Prince Harry sledges Finch
London: Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, stoked the fierce cricketing rivalry between England and Australia by making a cheeky sledge at Australia captain Aaron Finch ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup. "You're getting on a bit now, aren't you? How long have you been playing?" express.co.uk quoted the Duke of Sussex as asking Finch, making him laugh during a team captains' reception at the Buckingham Palace on Wednesday evening. The 32-year-old Australian batsman took the remark sportingly and told Harry that he had been playing for eight years at the highest level. However, he left Harry bemused when he replied to the duke's query about the favourites to win as: "England and India." Harry, 34, also told the Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne: "Enjoy it, if you're not going to enjoy it you might as well not be here".
Eng, India are favourites: KP
London: A transformed England under Eoin Morgan and India are the favourites but "dark horses" Australia and "unpredictable" West Indies too have bright chances of lifting the ICC ODI World Cup, says Kevin Pietersen. Asked to predict the winner, Pietersen, a former England captain, said: "India and England are probably the favourites. But the dark horses are Australia and the unpredictables are West Indies." Pietersen, who played alongside Morgan in the past, heaped praise on the current skipper for transforming the current English side. "Eoin Morgan has transformed them. I'm not surprised. It's just beautiful to see the way English players are playing now. It's something that makes me so happy, to see them fully committed to their strokes, the way they don't fear failure, and how they are allowed to fail, the way they are backed," he said. Pietersen, 38, hoped England could cope up with the pressure of expectation from home fans in their bid towards maiden World Cup glory.
Smith, Warner need to have thick skin
London: Steve Smith and David Warner have nothing to prove but the duo will need to have "thick skin" to counter sledging and hostile crowd in the World Cup, said former Australia pacer Brett Lee. Smith and Warner, who are returning after serving suspensions for their involvement in the infamous ball-tampering episode, have already witnessed hostile crowd during Australia's two World Cup warm-up games. "I don't think they have got a point to prove, they will just be happy to be back playing for Australia," Lee said. "We saw what happened with David Warner during the IPL, the leading run scorer and the Orange Cap holder, Steven Smith got a big hundred in his first game. They have been welcomed back to the Australian cricket team with open arms and I reckon they have a shot at winning. "(But) you have got the Barmy Army, you have got guys like Kevin Pietersen chirping at me already. They are going to cop some sledging but you need thick skin," he added.
‘Being underdogs suits NZ’
London: Perennial dark horses New Zealand are characteristically lying low, hoping to give another impactful performance at the World Cup and the "underdog" tag augers well for them, said former all-rounder James Franklin. Last edition's finalist, New Zealand have reached the semi-final of the World Cup seven times. A team known to always punch above its weight, the Black Caps have tried every trick in the book to lay hands on their maiden title. "New Zealand are in a sweet spot. No-one's talking about us too much. We're forever the underdogs and that suits us quite well," Franklin said at the official tournament opening. "We haven't been leading the world, I think England have been in front in recent years, but we've still been playing very consistent cricket," Franklin said. "If we can get some form going over the next few weeks, there's no reason why New Zealand couldn't go on and win the World Cup," Franklin said. "I think the New Zealand public and team will be confident they can go deep into the tournament," he added.