The Cricket World Cup is fast approaching. Scheduled to take place between 5 October and 19 November, the most prestigious, spectacular, and extravagant tournament in the game will see ten of the best national cricket teams compete for the champion title.
Cricket is already one of the most popular sports in the world. In fact, with 2.5 billion fans the world over, cricket is second in popularity only to football. The game is especially beloved in England, where it originates, Southeast Asia, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
The Popularity of Cricket
However, recently there has been a push to popularize cricket around the world. And to an extent, the International Cricket Council has had quite a bit of success in this endeavor. Cricket has gained esteem in Europe and Canada. On top of that it has also become incredibly popular as a betting sport.
For those who don’t know, online sports betting is incredibly popular in 2023. Fans can now access some of the best cricket betting sites through any of their electronic devices. And naturally, the Cricket World Cup will certainly bring a massive amount of punters to the event. So, in this article, we would like to go over everything you need to know regarding the tournament.
Who Will Host?
The host of the event will be India. Meaning, they automatically qualify to compete as the event organizers. The choice to have India host has caused some controversy, which thankfully has already been resolved.
However, for those who don’t know, the Pakistan Cricket Board threatened to boycott the 2023 Cricket World Cup, as a retaliation for the BCCI refusing to send their own team to the Asia Cup, hosted in Pakistan. However, the controversy was resolved in March of 2023.
The Teams
Ten teams will participate in the 2023 World Cup. Out of the ten, eight have already qualified. The main way to qualify for the World Cup is through a team’s performance in the International Cricket Council World Cup Super League that took place between 2020 and 2023. So, let us take a look at the seven teams that have qualified from the ICC CWSL:
- Afghanistan
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- England
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- South Africa
Two more teams are yet to be determined. However, the choice will depend on the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier event, which will take place between 18 June and 9 July, 2023. There are some news regarding the West Indies squad that will compete in Zimbabwe.
Of course, as we already said, the Indian team has already qualified, as they are the hosts of the event. With so many great teams, the 2023 Cricket World Cup is looking to be a top tier event.
Cricket Format
The World Cup in cricket alternates its cricket format after every two events. In 2023, the tournament will be held in the One Day International format. For those who don’t know, there are three major cricket formats in 2023. They are the following:
- Twenty20 International (T20I)
- One Day International (ODI)
- Test Cricket
While similar, all three of the formats have certain differences that make them unique. For anyone who would like to learn more, the ICC website helpfully covers all three formats.
The Tournament Format
As for the tournament itself, fans of the football World Cup will certainly be familiar with how the cricket one works. The Cricket World Cup takes place in two different rounds. The round-robin and the knockout stage.
During the round-robin stage, each of the teams will play against the other nine, attempting to accumulate as much points as possible. Overall, we will see 45 different matches. And the four teams that perform the best in these 45 games get to move on to the knockout stage.
During the knockout stage, the 1st and 4th place and 2nd and 3rd place team will face off. The winners of these two rounds get to progress to the final. From there, there is one final match to decide the cricket world champion.
Winning Odds
The 2023 World Cup in Cricket is one of the most anticipated events in the world of sports right now. Bettors, fans, hardcore enthusiasts, all are incredibly excited for the upcoming tournament. Many of those excited are likely to place a bet or two. Professional punters are of course excited, as they will get an opportunity to win quite a lot of cash.
In this final section of the article, we would like to take a look the few teams who have the best shot at winning the event. So, let us take a look.
- England
England are the current champions. They won the 2019 World Cup, defeating New Zealand in the final match. So, naturally, many folks are sticking to the idea that England will perform incredibly well in this upcoming event. While some don’t believe they will reach the championship twice in a row, others have faith.
- India
As the hosts, the Indian team has the home ground advantage. However, their ranking in the One Day International format has recently dropped. And though they are still in the top three, they are outranked by both Pakistan and Australia. And speaking of which.
- Australia
The Australian team currently holds the number one spot in the One Day International format. As we said, the 2023 World Cup will take place in the ODI format. So, the Australian team have a pretty good chance, and are among the favorites to win the 13th Cricket World Cup.
- Pakistan
Despite their threats to boycott the 13th World Cup, the Pakistani team actually have a pretty significant shot at bringing home the trophy. They are ranked second, only after Australia in the ODI format. Many fans believe that they will rise to the top.
Conclusion
The 2023 World Cup is right around the corner. Many fans of cricket are incredibly excited for the outcome. So, we hope that this article has helped you to better understand the Cricket World Cup, and has helped you to get into the event.
