Cricket World Cup 2024 Preview
In a couple of days time the T20 Cricket World Cup will kick off with 20 nations playing 55 matches from June 2nd to June 30th over 9 different venues across the United States of America and the Caribbean. For cricket lovers it’s an exciting time and with so many 2nd Tier Teams playing it’s an opportunity to see some of the rising nations of the cricket world and the talent they are producing.
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In the US there are matches being played at Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, Eisenhower Park in Nassau County New York and Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas Texas. The USA does have a team playing in this world cup and they have been given the honor of opening the tournament with a game versus Canada in Dallas this coming Sunday.
However, the bulk of the tournament is being played in the Carribean which is home to one of the top T20 teams of the world – The West Indies. The West Indies have hosted World Cups before and I think it’s a great place to both play and watch cricket. The crowds are always in party mode and the grounds and pitches have a lot of diversity and nuance that tend to make each game an intrigue.
Most cricket nuffies like me enjoy seeing a good balance between Bat and Ball and often that’s what you get in the Carribean. Scores are expected to be around 160-180 early in the tournament which is a contrast to places like India where the recent IPL was often just a slog-fest with massive scores frequently being produced. The Carribean venues are at Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad, Antigua, St Vincent and St Lucia.
The favourites to win the tournament are India, closely followed by Australia. England, South Africa and West Indies are also rated good chances while New Zealand and Pakistan are the perpetual Dark Horses. The tournament starts off with 4 Pools of 5 teams each that play each other and the Top 2 from each Pool go through to a Super 8s Stage where the finalists are determined.
I ran a Sweep for the last World Cup and I might do one again for the Super 8s Stage so if you’re interested keep an eye out for that around mid-June.
Wow, that is interesting. It seems a bit weird they would be playing some of the games here since as far as most people know cricket is virtually non existent here. I would imagine it's gaining popularity kind of like rugby. I might have to try and catch some of the games if they are televised.
Sounds like the tournament will be a joy to watch, being more of a soccer fan. Sports is always interesting to follow no matter which one it is. Goodluck to all the participating countries, especially the US of A. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day.