SPORTSMAIL’S EXPERTS PICK THEIR WINNERS...
NASSER HUSSAIN — ENGLAND
MY FOUR semi-finalists are England, Australia, India and South Africa. England will draw confidence from home advantage and their bowling has come on hugely. That’s the final piece of their jigsaw. I see no reason why they can’t lift a first global 50-over trophy.
PAUL NEWMAN — AUSTRALIA
ENGLAND will never have a better chance of winning a first 50-over global title but I have a horrible feeling Australia will be too strong. If those four quicks — Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and Josh Hazlewood — stay fit they will be tough here and in the Ashes. Australia to beat England in the final.
LAWRENCE BOOTH — INDIA
INDIA proved four years ago that they can win in English conditions and I think they will do it again. Unlike England or South Africa, they know how to win big tournaments, and Virat Kohli is the best chaser in white-ball history. Their spinners are world class and the seamers under-rated. Jasprit Bumrah’s death bowling is as clever as anyone’s.
DAVID ‘BUMBLE’ LLOYD — ENGLAND
AUSTRALIA will be as competitive as ever, India will have their say with a swagger and New Zealand can spoil any party. But my winners are England. They put down a marker by beating South Africa, they’re settled and at home. They will have to cope with the pressure but captain Morgan can deal with that. England all the way!
HOW THE TEAMS QUALIFIED
THE top eight teams in the ODI world rankings in September 2015 qualified.
HOW THE FORMAT WORKS
THE four teams in each group play each other once, with two points awarded for a win and one for a tie/no result/abandoned match. The top two from each group qualify for the semi-finals, but if two or more teams are level on points it will be decided by number of wins, net run rate or head-tohead record (in that order).
IF IT’S A TIE IN THE SEMIS OR FINAL
A ‘SUPER OVER’ shoot-out would determine which team progresses. If a semi-final is not completed due to the weather, the team that finished top in their group will reach the final. If the final is rained off, a reserve day has been set to try again. If that fails, the two teams will be declared joint winners.