Veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh feels New Zealand will pip the likes of Pakistan and South Africa and seal a place in the last four of the ICC World Cup 2019, which is scheduled to be played from May 30 to July 14.

When asked which four teams he thinks will make it into the semi-finals, Harbhajan said India, Australia, England and New Zealand.

England are currently the top-ranked side in the world and being the host nation will give them an added advantage in their dream of winning their maiden 50-over title. Australia are the defending champions while number two ranked India have one of the most balanced squads going into the showpiece event.

Interestingly, South Africa (3) is ranked higher than New Zealand (4) in the latest ODI rankings, but even they didn’t find a place in Harbhajan’s list of semi-finalists.

“I am not saying they can’t but New Zealand is a team that does well in big events. Best part of that set up is their boys do the basics well on a consistent basis. That makes a huge difference in a big event,” Harbhajan Singh was quoted as saying by PTI.

The tournament will run from May 30 to July 14. The semi-finals will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester and Edgbaston in Birmingham on July 9 and 11 respectively, while the Lord’s will host the final on July 14.

The 10 teams in the tournament will play against each other in a single-league format, with the top four sides after 45 matches to qualify for the two semi-finals. There are prizes for each league match won, in what promises to be a competitive tournament with the world’s best playing each other in a round-robin format.

The winner of tournament will earn a purse of $ 4 million, the highest prize money to date, along with the trophy that the victorious team will lift at the Lord’s on July 16.

The total prize pot, which sits at $ 10 million, will see the runners-up assured of $ 2 million and the losing semi-finalists $ 800,000 each at the end of the 46-day tournament being played across 11 venues.

Prize Money: Winners (1) USD 4,000,000; Runners-Up (1) USD 2,000,00; Losing Semi-Finalists (2) USD 800,000 each; Winners of each league stage match (45): USD 40,000 each; Teams that do pass the league stage (6) USD 100,000 each.

((With agency inputs))

First Published: May 18, 2019 13:32 IST