World Cup Predictions & Betting Tips

England Team Preview

They are three-time finalists of the 50-over World Cup but are yet to win their first title. The last time they made an appearance in the final of the tournament was in the 1992 edition when they lost to Pakistan at the MCG in Australia. They had a forgetful 2015 World Cup where they failed to even make it past the pool stage with four defeats in six matches. England have been in impressive form in this format of late having won five of their previous six bilateral ODI series which includes the recent 2-1 win over India at home in July. Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes form an integral part of the team's batting while Chris Woakes, David Willey, Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid are their main weapons with the ball.

England Betting Odds: England are the bookmakers' favorites to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. They are currently being offered at odds of 3.75 on Betway, Bet365 and Betfair.

India Team Preview

India have won the tournament twice - first in 1983 beating the West Indies in the final at Lord's and then 28 years later in 2011 when they beat Sri Lanka in the final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. They have also had successful campaigns in the 2003 and 2015 editions. In 2003, they went on to reach the final but faced a heavy defeat against Australia at the Wanderers. Last term, they topped their group and won seven matches on the trot before going down to the same opponent in the semi-final. India lost their most recent bilateral ODI series to England but they had won six in a row prior to that. The team's batting strength relies mainly on Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal form a potent bowling attack.

India Betting Odds: India are joint favorites with England to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on Bet365 at 3.75. However, Betway and Betfair are offering a slightly higher price of 4 and 4.90 on them to win the tournament.

Australia Team Preview

They are the most successful team in the tournament with five title triumphs. They beat New Zealand in the final of the previous World Cup at the MCG and so they will enter the 2019 edition as defending champions. They finished second in their group with four wins and a solitary loss from six matches before going on to clinch the trophy for the fifth time. The Aussies have finished runners-up on two occasions - in 1975 and 1996 when they lost to the West Indies and Sri Lanka in the respective finals. Lately, they have not been at their best in the 50-over format and have lost their last four bilateral ODI series. Their most recent ODI assignment was a five-game series in England and they ended up losing all five matches against the hosts. By next year's World Cup, David Warner and Steven Smith would have finished serving their bans from international cricket and the duo along with Aaron Finch and Travis Head will be the key figures in this Australian batting line-up. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Andrew Tye will make up a formidable pace attack.

Australia Betting Odds: Betfair is offering odds of 5.30 on Australia to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 while Betway and Bet365 both have them up at 6.

Pakistan Team Preview

They too are one of the former champions, having won the tournament back in 1992 when they pipped England in the final at the MCG in Australia. They also had a successful run in the 1999 edition where they went all the way to reach the finals at Lord's. Unfortunately, they suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Australia to finish runners-up. In the previous World Cup, Pakistan went into the quarter-finals having won four of their six group matches, only to get knocked out with a six-wicket loss to Australia. They have won three of their last four ODI series in addition to winning the ICC Champions Trophy last year in England. Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik who is set to retire from ODI cricket after the 2019 World Cup are the key men for Pakistan with the bat while Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan will be their go-to bowlers.

Pakistan Betting Odds: Pakistan are currently being offered at odds of 9.20 on Betfair and 10 on both Betway and Bet365 to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Afghanistan Team Preview

Afghanistan became an ICC member only after the 2003 World Cup and they failed to qualify for the 2007 and 2011 editions. They finally made their first World Cup appearance in 2015 where they had to bow out at the end of the group stage after losing five of their six group games. Their only win in that tournament was a narrow one-wicket victory that came against Scotland at Dunedin. Afghanistan have been making rapid strides in the white-ball format. They have lost just one of their last six ODI series apart from winning the World Cup Qualifier held earlier this year in Zimbabwe where they beat the West Indies in the final. Their batting currently depends heavily on the likes of Mohammad Shahzad, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Asghar Afghan while their bowling department is reliant mainly on the spin troika of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi.

Afghanistan Betting Odds: Afghanistan are huge underdogs amongst the bookmakers to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. They are being offered at odds of 48 on Betfair, 67 on Betway and a whopping 101 on Bet365.

South Africa Team Preview

South Africa, despite being one of the most dangerous ODI teams in the world, have never won a World Cup. Leave alone winning, they are yet to make their first appearance in the final. They, however, have a pretty good record in the tournament; they have featured in seven World Cups so far and have reached the semi-finals on four occasions. The Proteas finished second in their group last term with four wins from six matches. They thrashed Sri Lanka in the quarter-final but could not overcome New Zealand in the semi-final. South Africa have been doing well in the fifty-over format with six wins in their last eight bilateral ODI series. After losing 1-5 to India at home, they beat Sri Lanka 3-2 in Sri Lanka. Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy are the pillars of this South African ODI batting line-up while Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Andile Phehlukwayo will be the main threats with the ball in English conditions.

South Africa Betting Odds: South Africa are priced at 7 on Betway, 8 on Bet365 and 8..80 on Betfair to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Sri Lanka Team Preview

The 1996 edition is Sri Lanka's most memorable World Cup as they went all the way to clinch the title, beating Australia by seven wickets in the final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. In addition to winning the tournament once, they are also two-time runners-up having made back-to-back appearances in the final in 2007 and then in 2011. Last time, the Lankans made it through to the knockout round quite comfortably after winning four of their six group encounters. However, a humiliating nine-wicket loss to South Africa in the quarter-final resulted in their elimination. Sri Lanka do not have a single win in their last seven bilateral ODI series but they did win the tri-series involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe this year in January. They had a very disappointing Asia Cup in the UAE where they lost their first two fixtures to be ousted from the competition after the group stage. Upul Tharanga, Kusal Perera and Angelo Mathews are currently the most reliable figures in the Sri Lankan batting group. When it comes to bowling, there will be huge expectations from Suranga Lakmal, Thisara Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva.

