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The Cricket World Cup has finally arrived. The time for talk is over, and here at The Roar, we have assembled a panel of our experts to take you through each and every match over the next seven weeks.
These articles will generally be published on a Monday morning previewing the week ahead, however, with the tournament starting on a Thursday, we will push through the first five matches today.
Our panel will consist of long-time Roar expert Ronan O’Connell, prolific journalist David Schout, funniest bloke in cricket Dan Liebke, editor Daniel Jeffrey, and myself.
Apart from jokes about the BCCI… ahem, the ICC… making this a ten-team tournament, and the fickle weather in England which is sure to play its part, we will run the rule over each game, starting with England and South Africa on Thursday night.
The hosts come in as favourites, and rightly so, but South Africa aren’t a side to take lightly.
Friday’s contest takes us to Trent Bridge, where Pakistan will take on the big hitting of the West Indies, before Saturday brings with it a double-header as New Zealand play Sri Lanka and Australia open their campaign against Afghanistan.
Week 1 finishes on Sunday with Bangladesh making their first appearance against South Africa.
You can also get involved in tipping the World Cup here on The Roar, with $2000 in prize money on the line for the top tipster. By submitting your tips, you’ll also form part of The Crowd, who will tip against and try to beat the experts, with scores to be published in the article each week.
The deadline to have your tips as part of The Crowd’s figures is at 6pm (AEST) on Thursday evening.
Good luck!
Tips: England, West Indies, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa
A dominant Proteas bowling attack up against a commanding England batting lineup to get things going – this should be a serious spectacle. South Africa have the pace and spin firepower to run through England’s hyper-aggressive batting lineup. Even with Dale Steyn out, they have two fantastic quicks – Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi – and a leg-spinner in Imran Tahir who is a born wicket-taker and loves the big stage. This is a real danger game for England but I’m still tipping them to win in a fierce contest.
Pakistan and the West Indies is a raffle. They are the two most unpredictable teams in the World Cup, each capable of swinging from sublime to woeful on any given day. Pakistan are in a deep rut due to their unreliable middle order and their misfiring attack. The West Indies, meanwhile, have a horrendous ODI record since the last World Cup. Their bowling is very weak, which leaves them vulnerable, but their batting is explosive. Windies to win this one.
(Photo by Randy Brooks / AFP / Getty Images)
Sri Lanka are at their lowest ebb in ODIs in more than 20 years. The Kiwis are superior in nearly every facet and should win this match comfortably. Swing bowler Trent Boult is in wonderful touch and his late outswing will cause a lot of problems for the many left-handers in Sri Lanka’s lineup.
Afghanistan have a fantastic spin trio with Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi. They will really challenge an Australian batting unit which is not always fluent against spin. But Afghanistan’s batting lineup is very vulnerable and they will labour badly against the pace and skill of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. Australia to win easily.
South Africa’s brilliant attack will overwhelm a pretty ordinary Bangladesh batting lineup. Bangladesh are going to really struggle in this tournament due to their lack of pace options and their inconsistent top six. South Africa will win this match with relative ease.
Tips: England, West Indies, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa
An exciting way to kick things off but England’s depth should shine through. Their injury scares from the weekend haven’t proven to be as bad as first thought. Dale Steyn also misses for the Proteas, which is a shame.
No one in their right mind is putting a wager on the second match. The Windies looked ominous in putting 421 on the board against New Zealand on Tuesday, and given this is at flat-deck central Trent Bridge, I’ll back them.
Kane Williamson’s side have mixed the superb (against India) with the ordinary (against the Windies) in the last week but will get past a Sri Lanka side who won’t trouble too many teams this tournament.
(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
An interesting one to start for the Aussies, and a good chance to test themselves against three quality spinners in Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi. Barring a collapse, however, they will win.
The Proteas have some question marks over them (namely their fourth and fifth bowling options, plus a lack of depth in the middle-order) but will fancy themselves at The Oval against Bangladesh.
