The party begins: Watch ICC's beautiful countdown video

The ICC World Cup has begun in England.   The opening match  between England and South Africa is underway at the Oval.As the  excitement reached new heights ahead of the World Cup, the ICC  World Cup Twitter account posted an adrenaline inducing  countdown video  moments before the match began  in London.The video features captains and players of the ten participating nations  enthralling the fans.    "The ICC Cricket World Cup where dreams are realized. Legends are made. It is the time to be a hero. The chance to be a champion,"   the video shows the captains as saying.

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Imran Tahir takes first wicket of World Cup 2019

LONDON: South African spinner Imran Tahir became the first bowler to take the wicket in Cricket World Cup 2019.Earlier, South Africa won toss and put England into bat first in the opening WC game today.To everyone’s surprise, Faf du Plessis brought Imran Tahir to bowl the first bowl of the tournament and it paid off when he got the wicket of Jonny Bairstow on the second ball of the tournament.According to statistician Mazher Arshad, it was the first time that Bairstow is dismissed by a leg-spinner in ODIs in England. This is also the first WC in which the first over of the tournament is bowled by a spinner, Arshad further said. 

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Google celebrates World Cup 2019 by releasing special doodle

The mega event of World Cup 2019 is going to start on Thursday.To commemorate the incredible tournament search engine giant Google has dedicated a special doodle in this regard World Cup 2019 begins with the first match to be played between hosts England and South Africa at the Oval in London. Earlier, on Wednesday the captains of all teams competing at the World Cup were called on by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace.

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World Cup 2019: Pakistan to announce squad for West Indies match today

NOTTINGHAM: Pakistan is likely to announce its 12-member squad for World Cup 2019 match against West Indies to be held today (Thursday).As per sources, the players named in the squad for today's fixture include fast bowlers Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali.However, the first match of Pakistan in 2019 World Cup will not feature Haris Sohail, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Hasnain. Moreover, either Shoaib Malik or Asif Ali will be included in the team. Pakistan's 12-member squad constitutes the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohamad Hafeez, Imad Waseem, Shadab Khan, Hassan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Asif Ali and Sarfaraz Ahmed (Captain). Pakistan will play its first match against West Indies at Trent Bridge on Friday 2:30 PM (PST) for which a 11-member team squad is likely to be announced by the managements today.

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England vs South Africa Live Score: ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Match 1, Ball by Ball Commentary Scorecard

LONDON: South Africa won the toss and decided to field first  in the opening  match of the ICC World Cup  2019 against England on Thursday in  the Oval, London.Squads: England: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wicket-keeper), Jos Buttler (wicket-keeper), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.South Africa: Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), JP Duminy, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Rassie van der Dussen.

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World Cup 2019: Dark horses to watch out for

While the obvious choices are certainties in most fantasy teams, the dark horses could provide a major boost to one’s rank in the fantasy cricket.Imam-ul-Haq (Pakistan)The new recruit at the top of Pakistan's batting order, Imam-ul-Haq, is a grossly underestimated one-day international batsmen. While his partner, Fakhar Zaman, is a certain pick in most fantasy sides, Imam is a less flamboyant, yet a more reliable option. He has six hundreds in 28 ODIs and averages 60.30 in the format, which are pretty good returns. Remember, more than striking abilities and the odd big knock, consistent runs matter more in season-long fantasy.Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (Afghanistan)While Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi are the more celebrated Afghanistan spinners, young Mujeeb-ur-Rahman is a rather good choice for your fantasy team. Since the Champions Trophy in 2017, he is the seventh highest wicket taker in the format with 51 wickets in 29 matches. That strike-rate indicates that he is a consistent wicket-taker and could be your differential in a daily contest.Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand)Lockie Ferguson has firmly established himself in New Zealand ODI side with consistently good performances. A genuine wicket-taker, Ferguson has a better strike-rate than Trent Boult and is an unheralded force with the ball. His searing pace and movement off the deck could be a handful in English conditions making him a very different, yet reliable fantasy pick. Even if he disappoints in terms of economy, expect Ferguson to make up for it with wickets.Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka)Thisara Perera's all-round value cannot be emphasized enough. He has 40 wickets in 34 matches in ODIs since the Champions Trophy (second-most by a Lankan) and 797 runs at a strike rate of 116.18. What's more, he hits a six per game - he has 34 sixes in 34 ODIs since Champions Trophy 2017 - making him a genuine captaincy candidate in a fantasy team. An indispensable choice in daily contests involving Sri Lanka, Perera can be a good differential in season-long contests as well.Andile Phehlukwayo (South Africa)The seemingly innocuous South African all-rounder was an outside candidate for a World Cup spot one year ago. However, with brilliant performances both with the ball and the bat, Phehlukwayo has become a crucial member of South Africa's ODI team. He has 36 wickets in 26 ODIs since the Champions Trophy in 2017 while making 283 runs at an average of 28.3. He delivers under pressure, making him a great choice outside the obvious ones for daily contests.Moeen Ali (England)Moeen Ali, the England all-rounder had a confidence-boosting outing in the Indian Premier League with Royal Challengers Bangalore. A terrific striker of the ball and a genuine spin option, Moeen is often overshadowed by the kind of quality in England's ranks. For daily contests, he could be a smart, underrated pick. He has 32 wickets in the 38 matches since the 2017 Champions Trophy and has scored 497 runs with the bat.Shaun Marsh (Australia)While the return of David Warner and Steven Smith and the ominous return to form of Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja headline Australian news, Shaun Marsh has been a silent warrior with enough runs to back his case. The experienced left-hander has the second most runs after Aaron Finch for Australia since the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 with 851 runs in 18 games but has largely remained unused to his fullest potential in fantasy teams.Mohammad Mithun (Bangladesh)A silent warrior with good temperament in big matches, Mithun has often remained unacknowledged for his contributions to the side. A decent finisher with a knack for turning up in big matches, Mithun has been a force to reckon with since the beginning of the Asia Cup last year. He has a total of 420 runs in 18 ODIs at an average of 32.30 with four half-centuries. Mithun is likely to have lower credits and could be a great choice in daily contests for matches involving Bangladesh.Mohammad Shami (India)While Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are touted to be the first and second choice seamers, Mohammad Shami has slowly but surely challenged Bhuvneshwar for a spot in the starting XI. Sham has a knack for picking up wickets at all stages in the innings. He has developed a handy slower bouncer for the death overs and has 22 wickets in 13 matches since his comeback into the Indian side in 2018. His wicket-taking prowess makes him an underrated pick in fantasy cricket.Shannon Gabriel (West Indies)Shannon Gabriel is familiar with English conditions having played Test cricket there and is an excellent wicket-taker with the new ball. In the Ireland tri-series, Gabriel has showcased his skills in the death overs too. Amidst the Russells, Gayles and Holders, Gabriel could be a nice little addition your daily fantasy. Do not hesitate to even make him the captain against sides with a weaker top order.

