Are you ready!!! To witness the biggest cricket tournament of the year? If yes then here is everything you need to know about ICC World Cup 2019…
Like the Game of Thrones season finale, you cannot avoid the buzz that surrounds the World Cup in a nation that is mad about the sports, especially Cricket. So, here is a basic starter pack to get you going for this years humongous cricket tournament.
The much awaited International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup kicks off from today. This is the 12 edition of ICC Cricket World Cup and is being hosted by England and Wales this year from May 30 to July 14. In the opening match, hosts England will take on South Africa.
The first match will be played at The Oval while the final will be played at Lord’s. It is the fifth time that the Cricket World Cup will be held in England and Wales following the 1975, 1979, 1983, 1999 matches.
A total of 10 teams will be facing off against each other in a round-robin format in the next six weeks. The teams which will be playing this year are England, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The Indian team this year will be captained by Virat Kohli and also has the likes of MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan along with fresh faces like Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav and others. India’s first match is scheduled to be played on June 5 against South Africa. The much anticipated clash against arch-rivals Pakistan will happen on June 16 in Manchester.
The ICC World Cup Trophy is presented to the winners of the World Cup Finals. The current trophy was created for the 1999 championship, and was the first permanent prize in the tournament’s history; prior to this, different trophies were made for each world cup.
The current trophy is made from silver and gold and features a golden globe held up by three silver columns. The columns are in shape of stumps and bails, representing the three essentials aspects of cricket i.e. batting, bowling and fielding.
The original trophy is kept by the ICC while a replica which differs only in inscription is permanently awarded to the winning team.
The World Cup Winners
| Year | Trophy Name | Winners |
| 1975 | Prudential World Cup | West Indies |
| 1979 | Prudential World Cup | West Indies |
| 1983 | Prudential World Cup | India |
| 1987 | Reliance World Cup | Australia |
| 1992 | Benson & Hedges World Cup | Pakistan |
| 1996 | Wills World Cup | Sri Lanka |
| 1999 | ICC World Cup | Australia |
| 2003 | ICC World Cup | Australia |
| 2007 | ICC World Cup | Australia |
| 2011 | ICC World Cup | India |
| 2015 | ICC World Cup | Australia |
So let the game begin…