This week at the Cricket World Cup: Thrilling race for semi-final spots on the cards

James Willoughby
July 1, 2019 07:00 MYT

The battle for semi-final berths at the Cricket World Cup will go down to the wire in a thrilling final week full of permutations and possibilities.

Defending champions Australia are the only nation who have secured their spot in the last four, while only a crazy set of results would prevent India from joining them in the knockout stages.

But the battle between New Zealand, England, Pakistan and Bangladesh for the last two semi-final places is well and truly alive, Eoin Morgan's side breathing life into their campaign with a 31-run win over India on Sunday.

England's fluctuating form has been the subject of much debate across the cricket world and they need to beat third-placed New Zealand to guarantee their progression in the tournament. If England lose, they will rely on Bangladesh beating Pakistan on Friday.

New Zealand could still miss the top four, if they lose to England and other results go against them, while Bangladesh need to win both fixtures - against India and Pakistan - to stay alive.

Here's how the #CWC19 table looks after today's result Remarkably, none of India, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, or Pakistan have qualified for the semi-finals, but all have their fate in their own hands! Who do you think will end in the top four? pic.twitter.com/DM3sHRLoA3
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 30, 2019

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FIXTURES

Monday 1 July: Sri Lanka v West Indies (The Riverside) - 1030 BST start

Tuesday 2 July: Bangladesh v India (Edgbaston) - 1030

Wednesday 3 July: England v New Zealand (The Riverside) - 1030

Thursday 4 July: Afghanistan v West Indies (Headingley) - 1030

Friday 5 July: Bangladesh v Pakistan (Lord's) - 1030

Saturday 6 July: Sri Lanka v India (Headingley) – 1030, Australia v South Africa (Old Trafford) - 1330

THE WEEK'S BIG GAME

Having produced in what was essentially a must-win game against India, all eyes will be on pre-tournament favourites England on Wednesday.

The stakes will again be very high and New Zealand have recent history on their side, having won their past five World Cup meetings against England.

The Black Caps demolished England by eight wickets with more than 37 overs remaining at the 2015 World Cup. England will need Jonny Bairstow to fire again with the bat against an impressive New Zealand attack.

For his century at the top of the order that set the tone for England, Jonny Bairstow was named Player of the Match! #CWC19 | #ENGvIND | #WeAreEngland pic.twitter.com/i6H8groCQ3
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 30, 2019

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STANDINGS

1. Australia - 14pts from 8 games, Net Run Rate +1.000

2. India - 11pts from 7 games, NRR +0.854

3. New Zealand - 11pts from 8 games, NRR +0.572

4. England - 10pts from 8 games, NRR +1.000

5. Pakistan - 9pts from 8 games, NRR -0.792

6. Bangladesh - 7pts from 7 games, NRR -0.133

7. Sri Lanka - 6pts from 7 games, NRR -1.186

8. South Africa - 5pts from 8 games, NRR -0.080

9. West Indies - 3pts from 7 games, NRR -0.320

10. Afghanistan - 0pts from 8 games, NRR -1.418

LEADING RUN-SCORERS

1: David Warner (Aus) - 516

2: Aaron Finch (Aus) - 504

=3: Shakib Al Hasan (Ban), Joe Root (Eng) - 476

LEADING WICKET-TAKERS

1: Mitchell Starc (Aus) - 24

2: Lockie Ferguson (NZ) - 17

=3: Mohammad Amir (Pak), Jofra Archer (Eng) - 16

#New Zealand #Australia #England #Sri Lanka #India #South Africa #Pakistan #Bangladesh #West Indies #Afghanistan #Cricket #ICC ODI Championship #ODI #ICC World Cup