Tips: England, West Indies, New Zealand, Afghanistan, South Africa
A tricky decision in the opener. It’s far too early in the tournament for these sides to disappoint their fans with a heartbreaking loss. So I’ll go with England on the basis that they’re the number one side in the world for a reason (that reason being that they are really rather excellent at ODI cricket).
Fair warning: For every game containing Pakistan, I’m going to toss a coin. Because trying to predict what Pakistan are going to do is an exercise in foolishness. And, the coin has come back tails. So I’m going with West Indies. Better luck next toss, Pakistan.
Nothing simpler. New Zealand are the nicest team in world cricket. They deserve to start the tournament with a win and therefore, I’m going to assume that they do.
Afghanistan are a stronger team than most fans think. And I remain unconvinced that by the time this match rolls around, Australia will have cracked the problem of playing multiple opening batsmen in a sport that historically has required just two per side. So give me Afghanistan.
Sorry, Bangladesh. I can’t keep tipping against South Africa if they’re going to reach the semi-finals and crash out there. Faf’s lads to bounce back here
Tips: England, West Indies, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa
England’s ultra-aggressive batting order has a tough opening assignment against South Africa’s excellent attack, but with some of the Proteas’ key bowlers entering the tournament without much recent cricket under their belts and some injury worries, including Dale Steyn being ruled out, the Poms deserve favouritism.
(AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
The West Indies and Pakistan are the two hardest sides to get a handle on. Both batting orders are similarly capable of collapsing in a heap or piling on 400, although Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq give Pakistan a little more consistency. I’ll side with the more explosive batting of the Windies to get them home.
New Zealand can challenge for the title this year, while Sri Lanka look the weakest side in the tournament. The Black Caps, and comfortably.
Afghanistan’s spin-heavy attack will trouble Australia, but the defending champs’ pace battery will be eyeing off a prosperous start to the tournament. Australia to get their campaign started with a win.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Assuming my Game 1 prediction is on the money, South Africa will come into their second match on the back of a loss and will need to bounce back against Bangladesh. The Tigers don’t have the depth to match it in this one, so the Proteas should move to 1-1 without much trouble.
Tips: South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa
Most will think these first five games are reasonably straightforward to tip, but there are plenty that could go either way.
That starts with the first game, where I will take the visitors for a huge upset to get the Cup underway. To be fair, they haven’t played a great deal of cricket in recent times, but with Faf du Plessis leading the charge, there are still plenty of runs in the side.
England have only been challenged once by a good attack in their last lot of matches – in the Australian warm-up game – and they came up short, with only Jos Buttler getting them close to the target. Injury concerns in the squad are also a worry, so, South Africa.
Game 2 between the West Indies isn’t an easy tip either. Both of those sides could dish up brilliance on their day, but also utter rubbish when it’s not. The West Indies have more potential to score big and a slightly stronger attack for mine, so I’ll take the men from the Carribean, who could be a tournament dark horse if they can be consistent.
New Zealand beating Sri Lanka and South Africa beating Bangladesh both seem like no-brainers for me, as they are for the rest of the panel.
Australia should also be able to get their campaign off to a good start with a victory, but then, there is a chance they struggle against Afghanistan’s spin. Still, they will fancy their chances of defending 200 with a strong attack, so I’d say they will still win.
Don’t forget to add your tips below to be in the running to win $2000 in prize money, as well as to form part of The Crowd’s tips as you take on the experts.
| Week 1 | Ronan | David | Dan | Daniel | Scott | The Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENG v RSA | ENG | ENG | ENG | ENG | RSA | ENG |
| PAK v WI | WI | WI | WI | WI | WI | WI |
| NZL v SL | NZL | NZL | NZL | NZL | NZL | NZL |
| AFG v AUS | AUS | AUS | AFG | AUS | AUS | AUS |
| RSA v BAN | RSA | RSA | RSA | RSA | RSA | RSA |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Go in the draw to win $2K by joining The Roar‘s 2019 Cricket World Cup tipping comp by submitting your tips below!
