CWC 2019: 5 things that make this World Cup unique
The stage is set for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales. Starting May 30, 10 teams will battle it out in 48 matches for the ultimate crown of ‘World Champions’. This will be the 12 edition of the tournament after making its first appearance in the year 1975. Five teams have successfully managed to win the title with Australia dominating as five-time champions!
Here’s what makes this year’s World Cup different from its previous editions:
Not all Test-playing nations will play the World Cup
For the first time in history, the World Cup will not feature all teams that are Test-playing nations. Unfortunately for Zimbabwe, their team’s ranking didn’t meet the qualification requirements until the deadline for this year’s edition. Two-time champions West Indies found themselves in a similar fix, but they later made it to the final of the World Cup qualifiers, thereby making a place for themselves in the tournament.
This is also the first time an Associate nation hasn’t participated in the World Cup.
Return of round-robin
This is the second time that a World Cup will be played in the round-robin format. The first time this format was introduced was in the 1992 edition. In this format, all participating teams will play against each other and the top 4 teams will qualify for the semi-finals. This year, there are 10 teams in total that will be playing 9 league matches each.
Bigger prize money
The total prize money offered to teams in a Cricket World Cup is much lesser as compared to the Football World Cup, but is still quite a lot. In the 2015 edition, the winning team received 3.97 million dollars, while the runners-up received 1.75 million dollars. Teams that made it to the semi-final stage received 6 lakh dollars each.
This year, of the total 14 million dollars up for grabs, the winner will receive 4.8 million dollars, runners-up will receive 2.2 million dollars, while 2 semi-finalists will receive 1 million dollars each. Even teams that don’t make it beyond the knockout and group stage will be awarded.
Fifth World Cup final at Lord’s
This is the fifth World Cup edition in England. The first three editions (1975, 1979, 83) and the 1999 World Cup were all hosted by the Englishmen. The finals of all 4 previous editions have been played at the Mecca of Cricket, Lord’s. This year too, the grand finale will be hosted by one England’s most iconic grounds.
Team India the most seasoned
The average age of the current Indian team (squad of 1) is 29.5 – higher than all previous World Cup-playing Indian teams. In the 2011 World Cup, the average age of the team was 28.3, while in 1983 it was 27.1
