Cricket World Cup bowls off in a few hours
The Cricket World Cup begins on Thursday, with hosts England opening their bid to win the tournament for the first time.
England, the world number one and favorite, take on South Africa at The Oval.
Defending champions Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies also make up the 10-team competition.
They will all play each other once in 50-over matches across 11 venues in England and Wales. The top four teams from the group stage advance to the semi-finals before the final at Lord’s on 14 July.
Organizers say that 95% of 800,000 available tickets have been sold, adding it is believed a third of these ticket holders will be new to cricket.
In addition, 150,000 tickets are held by women and children, while some 250,000 have been purchased by south east Asian fans.
The schedule of the tournament is a revival of the format used in 1992, when nine teams all played each other before the semis and final.
The 10 participants make it the smallest competition in terms of teams taking part since 1992, and the decision to contract from a 14-team tournament four years ago was criticized for excluding some of cricket’s smaller nations.