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World Cup 2019: All you need to know about the biggest cricket event in history

The biggest cricket event is officially here making fanatics go haywire with cricket fever overtaking them in full swing. As the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 begins today (Thursday) with hosts England clashing against South Africa, here's a quick run-down on everything you need to know about the magnanimous tournament.World Cup 2019 will be a 6-week long festival of cricket featuring the top ten teams in world cricket. The format for the tournament will be a single group of 10 teams, with each team playing the other nine once.This makes a total of 45 matches to be played in the league stage with each team playing a total of nine matches. The four teams emerging at the top will proceed to the knockout stage. The first semi-final will be played in Manchester on July 9. Moreover, in this World Cup, there are Super Overs only in the semi-finals and final. In the past two World Cups, a Super Over was available only for the final.10 Teams: Pakistan | India | England | Australia | South Africa | Sri Lanka | New Zealand | West Indies | Bangladesh | Afghanistan.Prize money on offer: The total prize money is worth a staggering $10 million. The victorious team receives $4 million and the runners-up earn $2 million. The losing semi-finalists get $800,000 each at the end of the 46-day tournament being played across 11 venues.Squad and fixtures: PAKISTANPakistan Squad:Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed (Captain & wicket keeper), Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Haris Sohail, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad HasnainPakistan Fixtures:PAK vs WI on May 31, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs PAK on June 3, 15:00 PM (IST)PAK vs SL on June 7, 15:00 PM (IST)AUS vs PAK on June 12, 15:00 PM (IST)IND vs PAK on June 16, 15:00 PM (IST)PAK vs SA on June 23, 15:00 PM (IST)NZ vs PAK on June 26, 15:00 PM (IST)AFG vs PAK on June 29, 15:00 PM (IST)BAN vs PAK on July 5, 18:00 PM (IST)ENGLANDEngland Squad:Eoin Morgan (Captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wicket keeper), Jos Buttler (wicket keeper), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.England Fixtures:ENG vs SA on May 30, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs PAK on June 3, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs BAN on June 8, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs WI on June 14, 15:00 PM (IST)AFG vs ENG on June 18, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs SL on June 21, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs AUS on June 25, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs IND on June 30, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs NZ on July 3, 15:00 PM (IST)INDIAIndia Squad:Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (Vice Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wicket keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Y. Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami.India Fixtures:SA vs IND on June 05, 15:00 PM (IST)IND vs AUS on June 09, 15:00 PM (IST)IND vs NZ on June 13, 15:00 PM (IST)IND vs PAK on June 16, 15:00 PM (IST)IND vs AFG on June 22, 15:00 PM (IST)WI vs IND on June 27, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs IND on June 30, 15:00 PM (IST)BAN vs IND on July 02, 15:00 PM (IST)SL vs IND on July 06, 15:00 PM (IST)AUSTRALIAAustralia Squad:Aaron Finch (Captain), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wicket keeper), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Kane Richardson, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Pat CumminsAustralia Fixtures:AFG vs AUS on June 1, 15:00 PM (IST)AUS vs WI on June 6, 15:00 