After four long years of anticipation for cricket fans, the 2019 Cricket World Cup finally began last week. With 10 countries competing for the title, we thought it would only be fit for us to research into the background of the competing nations and what brought them to the field.
Although there are 12 countries that have been awarded ‘Test’ status under the International Cricket Council (ICC), only 10 countries qualified to compete in the 2019 Cricket World Cup. These countries are: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, South Africa, England, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the West Indies.
The sporting event will take place in stadiums across the UK, with thousands of fans from across the world visiting to support their home nation. In order to fully appreciate and absorb the increase in culture and languages entering the UK during this period, we believe it’s only right for us to do a little bit of research into the competing nations. Therefore, below is part one of everything you need to know about the countries that are participating in the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Afghanistan
- Most popular sport in Afghanistan.
- They became a full member of the ICC in June 2017.
BONUS LANGUAGE FACT – The most common languages spoken in Afghanistan today are Dari and Pashto.
Australia
- Australia is one of the founding members of the ICC.
- Cricket has been played in Australia for over 215 years, with the first recorded match taking place in December 1803 in Sydney.
- In 2015/16, 1.3 million Australians played organised cricket matches throughout the year.
BONUS LANGUAGE FACT – Only 73% of Australians speak English. The next most popular languages are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Italian.
Bangladesh
- Most popular sport in Bangladesh.
- Bangladesh became a full member of the ICC in 2000.
- The sport of cricket actually outdates Bangladesh as a country. Before Bangladesh was given Independence as its own country, the sport had originally been played in India (and then Pakistan) since the 18th
BONUS LANGUAGE FACT – Bangladeshi is the most commonly spoken language in Bangladesh, with 98% of the Bangladeshi population being fluent in it as their first language.
South Africa
- South Africa is one of the founding members of the ICC.
- Cricket was introduced to South Africa by the British in 1888-89.
BONUS LANGUAGE FACT – The most widely spoken languages in the country are Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans. English is the fourth most widely spoken language, yet it is the dominant language in government and media.
England
- England is one of the founding members of the ICC.
- Cricket has been played in England since the 16th
- Although the exact origin of the game is hard to pinpoint, it is safe for us to say that it was created earlier than 1550, somewhere in the south-east of England (around Kent, Sussex and Surrey).
BONUS LANGUAGE FACT – The most commonly spoken language in England is English, followed by Polish.
Click here to read part two of this article, so you can decide which nation you think will be the winner of the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Elliot Glynn
