Brian Lara
(Photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images)

The ICC 2019 Cricket World Cup is almost a year away, and the tournament is already taking shape. Eight teams have already booked their spot in the 12th edition of the cricket World Cup.

The next edition will be a 10 team tournament with the remaining two places to be decided in the upcoming World Cup qualifier.

Sean Williams, Zimbabwe
Sean Williams has been included in the side for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. (Photo credit should read LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images)

10 teams will be vying for the remaining two spots in the 2018 World Cup qualifier to be played in Zimbabwe. The tournament is scheduled to begin on 4th March.

In a bid to qualify for the ICC mega event, the teams have started their preparations for the qualifying tournament.

However, the strongest contenders in the tournament to qualify for the mega event in 2019 are two times champion West Indies. West Indies failed to qualify via ranking system as they were unable to remain in the top eight ranked teams before the cutoff date.

Brian Lara
Brian Lara has said that the Windies must qualify for the 2019 World Cup. (Photo by Manoj Patil/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Former, West Indies captain Brian Lara feels that the West Indies must qualify for the 2019 World Cup and cannot afford to miss out on the event, which will be held in England and Wales.

Lara said:

“We have a very good record in the Champions Trophy and we didn’t have the opportunity to play (last year). The World Cup is a different story, obviously. It is something much more important. History in that particular tournament is very strong, especially in the early part of it, the first three or four World Cups.” 

Brian Lara
West Indies are the favourites to qualify for the World Cup. Image Credit: AFP

“It’s a situation where I think the boys have no choice, we have to pull it through. It (ICC rankings) is set up in such a way that we were out of that place (automatically qualifying) so we have to qualify. But it doesn’t mean we can’t get there – we have to get there.” 

Brian Lara
Windies will also play in the World Cup qualifier (Photo by Martin Hunter/Getty Images)

When asked if cricket in the Caribbean will be affected if the Windies fail to qualify for the World Cup Lara said:

“I don’t think anything is going to happen to the sport. Cricket has taken a different turn since the invention of T20. It’s actually turned cricket on its head in the Caribbean in terms of understanding the importance of Test cricket and the forms of the game.”

“So T20 on its own has created a different spectator and different cricketer and that is going to evolve. The World Cup, it would be a huge disappointment … I don’t want to think beyond that. The tournament is in front of the boys in Zimbabwe at present and they have got to pull it through.”

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