The Overview of the ICC World Cup Warm-Up Games

With the World Cup in England and Wales being just around the corner, it is time to begin paying attention to the warm-up fixtures that may provide fans and pundits with some answers as to what could be expected from the teams over the course of the competition.

The matches took place at different venues all over Great Britain so that the international players could get the taste of real action and accustom themselves to the weather and playing environment.

And while the cricketers are gearing up for the upcoming clashes, punters are watching closely and elaborating the strategies which they will apply when betting during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on Sportsbet.io.

Pakistan – Afghanistan

The game took place on May 24 at the County Ground in Bristol. Afghanistan celebrated the victory over the Pakistani national team by 3 wickets with the final score being 263-7 to 262, 49.4 and 47.5 overs respectively. This game marked the continuation of the pitiful losing streak of Pakistan which now amounts to 11 consecutive games.

Despite Babar Azam delivering the 108-ball 112, Afghanistan turned it into a prime showing of how discipline and coordinated teamplay provides for a favorable result. Hazratullah Zazai hit 49 at the initial stage of the game with Mohammad Nabi contributing another 34 to seal a confident victory which showed that Afghanistan is the force to be considered during the ICC World Cup.

Sri-Lanka – South Africa

The second game kicked off the same day at the Sophia Gardens in the capital of Wales. Sri Lanka prepared for the game in good spirits, having won the previous match against Scotland thus putting their lingering losing streak to an end.

However, their optimism was short-lived as the Proteas have once again proved to be a very uncomfortable opponent for the Lions as their last meeting, which happened in March within the framework of the ODI series, ended in a 5-0 thrashing of the South Asian team. Apparently, they did not learn from that lesson since South Africa has once again enjoyed a comfortable victory by as much as 87 runs that will definitely boost their morale prior to the first Cup game against England on May 30.

England – Australia

This was the grand repetition to the official World Cup game that is due to happen on June 25 at Lord’s in London. The match, which gathered an immense crowd at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, has left the fans disappointed as Australian manager decided to leave three key players: Starc, Maxwell, and Cummings, out of action and fielded 12 players.

The English team was battered by the injuries of Morgan, Rashid, Wood, Roy, Dawson, and Archer – a disaster indeed. Nevertheless, the game proved to be fairly amusing as Jos Butler getting half century while Steve Smith bagged a hundred. Australia scored 297 runs to overcome England by a small margin of 12.

India – New Zealand

On May 25, another World Cup favorites went head-to-head at Kennington Oval in a game which the Kiwis won by 6 wickets whilst having 12.5 extra overs. New Zealand didn’t have to go above and beyond to score 180 runs while India struggled despite putting up seven bowlers and striking a searing yorker early in the game, credit to Jasprit Bumrah. Unfortunately for the Men in Blue, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has set the teammates’ efforts down the drain by conceding 27 runs in all of his overs and having a sub-par overall performance. Mohammed Shami has also disappointed India supporters after bowling the pathetic four overs.

As for New Zealand, their victory has been inspired by Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor as both have made 114 runs to the third wicket, which marked the 50+ partnership for these two cricketers.

India has little time before the next warm-up game against Bangladesh, which will take place on Tuesday in Cardiff, to ponder on the mistakes, especially the one that concerns them playing against the moving ball. That is of course if they ever hope of getting to the World Cup final, let alone win the competition.

South Africa – West Indies

The match in Bristol was called off shortly after its commencement because of the heavy rain. South Africa was the only team that batted this day, reaching 95 runs, courtesy of Amla and De Kock, playing 12.4 overs. West Indies will put their playing skills on display in the next warm-up game against New Zealand.

 Pakistan – Bangladesh

The weather in Bristol was also unsuitable for cricket as the match was canceled without a ball bowled.