The Cricket World Cup kicks off on Thursday with an opening encounter between South Africa and England at The Oval (11.30am).
Here we take a look at the teams, their star players and their chances of winning the big prize when the final is played at Lords – the home of cricket, on July 14.
South Africa
World ranking: 3
Is THIS their year?
A balanced squad and a firing Hashim Amla are good omens ahead of the round-robin, where South Africa can find belief and momentum.
Faf du Plessis, who is also hitting them sweetly at the moment, is a wily captain and his decision-making will be key to getting the Proteas into a knockout spot.
Star player:
Quinton de Kock
Only Virat Kohli, Hashim Amla and Dave Warner have a better conversion rate when it comes to turning fifties into hundreds.
STAR PLAYER: Proteas star player, Quinton de Kock Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix.
He almost always gives the Proteas a fast start, but if he sticks around he is a match winner.
One to watch:
Kagiso Rabada
Best finish:
Semfinals (1992, 1999, 2007, 2015)
Squad:
Faf du Plessis (captain), Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, JP Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Chris Morris, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi.
England
World ranking: 1
The hosts come into the tournament as red-hot favourites to win a maiden title in their own backyard.
Familiar with the conditions, they have a batting line-up, with the likes of Jason Roy, Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Jos Buttler to post huge totals.
Here we go. Come on England! 🏴 #WeAreEngland #ExpressYourself #CWC pic.twitter.com/KvatOHVpK5
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 30, 2019
Add to that the unknown quantity in new pace sensation Jofra Archer and the Poms make one fearsome unit.
Star player:
Jos Buttler
When Buttler hits the ball, it stays hit.
With an average of 41.54, probably due to him batting as low as five, he may not be as consistent a scorer as he would like. But no part of the boundary is safe when he as at the crease.
One to watch:
Jofra Archer
Best finish:
Runners-up (1979, 1987, 1992)
Squad:
Eoin Morgan (captain), Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
India
World ranking: 2
India boast some of the most destructive batsmen in the game and will make any bowler doubt his abilities. If one of them comes off, it’s game, set and match.
Star player:
Virat Kohli
Kohli can lay claim to being the greatest ODI batsman of all time. With eight centuries short of Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49, he comes to the tournament with some reputation.
It was a special evening at the Indian Cricket Heroes. @ICHOfficial🇮🇳 #heroes pic.twitter.com/tksrTNP628
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 24, 2019
One to watch:
Jasprit Bumrah
Best finish:
Winners (1983, 2011)
Squad:
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, S. Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Y. Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, B. Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravi Jadeja, Mohammed Shami.
New Zealand
World ranking: 4
Always a dark horse at major tournaments, all the top-ranked side know never to underestimate the Black Caps.
Star player:
Kane Williamson
Williamson doesn’t seem to get fazed by being the Kiwis’ main man. Runs seem to flow from his bat, averaging 45.9 in the one-day game.
Two fifties in the pre-tournament warm-up games means he is starting to find his range.
ACE: Kane Williamson. Photo: Andrew Boyers/Reuters.
One to watch:
Trent Boult
Best finish:
Runners-up (2015)
Squad:
Kane Williamson (c), Tom Latham (vc, wk), Tim Southee, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor.
Australia
World ranking:
5
Since hitting rock bottom at Newlands last March with Sandpapergate, the Aussies have made a remarkable recovery.
With disgraced pair Steve Smith and Dave Warner, back, they are a real bet to successfully defend their title.
Star player:
Dave Warner
After averaging 69.20 in this year’s IPL, he will be looking to give Australia solid starts.
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One to watch:
Glenn Maxwell
Best finish:
Winners (1987, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015)
Squad:
Aaron Finch (c), Pat Cummins (vc), Alex Carey (wk), Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Pakistan
World Ranking: 6
Historically one of the best teams in the world, Pakistan have not reached the same heights in recent years.
Their big strength during the glory years was their bowling attack, something that is perhaps not as potent as it used to be.
Star player:
Babar Azam
He averages over 50 in ODIs and while he is not a big-hitter, he holds the Pakistan batting order together.
FAST BOWLER: Pakistan's fast bowler, Mohammad Amir (centre). Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
One to watch:
Mohammad Amir
Best finish:
Winners (1992)
Squad
: Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan,Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Abid Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan.
Bangladesh
World ranking: 7
After a horrific end to their tour of New Zealand earlier this year, where the team narrowly escaped the Christchurch attacks, Bangladesh pulled together to win a tri-series against West Indies and Ireland recently.
Star player:
Shakib Al Hasan
One of the best all-rounders in the world, Hasan can win a match for his team with both bat or ball.
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One to watch:
Mustafizur Rahman
Best finish:
Quarterfinal (2015)
Squad:
Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Soumya Sarkar, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mosaddek Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed.
West Indies
World ranking: 8
Long forgotten are the days when the Windies ruled world cricket - the 70s when they bagged the first World Cup trophies on offer. But they are still a very dangerous side on their day.
Key player:
Chris Gayle
Opposition teams will target the big hitting Gayle. They will know that once they get him out cheaply, the Windies are there for the taking.
Biggest coffee snob? ☕
Grumpiest in the morning? 😠
Late for the bus? 🚌 🏃
Chris Gayle dishes the dirt on his teammates! pic.twitter.com/CykBt4eBCf
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) May 29, 2019
One to watch:
Kemar Roach
Best finish:
Winners (1975 and 1979)
Sqaud:
Jason Holder (captain), Chris Gayle, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fabian Allen, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Nicholas Pooran, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas.
Sri Lanka
World Ranking: 9
Sri Lanka will need a miracle if they want to win the tournament like they did back in 1996.
This team, though, won’t go down easily.
Star player:
Lasith Malinga
Arguably, the only bowler in the world that can bowl yorkers at will, Malinga is the man you want bowling at the death. With him in their side, the Lankans will feel they can win any close encounter.
Sri Lanka Team to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 left the country this morning. #CWC19 #OneTeamOneNation #LionsRoar #lka #SLC pic.twitter.com/txSjKG9XNd
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) May 7, 2019
One to watch:
Angelo Mathews
Best finish:
Winners (1996)
Squad:
Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep.
Afghanistan
World ranking: 10
The lowest-ranked team at the tournament will be seen as the possible whipping boys.
Key player:
Rashid Khan
The youngest ever international cricket captain when he led his team at the age of 19 in a World Cup qualifier last year, Khan is regarded as one of the best spin bowlers in the world at the moment.
POINT TO PROVE: Lowest ranked in the cup this year, Afghanistan is looking to prove a point. Photo: Supplied/icc-cricket.com.
One to watch:
Mohammad Nabi
Best finish:
Group Stage (2015)
Squad:
Gulbadin Naib (captain), Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam, Asghar Afghan, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shinwari.