With Tuesday marking 100 days to go before the start of the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England and Wales on May 30, here's a look at who could stand out - or not - at the showpiece event:
Afghanistan
Afghanistan has made rapid strides since featuring in the 2015 World Cup for the first time but had to endure a nail-biting qualifying competition in Zimbabwe to make the ICC World Cup 2019. It is not to be under-rated, though. At the 2018 Asia Cup, it beat Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and tied against eventual champion India.
Australia
The defending champion and five-time winner is the most successful country in the tournament's history, beating New Zealand by seven wickets in the final on home turf in 2015. But it has struggled for form since the team was embroiled in a ball-tampering scandal that rocked the game last year.
It was hammered by England 9-1 across two series in 2018, and followed it up with series defeats over the home summer against South Africa (2-1) and India (2-1).
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Bangladesh
Perennial underachiever Bangladesh will be looking to improve on its 2015 quarterfinal finish after some heartening performances in the United Kingdom. It qualified for the semifinals of the 2017 Champions Trophy from a group that also featured host England, Australia and New Zealand.
In 2018, Bangladesh won 13 of its 20 ODI matches, only behind England and India in terms of the number of wins. The Tigers will rely on the experience of key players like Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim who are all expected to play their fourth 50-over World Cup.
England
Has featured in every World Cup since the tournament was established in 1975 but has still to win it, with the last of its three losing appearances in the final back in 1992. An embarrassing exit at the 2015 edition, culminating in a defeat by Bangladesh, saw England go out in the group stage for the third time in five World Cups.
Captained by former Ireland batsman Eoin Morgan, England has risen to the top of the 50-over rankings. Home advantage, however, may not be that much help. This will be the fifth time that England has staged the World Cup, its best performance on home turf coming when it was overpowered by the West Indies in the 1979 final.
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India will be hoping Virat Kohli shines, but left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav (L) could lead the charge in the bowling department.
India
Under Virat Kohli's leadership, heavyweight India will enter the World Cup as favourite alongside England. The second-ranked one-day side in the world has been in fine form with recent series victories in Australia and New Zealand.
India had a superb 2018 with ODI wins in South Africa (5-1), and West Indies (3-1) and the Asia Cup title in the UAE. England also brings back happy memories for the two-time World Cup champion which first lifted the trophy at Lord's in 1983.
New Zealand
The Blacks Caps hope to shed their tag as the World Cup's nearly men and claim the title after making the semifinals six times and the final once - in 2015 when it suffered a heavy loss to Australia.
While Kane Williamson has replaced Brendon McCullum as captain, the core of the team that powered New Zealand to the 2015 decider remains, although a recent strong run of form was marred somewhat by a 4-1 series loss at home against India in January.
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Pakistan
It's certain that Pakistan will be unpredictable. At the Champions Trophy in England two years ago, it was routed by India by 124 runs in the opening match but came back strong, thrashing its archrival by a massive 180 runs in the final.
Under Sarfraz Ahmed, Pakistan has some exciting talent - from Mohammad Amir to Usman Shinwari to Hasan Ali. If its vulnerable batting comes good it could repeat the exploits of Imran Khan who led the team to its only World Cup in Australia in 1992.
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South Africa
Ever since losing on a bizarre rain rule in the semifinals of its first World Cup campaign in 1992, South Africa has seemingly been jinxed in knockout matches. It has only won one such match, a quarterfinal in 2015, but has been beaten in four semifinals and two quarterfinals, sometimes in circumstances that have been heartbreaking for its supporters.
The Proteas will go to the 2019 tournament with modest expectations, lacking the depth of all-rounders that made it a formidable force in the late 1990s and early 2000s and hit by the retirements of star batsman AB de Villiers and fast bowler Morne Morkel. It has won 12 and lost ten ODIs since the start of 2018.
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Sri Lanka
With allegations of match-fixing and corruption plaguing Sri Lankan cricket, the 1996 World Cup champion is not a threat to top international sides despite its recent Test win in South Africa. The islanders crashed out of the 2015 edition after a big loss to South Africa in the quarterfinals and have since witnessed a decline in their cricketing fortunes.
Sri Lanka hit a new low in 2017 after a visiting Zimbabwe team beat them 3-2 in a five-match ODI series and the island nation has not won a bi-lateral rubber in the last two years. Performance apart, Sri Lankan cricket has been at the centre of allegations including attempted match-fixing ahead of a Test against England last year. But its one-wicket win over South Africa in Durban this weekend will give it hope to cause a few upsets in the World Cup.
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West Indies
Champion of the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979, the West Indies appear doomed to endure a tortuous tournament despite their recent Test series win over England on home ground. They failed to get past the quarterfinals in 2011 and 2015 and were forced to qualify for 2019.
West Indies won eight of 18 ODIs in 2018, losing a home series against Bangladesh and coming off second best in India and a return trip to Bangladesh. In 2017, they managed just three wins in 22 games.
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