ICC World Cup 2019: Team-wise prize money awarded by the ICC

The 46-day cricketing carnival, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, provided the fans with the best possible entertainment. The 45 league matches and then the 4 knockout encounters were all great fun to watch. While rain played spoilsport on a few instances, it was a treat whenever there was action. While some games were highly one-sided, a few others were absolute thrillers just like the final which England managed to win by a whisker.

Also, this edition of the World Cup witnessed a $10 million prize pot. The winner would be awarded $4,000,000 prize money, which is the highest till date. Also, the runners and the semi-finalists were rewarded handsomely. While the team that came second got $2,000,000 as prize money, the other two teams in the top-four were awarded $800,000 each. Moreover, the winner of each league game was awarded an incentive of $40,000 while the remaining six teams got $100,000.

Here is the Prize Money received by each of the ten teams

1. Afghanistan | $100,000

Afghanistan had a tournament to forget. The Asian team, before the tournament started, was expected to upset some of the big teams. A few experts even predicted that they’d enter into the semi-final. But the change of captaincy, poor execution of plans and inexperience didn’t help their cause.

The Afghans came close to a win on a few occasions. They could have defeated teams like Windies, Pakistan and India. However, their efforts weren’t really sufficient. The team lost all the nine games that it played in the World Cup 2019 and thus they get only $100,000 as their prize money.

2. Windies | $180,000

With the way they played against England a few months before the start of the tournament, Windies was expected to be a tough contender for the top-four. The likes of Chris Gayle, Shai Hope and Andre Russell were in great form. However, most of their players failed to live up to the expectations and injuries further worsened the case.

The Caribbean team won the first match against Pakistan in an emphatic manner. However, they drifted apart later on and found it hard to get a win under their belt. Although there were a few chances, their players didn’t show the kind of character that was required. The team signed off with a win in their final league game against Afghanistan and had just two wins out of nine.

3. Bangladesh | $220,000

Bangladesh clearly seemed over-reliant on a few players in the tournament. Shakib Al Hasan did the bulk of the scoring of his team while Mushfiqur Rahim chipped in with occasion good knocks. Senior players like Tamim Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza led to a huge disappointment while the youngsters blew hot and cold.

Bangladesh played some brilliant cricket against South Africa in the opening game and won by 21 runs. But they took a while to register their second win and it came versus Windies when they chased down a target above 300. The team’s other victory was against Afghanistan. Even though they had an opportunity to make it into the knockouts by winning their last two games, they couldn’t punch above their weights leading to a disappointing exit.

4. South Africa | $220,00

The kind of performance South Africa put up in this tournament was the least expected. The team struggled to get back to the winning ways after the massive 104-run loss to England in the opening game. They found it hard to find the right combination and the correct batting order. By the time they did it, it was already too late and they were knocked out by then.

Moreover, the Proteas lost the services of some of their match-winners with the ball even before the tournament began. This has affected their chances significantly. South Africa’s first win came against Afghanistan but they couldn’t build up the momentum from thereon. They did find some in their final two matches against Sri Lanka and Australia but that was hard of any use.

5. Sri Lanka | $220,000

Sri Lanka would consider themselves to be quite lucky to finish fifth on the points table above the likes of South Africa and Bangladesh. The two washed-out games against Pakistan and Bangladesh, which they might have potentially lost, gave them two extra points. Sri Lanka fought extremely hard even for the win against Afghanistan in the initial stages of the tournament.

Their most inspirational performance, though, came against the hosts – England. The bowlers did a terrific job to help the team win that match by 20 runs. Sri Lanka’s other win came against the Windies while they lost the last game versus India which resulted in them being knocked out. Sri Lanka won prize money of $220,000 for their performance in the tournament.

6. Pakistan | $300,000

Pakistan was in the hunt right till they played their last league game in the tournament. Even though they had the same number of points as New Zealand, they weren’t better off in terms of the NRR. The heavy loss against Windies in their opening game and the washed-out match against Sri Lanka didn’t help their cause and thus there was no repeat of the 1992 heroics.

Pakistan was hammered in the games against England, Australia and India as well. However, they came back strong in the second half but had to depend on the results of a few other games as well. The team won against South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Bangladesh but couldn’t make it through. They received $100,000 for finishing fifth in the points table and another $200,000 for winning five games.

7. Australia | $1,080,000

Had you asked someone six months ago if Australia would be a tough competitor in the World Cup, the answer might’ve been ‘no’. But since the bilateral series against India in March, the team has picked up by leaps and bounds and they were even one of the favourites to lift the trophy for the sixth time. The return of David Warner and Steve Smith further bolstered things.

As expected, the Kangaroos were quite dominant in the league stages. They even had an opportunity to finish on the top of the points table. However, the side lost its last league game against South Africa. Their only other defeat till then came against India. The Aussies had a tough time against England in the semis and couldn’t pull themselves through resulting in the first-ever World Cup semi-final loss for the team.

8. India | $1,080,000

Team India was a strong favourite to lift the title and many hoped that Virat Kohli would be able to lift the coveted trophy on the Lord’s balcony. They did live up to the expectations and were one of the most dominating teams in the league stages. The ‘Men in Blue’ only lost against England and had new match-winners every game.

Rohit Sharma, in particular, was magnificent and ensured that the team got into the knockouts by scoring five centuries. However, one bad day at the office meant that the dreams of a billion people were shredded. In the semi-final against New Zealand, India lost by a small margin leading to a teary exit out of the tournament. The team received $1,080,000 as the prize money.

9. New Zealand | $2,200,000

New Zealand was one of the few unbeaten teams in the early stages of the tournament. Although they weren’t dominative as some of the other teams taking part in the tournament, the Kiwis performed collectively well as a unit. Thus, they were able to win five games on the trot. At this point, it seemed as if it’d be a cakewalk for them to make it into the knockouts.

But they lost their final three league matches putting the qualification chances in jeopardy. Yet, they had a good NRR to make it through, played some exceptional cricket in the semis to qualify for their second consecutive final.

10. England | $4,240,000

They were no doubts whatsoever if England would make it into the final. The team has been the best in the ODI format of late and has even taken down some of the best teams with absolute ease. Even though they lost their second game against Pakistan, the team still registered four wins in first five games and was cruising along nicely.

But the loss against Sri Lanka, which was the least expected, put a break on their flow. The Brits lost the game against Australia as well and got into a position where they could have been potentially knocked out. But wins in their last two league games against India and New Zealand and then a victory against Australia in the semi-final got them into their fourth final.