ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: What To Expect From the Warm-Up Matches

The wait is nearly over as the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 warm-up matches are all set to start from May 24 to May 28. Each of the ten teams participating in the ICC World Cup 2019 will get a chance to play 2 warm-up matches before the beginning of the tournament.

The warm-up matches do not have an official status since there are no restrictions for the playing XI and all the 15 players of the squad can get a chance to play in the match. However, each side gets 50 overs and so the teams have to make use of the 50 overs to try out every player of the team.

The Warm-up matches give the opportunity for all the teams the opportunity to get accustomed to the conditions in England and also be able to find the best winning combination of the playing XI.

There are many exciting warm-up matches to watch out for. These matches would just be a trailer for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Fans can expect some thrilling matches before the start of the world cup during the warm-up matches.

Here are some of the top matches to watch out for in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 warm-up matches-

1.  England vs Australia

The hosts will face their arch-rival, Australia in their first warm-up match at the Hampshire Bowl stadium on May 25. The Australians would hope to bring back their confidence after a whitewash defeat against England, last year. Australians will also test their bowlers against a strong batting line up of England.

While England will aim to dominate the world cup from the warm-up matches. They will also look to fix their playing XI as the side is struggling to pick the perfect winning combination for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

2. India vs New Zealand

India will face New Zealand at the Oval on May 25 in their first ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 warm-up match. Team India will test the no. 4 position of their batting lineup. The side has been struggling with their middle-over batsmen and has not fixed the position yet.

While the ICC World Cup 2015 runner-up, New Zealand would like to assess their team against a quality side of team India.

3. Sri Lanka vs South Africa

The Island nation would hope to turn the tables around by defeating South Africa in their first warm-up match on May 24 at the Cardiff Wales Stadium. South Africa had whitewashed Sri Lanka, earlier in March.

The Proteas are also known as ‘chokers’. South Africa have entered the semifinals four times before but have failed to feature in the finals. They’ll aim to adjust to the English conditions as soon as possible to improve their World Cup performance at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.