England

Best Bet: England very rarely lose a match at all on home soil in ODIs and even if they lose one, it’s unlikely to be two. They may feel the pressure once the knockout games come along but during the group stage one or no losses should see them emerge as group winners.

England to be Group Stage Winners @ 2.37

Value Bet: Unsurprisingly, the Player of the Tournament tends to come from the winning side and England are favourites. Jonny Bairstow will have every chance to pile on the runs at the top of England’s order and is in with a shout of becoming the tournament’s top run-scorer, while England’s bowlers tend to share the wickets around.

Jonny Bairstow to be Player of the Tournament @ 8.0

[caption id=”attachment_107076″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] England enter the tournament as favourites to win the competition[/caption]

India

Best Bet: Many people believe Rohit Sharma can beat Virat Kohli for top Indian batsman bragging rights but we’re opting for ICC tournament specialist Shikhar Dhawan. Also an opener, he top-scored in the Champions Trophy in England two years ago and could go pretty close here.

Shikhar Dhawan to be India’s top run-scorer @ 4.33

Value Bet: Jasprit Bumrah has been the most consistent limited-overs bowler in the world for a while now and the death bowler should pick up a few cheap wickets at the end of the innings. Either way, his variations and nous means he’s in great contention to be the tournament’s top wicket-taker.

Jasprit Bumrah to be the tournament’s top wicket-taker @ 15.0

Australia

Best Bet: With the quality they have in their squad, experience of English conditions and World Cup pedigree, they should make it to the semis but a likely test against England or India could prove too much.

Australia to be eliminated in semi-final @ 2.5

Value Bet: Nathan Coulter-Nile’s career figures don’t stack up against those of Pat Cummins or Mitchell Starc but he’s improving rapidly and his style of bowling should suit English conditions. The other two will surely be rested at some stage to protect their fragile bodies, while Coulter-Nile might play every game.

Back Nathan Coulter-Nile to be Australia’s top wicket-taker @ 6.5

[caption id=”attachment_107070″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Ross Taylor is 5.0 to be New Zealand’s top run-scorer ahead of Kane Williamson[/caption]

New Zealand

Best Bet: Bookies are dead-scared of Kane Williamson and his steady run accumulation but Ross Taylor, after corrective eye surgery, has much better figures over the last year or so, and with New Zealand’s openers not likely to hang around for too long, he could enter proceedings quite early at No.4.

Back Ross Taylor to be New Zealand’s top run-scorer @ 5.0

Value Bet: Left-arm bowlers do well at World Cups and if they can swing the ball in England, even better. Enter Trent Boult, joint top-wicket-taker at the last World Cup and another deadly death bowler.

Back Trent Boult to be the tournament’s top wicket-taker @ 21.0 each-way

Pakistan

Best bet: Pakistan were soundly beaten by England in the ODI series but could and should have won two of those games. Besides, luckily for them, every other team won’t be as difficult a nut to crack. All those games will have prepared them for the competition and they are capable of scraping into the semis.

Back Pakistan to reach the semi-finals @ 3.0

Value Bet: Imam Ul-Haq was too big at 6.0 before being cut to 4.5, but he is now back to 5.5 after fears his elbow might see him hampered. We think he’ll be fine by the time the tournament starts and he has outscored his team-mates over the last year or so – there’s no reason why he can’t do it again.

Back Imam Ul-Haq to be Pakistan’s top run-scorer @ 5.5

[caption id=”attachment_107072″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Pakistan were beaten by Afghanistan in a warm-up match last week[/caption]

South Africa

Best Bet: Rabada, Steyn and Ngidi are all carrying knocks so that’s not ideal preparation for a long tournament. Meanwhile, Imran Tahir will carry on doing what he does best – fizzing in those leg-spinners and threatening those stumps.

Back Imran Tahir to be South Africa’s top wicket-taker @ 3.75

Value Bet: How far South Africa go in the tournament might depend on just how big Quinton de Kock goes. Even if the Proteas don’t go that far, his ability to score big hundreds at the top of the order can see him figure in the top four of the run-makers chart.

Back Quinton de Kock to be the tournament’s top run-scorer @ 19.0 each-way

Sri Lanka

Best bet: Sri Lanka have had poor results over the past two years and have struggled in English conditions. They have also left key players out of the squad, so could end up with the wooden spoon here.

Sri Lanka to finish bottom @ 4.5

Value Bet: The super experienced Angelo Matthews might not have much to beat here with two senior players in Niroshan Dickwella and Dinesh Chandimal not selected for the World Cup. His calm demeanour can help him top the Sri Lanka charts.

Back Angelo Matthew to be Sri Lanka’s top run-scorer @ 6.0

[caption id=”attachment_107075″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Thirimanne in action during a 2019 Cricket World Cup warm-up[/caption]

West Indies

Best Bet: Skipper Jason Holder has taken far more wickets than anyone for the Windies over the past two years and there’s no reason why he can’t do so again.

Back Jason Holder to be the West Indies’ top wicket-taker @ 4.0

Value Bet: Andre Russell was in scintillating form with the bat in the IPL and though he isn’t quite as effective in ODIs, if he bats at no lower than six he can top-score on the back of some quickfire cameos on decent batting wickets.

Back Andre Russell to be the West Indies’ top run-scorer @ 7.0

Afghanistan

Best Bet: It would be nice to make a case for someone other than red-hot favourite Rashid Khan for top bowler, but when he’s routinely the one offering the most threat it’s difficult to look elsewhere.

Back Rashid Khan to be Afghanistan’s top wicket-taker @ 2.0

Value Bet: Mohammad Nabi has collected invaluable experience in the Big Bash and IPL over the past few seasons and his combination of both boundary hitting and steady accumulation gives him a better chance than his odds suggest.

Back Mohammad Nabi to be Afghanistan’s top run-scorer @ 11.0