World Cup 2019: Steve Waugh picks his favourites for the tournament

Soon after the Indian Premier League (IPL) ended, the World Cup fever took over the fans’ minds and are eagerly waiting for the tournament to get underway. The cricket experts and commentators are, since then, busy predicting the possible semi-finalists and the title favourites. Likewise, the former Australian cricketer and captain Steve Waugh was also asked of the same and he named England as the favourites to lift the title.

No wonder his choice, like a majority of those, is England as the Eoin Morgan-led side has put up some staggering numbers over the last four years. They are unbeaten in 11 straight ODI series and recently thumped Pakistan by 4-0 in the five-match series to announce themselves just before the mega event. With the flat pitches on the offing, England looks the most equipped side as they bat extremely deep and each one of them has the ability to contribute significantly.

Steve Waugh also praised the coach Trevor Bayliss‘ efforts for the same while also picking Australia and India as the second favourites.

“England to me are probably the favourites – their form has been outstanding over the last couple of years. They are playing at home. Sometimes, that creates more pressure, but they’ve got a really good coach in Trevor Bayliss to keep the players grounded. So I think England would be favourites, and probably Australia and India on that second line of favouritism,” he was quoted as saying by ICC’s official website.

Every side will be wary of Australia

Despite naming England as the favourites to win the World Cup, Steve Waugh believed that all the sides will be careful of Australia’s potential in ICC tournaments. Steve Smith and David Warner are back after the 12-month turmoil and even before they came, the Men in Yellow started winning games consistently and are currently on a 8-match streak after beating India and Pakistan in their den.

“Every side will be wary of Australia. They know the potential of the Australian side. There’s been turmoil in Australian cricket over the last 12 months, but that has been put aside now. We’ve got our best players available to be picked in Smith and Warner. Their form was very poor, but all of a sudden, they’ve won their last eight matches. And that is ominous for other sides, they know how good these sides are,” the 53-year-old further added.

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