This summer, ten of the top one-day teams in the world today will battle it out throughout venues across England and Wales over an extensive period of nine games per team in order to decide which four teams make it through the opening league stage and into the semifinals of the ICC Cricket World Cup. Host nation England are amongst the favourites for the trophy with tough competition expected from the likes of Australia, India, New Zealand and the West Indies in particular, although the likes of South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the emerging Bangladesh cannot be ruled out. Indeed, of all the teams competing, it seems like only Afghanistan are the team not rated to have much chance of claiming a top four spot. The action has already begun in the tournament with the opening game seeing England claim a comfortable win over South Africa. This was then followed by a strong performance from the West Indies, who beat Pakistan comfortably and then New Zealand did likewise over Sri Lanka and Australia put Afghanistan to the sword in confident fashion. However, there was a real shock on the 2^nd June when Bangladesh won their opening match of the World Cup, inflicting a demoralising defeat on South Africa with a 21-run win that stunned many onlookers and has made South Africa’s chances of progress look pretty bleak indeed. At the time of writing, England and Pakistan ae competing in the sixth game of the tournament so far, but with 45 matches to be played in the league stage, there is still plenty of great action to enjoy. So if you fancy a flutter on the cricket action over the coming month, then head on over to bet365 Sport. As a new customer, sign up with the bet365 New Player Bonus and you can earn a little extra bonus when you start betting on site and with plenty of pre-match markets and of course, In Play betting on the games, you’ll not be short of options when it comes to betting on any of the action in the Cricket World Cup. Cricket World Cup – A Brief History The first Cricket World Cup was contested back in 1975 and over the first three runnings of the tournament, it was held in England, with the final held at Lords. The West Indies won the first two tournaments in 1975 and 1979 before India claimed their first victory in 1983. In 1987 the tournament moved outside of England for the first time with Australia beating England in Kolkata, India and England were losing finalists for the third time (the first came in 1979) when they lost by 22 runs in Australia against Pakistan. Sri Lanka won when the tournament was hosted across the sub-continent in 1996 when they beat Australia in the final but that only led to a sustained period of dominance from the Australian team who won the next three tournaments in 1999, 2003 and 2007 before India’s victory on home soil over Sri Lanka in 2011. However, four years ago, Australia landed the prize once again when beating New Zealand on home soil at the MCG in Melbourne. Australia lead the trophy haul with 5 World Cup wins, with India and the West Indies having two apiece, while Pakistan and Sri Lanka have managed one win. England, New Zealand and South Africa are yet to land a victory in the tournament, England losing three finals, New Zealand one and South Africa are yet to make a final in the tournament. The host of the 2023 tournament will be India, who will host the next tournament for the fourth time in its history. Cricket World Cup – Current Outright Odds

• England – 7/4 favourites
• India – 10/3
• Australia – 7/2
• New Zealand – 8/1
• West Indies – 9/1
• South Africa – 22/1
• Pakistan – 25/1
• Bangladesh – 33/1
• Sri Lanka – 66/1
• Afghanistan – 100/1

*All odds were correct as of 12.15pm on Monday 3^rd June 2019 at bet365 Sport. As you can see, England as the hosts are just the favourites ahead of India and Australia with these three teams comfortably ahead of New Zealand and the West Indies. South Africa’s poor start has seen them drift to 22/1, as has Pakistan’s loss to the Kiwi’s as they are now 25/1. Bangladesh have shortened to 33/1 after their win over South Africa, but Sri Lanka’s poor display has them now ranked at 66/1 shots. Afghanistan remain the massive outsiders at 100/1. Our Tips Outright Winner England’s one day team has been the most consistent in the world over the past 18 months or so and as a result, it is easy to see why Eoin Morgan’s men are favourites, especially on home soil and with that comes a lot of pressure. However, with the likes of Joss Buttler in the team, England can score runs right down the batting order and that strength in depth means I feel they are the team to back here, even as the 7/4 favourites. If you want to back a team to reach the final as an each way bet then New Zealand at 8/1 could be the smart money. They were impressive in beating Pakistan in their opener and they have never won the tournament, they did reach the final in 2015 in Australia, before losing to the hosts. Top Batsman Who will be the batsman to score the most runs in the tournament? Currently the bookies have Aussie ace David Warner as the 13/2 favourite with India’s famous captain Virat Kohli the 7/1 second favourite. England’s Joe Root is an 11/1 shot alongside compatriot Jason Roy with New Zealand’s Martin Guptill a 14/1 shot. Chris Gayle of the West Indies is a 16/1 shot along with Johnny Bairstow. However, my pick is England all-rounder Ben Stokes who smashed a fabulous 89 in the opening game with South Africa, as well as landing a world-class catch in the game and taking 2 wickets for just 12 runs. Batting down the order may be problematic for him, but after his issues last year off the field, he needs a good summer to redeem himself and I see him being key for England on home soil as a batsman and a bowler. Top Bowler England’s Jofra Archer is the most exciting name in the bowling field and after taking three wickets against South Africa, it is easy to see why. He is a 9/1 shot to be the leading wicket taker at the World Cup, but I think England have good quality bowlers and as such, the wickets are likely to be shared around. For me, I think Jasprit Bumrah of India, a 12-1 shot, is a more viable option as his pace will likely be a key aspect of India’s bowling attack.