Sri Lanka Betting Odds: The odds for Sri Lanka to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 currently stand at 26 on Betway, 23 on Bet365 and 30 on Betfair.

New Zealand Team Preview

New Zealand, like England and South Africa, are yet to win a World Cup title and they will be looking to break their duck this time around. In the previous edition, the Kiwis topped their group after winning all of their six matches. They then defeated the West Indies and South Africa in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively to seal the final clash against Australia which they ended up losing to finish runners-up in the tournament. New Zealand have been faring pretty well in ODIs of late - they have won five of their last eight series (excluding the Champions Trophy). Their most recent series came against England at home which they lost 2-3. While Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson and Tom Latham are the key men for the Black Caps with the bat, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner are their main weapons with the ball.

New Zealand Betting Odds: New Zealand are being offered at odds of 9 on Betway, 10 on Bet365 and 9.60 on Betfair to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Bangladesh Team Preview

Bangladesh have never won the World Cup nor have they ever made it to the final of the tournament. They managed to reach the Super Eights round in 2007 and the Quarter-finals last time in 2015 and these have been their best World Cup performances till date. In the previous edition, they finished fourth in their pool with three wins and two losses from six matches. They met India in the quarter-final and were knocked out with a heavy 109-run defeat. Bangladesh have won just one of their last eight ODI tournaments and that solitary win came in the West Indies this year in July when they beat the hosts 2-1 in a series of three matches. While Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Mithun form the nucleus of Bangladesh's batting, Mustafizur Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mehidy Hasan and Shakib again are the key figures in the bowling group.

Bangladesh Betting Odds: While Betfair is offering odds of 46 on Bangladesh to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Betway and Bet365 both have them priced at 51.

West Indies Team Preview

They are two-time World champions having won the first two editions of the tournament - in 1975 when they beat Australia in the final and then in 1979 when they beat England in the final. They came very close to winning their third consecutive title in 1983, losing the final against India at Lord's to finish runners-up. Last time, the Windies had barely managed to make it through to the knockout round. With three wins and as many defeats from six group games, they ended up fourth in their pool overhauling Ireland on account of better net run-rate. Their campaign came to an end when they suffered a crushing 143-run defeat against New Zealand in the quarter-final. West Indies have not been able to win any of their last fifteen ODI tournaments. The last time they won an ODI series was in 2014 when they whitewashed Bangladesh 3-0 at home. Chris Gayle, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer will be the team's biggest hopes with the bat while Shannon Gabriel, Andre Russell, Jason Holder and Sheldon Cottrell will be their best bets with the ball.

West Indies Betting Odds: West Indies are currently priced at 19 on Betfair and 21 on both Betway and Bet365 to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

World Cup 2019 Schedule

 

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Betting Odds

England:

Betway - 3.75, Bet365 - 3.75, Betfair - 3.75

India

Betway - 4, Bet365 - 3.75, Betfair – 4.9

Australia

Betway - 6, Bet365 - 6, Betfair – 5.3

South Africa

Betway - 7, Bet365 - 8, Betfair – 8.8

New Zealand

Betway - 9, Bet365 - 10, Betfair – 9.6

Pakistan

Betway - 10, Bet365 - 10, Betfair – 9.2

West Indies

Betway - 21, Bet365 - 21, Betfair - 19

Sri Lanka

Betway - 26, Bet365 - 23, Betfair – 30

Bangladesh

Betway - 51, Bet365 - 51, Betfair – 46

Afghanistan

Betway - 67, Bet365 - 101, Betfair - 48

Our Prediction: Who Will Win Cricket World Cup 2019?

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the West Indies are not expected to reach the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup. Afghanistan still need plenty of exposure to start challenging the top-ranked ODI teams and while their bowling seems strong enough, they need to improve a lot on the batting front. Bangladesh may have a good odd day and could cause an upset or two, but given the round-robin format of the game, it won't be easy for them to make it to the knockout stage. Sri Lanka and West Indies are clearly struggling to perform in ODIs and they have a whole bunch of issues to sort out ahead of this World Cup.

New Zealand and Pakistan are likely to fare better but we don't see them breaking into the top four. The Kiwis do have an impressive bowling attack but their batting is what that has been letting them down in recent times. The same can be said for Pakistan. They have the arsenal to take down any side in the world but they lack one important element to success – consistency.

This leaves us with South Africa, Australia, India and hosts England who we feel will be advancing to the semis. Australia will go in as defending champions and their batting will look strong once again with Warner and Smith back in the side. However, their only major concern would be whether their injury-prone pace quartet of Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins and Pattinson will be fit enough to play. England and South Africa are both heavily equipped when it comes to batting but their bowling seems to be an area of weakness. Plus, their ability to tackle quality spin is also questionable.

India, of all the teams, have had the best success rate in ODIs since the 2015 World Cup. Their top-order has been in phenomenal form and their bowling, be it pace or spin, ranks among the best in the world. Middle-order batting seems to be the only problem for them at the moment but they will probably figure out their best candidates to take up the number four and five positions by the time the tournament arrives. This Indian team appears to be a cut above the rest and we feel they have a strong chance of claiming their third World Cup title.

Final Verdict: Back India to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 at 4 on Betway, 3.75 on Bet365 and 4.90 on Betfair.