New Zealand batting coach Craig McMillan on Thursday (March 14) claimed that the upcoming World Cup 2019 will be the most open tournament in the history of the 50-over showpiece event.

He further said that their recent India series at home showed them a couple of areas where the Black Caps need to get better heading into the 50-over event in England.

McMillan told media, “We have played a ton of ODI cricket over the summer just not at the end of the summer. We have learned a lot about our side over the summer - India showed as a couple of areas where we need to get better but I think this is the most open World Cup in history.”

He added, “There are six or seven teams with a real chance of winning. You have Afghanistan making serious strides with a couple of very talented young players - they will be a tricky opponent for any side. It's going to be an open and exciting tournament because so many sides are capable of winning it.”

Meanwhile, McMillan has been serving as Kiwi coach since 2014 and Bangladesh series and the World Cup will be his last assignment with the side and he said, “I'll miss that day-to-day banter with the boys and seeing their development and success over the last few years has been awesome. People don't really get to see all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes to get guys to a point where they can perform at the international stage.”

He signed off by saying, “As a coach, you see that development from the time they came into the setup to where they are now in terms of world cricket and as a coach, that's really satisfying. I am very proud at where the guys are at. As a team, to reach number two in the Test rankings is huge. Just look at some of the caliber of teams below us and you realize just how good that achievement is.”

(With Cricketnext Inputs)