PM (IST)IND vs AUS on June 09, 15:00 PM (IST)AUS vs PAK on June 12, 15:00 PM (IST)AUS vs SL on June 15, 15:00 PM (IST)AUS vs BAN on June 20, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs AUS on June 25, 15:00 PM (IST)AUS vs NZ on June 29, 18:00 PM (IST)AUS vs SA on July 6, 18:00 PM (IST)SOUTH AFRICASouth Africa Squad:Faf du Plessis (Captain), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wicket keeper), JP Duminy, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Rassie van der Dussen.South Africa Fixtures:ENG vs SA on May 30, 15:00 PM (IST)SA vs BAN on June 2, 15:00 PM (IST)SA vs IND on June 05, 15:00 PM (IST)SA vs WI on June 10, 15:00 PM (IST)SA vs AFG on June 15, 18:00 PM (IST)NZ vs SA on June 19, 15:00 PM (IST)PAK vs SA on June 23, 15:00 PM (IST)SL vs SA on June 28, 15:00 PM (IST)AUS vs SA on July 6, 18:00 PM (IST)NEW ZEALANDNew Zealand Squad:Kane Williamson (Captain), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wicket keeper), Tom Blundell (wicket keeper), Mitchell Santner, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Colin Munro, Ish Sodhi, Henry Nicholls, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Jimmy Neesham.New Zealand Fixtures:NZ vs SL on June 1, 18:00 PM (IST)BAN vs NZ on June 5, 15:00 PM (IST)AFG vs NZ on June 8, 18:00 PM (IST)IND vs NZ on June 13, 15:00 PM (IST)NZ vs SA on June 19, 15:00 PM (IST)WI vs NZ on June 22, 18:00 PM (IST)NZ vs PAK on June 26, 15:00 PM (IST)AUS vs NZ on June 29, 18:00 PM (IST)ENG vs NZ on July 3, 15:00 PM (IST)WEST INDIESWest Indies Squad:Jason Holder (Captain), Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach, Nicholas Pooran (wicket keeper), Ashley Nurse, Fabian Allen, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wicket keeper), Oshane Thomas, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Evin Lewis.West Indies Fixtures:PAK vs WI on May 31, 15:00 PM (IST)AUS vs WI on June 6, 15:00 PM (IST)SA vs WI on June 10, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs WI on June 14, 15:00 PM (IST)WI vs BAN on June 17, 15:00 PM (IST)WI vs NZ on June 22, 18:00 PM (IST)WI vs IND on June 27, 15:00 PM (IST)SL vs WI on July 1, 15:00 PM (IST)AFG vs WI on July 4, 15:00 PM (IST)SRI LANKASri Lanka Squad:Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Jefferey Vandersay, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Jeewan Mendis and Milinda Siriwardana.Sri Lanka Fixtures:NZ vs SL on June 1, 15:00 PM (IST)AFG vs SL on June 5, 15:00 PM (IST)PAK vs SL on June 7, 15:00 PM (IST)BAN vs SL on June 11, 15:00 PM (IST)AUS vs SL on June 15, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs SL on June 21, 15:00 PM (IST)SL vs SA on June 28, 15:00 PM (IST)SL vs WI on July 1, 15:00 PM (IST)SL vs IND on July 6, 15:00 PM (IST)BANGLADESHBangladesh Squad:Mashrafe Mortaza (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicket keeper), Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahaman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed.Bangladesh Fixtures:SA vs BAN on June 2, 15:00 PM (IST)BAN vs NZ on June 5, 15:00 PM (IST)ENG vs BAN on June 8, 15:00 PM (IST)BAN vs SL on June 11, 15:00 PM (IST)WI vs BAN on June 17, 15:00 PM (IST)AUS vs BAN on June 20, 15:00 PM (IST)BAN vs AFG on June 24, 15:00 PM (IST)BAN vs IND on July 02, 15:00 PM (IST)BAN vs PAK on July 5, 18:00 PM (IST)AFGHANISTANAfghanistan Squad:Gulbadin Naib (Captain), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.Afghanistan Fixtures:AFG vs AUS on June 1, 15:00 PM (IST)AFG vs SL on June 5, 15:00 PM (IST)AFG vs NZ on June 8, 18:00 PM (IST)SA vs AFG on June 15, 18:00 PM (IST)ENG vs AFG on June 18, 15:00 PM (IST)IND vs AFG on June 22, 15:00 PM (IST)BAN vs AFG on June 24, 15:00 PM (IST)AFG vs PAK on June 29, 15:00 PM (IST)AFG vs WI on July 4, 15:00 PM (IST)

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