throw in some back page scandals that will no doubt appear during the tournament and upset the dressing room and you have a recipe for disaster.
This could go one of two ways: either they blow it completely, getting knocked out without making it to the final and leaving the tournament humiliated and ashamed, or they squeeze through a few tough games and are then given a lesson in cricket by India in the final.
Speaking of which…
India
India are the second favourites, but we’ve included them last on this list as this is where our money will be going. At 3.50 to 4.00 odds, depending on which bookie you go with, it’s hard not to be tempted.
India have the best form in ODI matches since the last World Cup and they will also be fielding Sharma, Dhawan and Kohli at the very top of their game. It could be argued that they are heavily reliant on those three batters, but that’s not really the case, they’re just so good that they make everyone else look a little more average in comparison.
The truth is that India have what it takes and only need to live up to that form and that ability on the day to take this victory and to make up for their previous heartache. England will prove to be their toughest test and they may also stumble if they go up against rivals Pakistan in a crunch match, but they should still have enough to get over the line against those two and shouldn’t have an issue with anyone else.
More Tips
To catch-up with the latest news on the ICC Cricket World Cup and to see many more Cricket World Cup predictions, visit Online Cricket Betting, the leading source for top tips, news and previews related to the game of cricket. The site is staffed by writers and experts from all over the world and includes daily reports on matches from the IPL to the World Cup and more.
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