ICC Chief Executive David Richardson picks his favourites to lift the World Cup 2019

The World Cup 2019 will be held in England from May 30 to July 14.

Richardson tipped South Africa as favourites for World Cup 2019 | Getty

With less than seven months to go for the 2019 World Cup, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson has picked his favourites for the marquee event, scheduled to be held in England from May 30 to July 14.

Richardson, who has represented South Africa in 42 Tests and 122 ODIs, believes that the Proteas can leave years of disappointment behind and clinch the title next year. He also named England and India as leading contenders to win the event.

“South Africa must be my favourites but if you ask me who can win it then it is anybody’s game. If England do not win at home, the No 1 team in the world right now, they’ll never win it,” Richardson told India Today.

“India is always there, I think they’ve been in the semifinals of almost every event over the last few years. You would be silly not to bet or you would be silly to bet against them,” he further added.

The ICC Chief Executive also expressed his delight at the demands of ticket for the showpiece event and confirmed that the 50-over format is still the most popular among the three formats of the game.

“The demands for tickets for the 2019 World Cup has been extraordinary. There are just two or three games where you can still buy tickets. This is reflective of the strength of crickets across all formats and not just T20. As much as 68 per cent of our cricket fans love all formats of the game. The 50-over World Cup is definitely the most popular,” David Richardson concluded.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 14 Dec, 2018

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