ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: 5 Teams which are in the race for a semi-finals berth
The 12th edition of the ICC World Cup 2019 in England is set to feature a total of 10 teams. The format is such that each team will play the other team once with the top four teams staking a claim in the semi-finals stage.
This edition’s format will be following a similar template to the 1992 World Cup and poses a tough challenge for the teams to qualify into the knockout stages which makes it a commendable achievement to make it all the way to the last four. This adds pressure on the teams to be at their best over a longer duration of time and should peak at the right time to go all the way.
In this article, we examine the prospects of five of the ten participating teams who are in with a better chance of making it to the last-four stages.
#5 South Africa
The South African team has always been associated with the phrase “chokers” when it comes to ICC tournaments. They were extremely unfortunate in the World Cup semi-finals of the 1992, 1999 and 2015 editions. With a bit of luck in the past, they could have made it to the finals and probably clinched the title as well.
This time, it is going to be different for South Africa since they have a balanced team to suit the conditions in England. To start with, they have experience in their batting line-up with the presence of Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy. Aiden Markam is a terrific young talent and David Miller is a capable finisher. In Quinton de Kock, they have one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen of the tournament.
South Africa’s strength lies in its fast bowling resources. They have at their disposal three quickest bowlers of the tournament in Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. They are ably supported by the plethora of bowling all-rounders such as Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo and Dwaine Pretorius. For spin, Imran Tahir will hold the aces.
One look at the South African team would propose that they are a balanced team. The one player they miss the most would be AB de Villiers who has already retired. However, this team has the potential to reach the last four with a little bit of luck and if the batsmen manage to put runs on the board, the bowlers should do the job for them.
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