ICC World Cup 2019: 5 most balanced sides 

ICC World Cup 2019 has captured everyone's imagination. ICC is leaving no stone unturned to promote the tournament. The excitement around the competition is quite palpable with six games being sold-out well in advance.

2019 World Cup promises to be a high-scoring one and the format adopted this time around makes it all the more interesting. ICC decided to revert to the round-robin format used in 1992, where teams will have an opportunity to make a comeback, and the best are expected to survive by eliminating the factor of a one-off upset.

The pitches can be a little bit tricky in England as there might be movement on offer due to an early start in the season and having a good group of fast bowlers will help teams. Spin is expected to play a significant role as well and having variety in spin bowling attack will benefit teams during the middle overs.

Batting will be a deciding factor and having the batters in form will play a crucial role if teams have to go all the way in the tournament.

On that note, let us have a look at five teams who are perfectly balanced and have a chance to go all the way.

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#5 Australia

Australia has been a team in transition, and their ODI cricket fortunes have nose-dived from the time they won the 2015 World cup. Due to his role ball-tampering saga, it would be hard to imagine Steve Smith leading the side in England. Aaron Finch has taken up the duties of captaincy and Australia have struggled to find the right balance without the presence of their star players Smith and David Warner.

However, by the time the marquee event commences, Australia will have the tainted duo back in the side. The team also has one of the best seam bowling attacks in the form of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood. They are adept enough to utilise the seaming conditions and bowl those toe-crushers in the end as well. Adam Zampa provides the variety to the attack with his wrist spin.

Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head give Australia the flexibility with the bat with their power hitting capabilities and also a few overs of part-time off-spin.

Australia might be struggling, but it would be hard to rule out the World Champions as they have shown us time and again that they can bounce back from any adversity.

#4 New Zealand

The Kiwis are one of the most consistent teams in ICC tournaments. They have made it to the final 4 in the last three World Cups. New Zealand has an explosive top 3 with Martin Guptill and Colin Munro opening the innings followed by the classy Kane Williamson.

Ross Taylor and Tom Latham make their middle order look solid. They have the hard-hitting Colin De Grandhomme and the bowling all-rounder Mitchell Santner who can shift the momentum in death overs.

The bowling looks very promising with the experienced Tim Southee and Trent Boult leading the attack. They have Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson in the mix who can provide excellent support to their front line quicks.

Their spin department is taken care by Mitchell Santner who is an excellent ODI bowler and bowls economical spells and takes wickets. Colin Munro and Williamson can be the part-time options and can fill in the role of sixth bowler.

New Zealand is ably led by the calm and composed Kane Williamson, and he will have to play an essential role if New Zealand has to go all the way to the business end of the competition.

#3 South Africa

South Africa is probably the most unfortunate team in ICC Tournaments. They have never been able to cross the final hurdle.

The Proteas have a very formidable top three with Quinton De Cock and Hashim Amla opening the innings followed by skipper Faf Du Plessis. JP Duminy and David Miller guard middle Order. Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo are the big-hitting options in the lower order.

South Africa boasts of having some of the best quicks in the business. They have Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris and Lungi Ngidi who all bowl around the 150 kph mark. On a given day, they can decimate the opposition batting line-ups in hurry.

Andile Phehlukwayo has been decent as the fourth seamer and Imran Tahir is their main spinner who has the knack of taking wickets in the middle overs. All these bowlers are ably supported by the part-time off-spin of JP Duminy.

South Africa will miss the services of the talismanic AB De Villers, but even without him, they have a formidable team at their disposal.

#2 India

India is probably the most consistent team in ICC Tournaments after the debacle in 2007 World Cup. India boasts of a strong side which is led by the talismanic Virat Kohli. India arguably has the best top 3 in the world with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli topping the batting charts.

The middle order comprises of Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav. Power hitting duties will belong to the experienced duo of MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya.

The Men in Blue have a very promising bowling attack with Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading the attack. Hardik Pandya has been quite effective as the third seamer.

The team also boasts of variety in spin bowling with the wrist-spin duo Yuvzendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav bamboozling the batsmen all over the world. Kedar Jadhav has been superb as the sixth bowling option for India.

India have a team that can take them all the way if they are successful in masking their middle order woes and being consistent with the ball throughout the tournament.

#1 England

The ODI team of England have been a force to reckon with in recent times. After the 2015 World Cup debacle, captain Eoin Morgan infused a sense of fearlessness in the side, and the results are there for everyone to see.

The team has an explosive opening combination in Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow. The middle order consists of the ever consistent Joe Root and captain Eoin Morgan. They have capable power-hitters in Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali with Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett capable of using the long handle as well.

Bowling is good enough with Mark Wood and Chris Woakes leading the bowling attack. They have Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes as the third and the fourth seamers. The spin department comprises the experienced duo of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid who provide essential breakthroughs in the middle overs. They also have Joe Root as a part-time option.

England have the home advantage and a team that can go all the way. If they guard against batting collapses, England will be overwhelming favourites to win the World Cup 2019.