What is the Cricket World Cup?

The Cricket World Cup in an international 50-over one-day cricket competition that is held every four years.

When does it take place?

The 2019 World Cup starts on 30 May and ends on 14 July.

Where does it take place?

The 2019 World Cup will be hosted by England and Wales, with the matches taking place at 11 different venues:

Lord’s (London), The Oval (London), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Trent Bridge (Nottingham), Old Trafford (Manchester), Headingley (Leeds), Rose Bowl (Southampton), Chester-le-Street (Durham), Bristol County Ground (Bristol), County Ground (Taunton) and Sophia Gardens (Cardiff).

Which teams take part?

The International Cricket Council (ICC) have courted controversy this year after reducing the tournament to just 10 teams:

England, Australia, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

This reduction in size means the 2019 World Cup will be the first to not include all Test nations, with Ireland and Zimbabwe missing out.

This year’s tournament will also be the first to not feature any Associate members of the ICC, which are countries where cricket is less established as a sport.

Nations such as Scotland, UAE, Canada, Kenya and the Netherlands have previously played in the World Cup but will not be involved this time around.

What is the format?

The reduction in participating teams also means a change of format for this year’s edition.

All 10 teams will be placed in a single group, with the first stage of the tournament taking a round-robin format.

All teams will play each other once between 30 May and 6 July, meaning nine matches per side and 45 matches in total.

Two points will be awarded for a win, while teams will be handed one point each if a match is tied or abandoned.

The top four teams at the end of the group stage will progress to the semi-finals, where the top team will play fourth, while second will play third.

The final will take place at Lord’s on 14 July.

Who are the previous winners?

Australia have been the dominant force in the World Cup, winning four of the last five including the most recent tournament in 2015, which they hosted alongside New Zealand.

India are two-time winners, triumphing 2011 and 1983, while Sri Lanka and Pakistan have one title each, in 1996 and 1992 respectively.

West Indies were the pre-eminent force in cricket during the 1970s, reflected in their triumphs at the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979.

England have never won the tournament but have finished as runner-up on three separate occasions.

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