ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: What happens if teams have equal points in league stage? What if it rains in the semi-finals and final?

With matches getting washed out at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and rain causing havoc, the outcome of matches is being decided by the weather gods instead of teams in the middle. Instead of teams garnering two points for a win, they are being forced into sharing points. The weather has been unusually unpleasant at this time of the year in England and Wales with near 100 mms of rain in a single day as compared to just 2 mm last year. [caption id=“attachment_5828251” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy. Reuters[/caption] The World Cup format, same as that in 1992, sees all ten teams playing each other once with the top four progressing to the semi-finals before the blockbuster finale on 14 July. Before all that, though, there is the possibility of an unfortunate scenario where teams could be locked on the same points. What if teams are tied on points in league stage? If teams are tied on the same points on 6 July, there are four different factors that will ascertain who goes through: 1.] Number of wins 2.] Net run rate 3.] Head-to-head 4.] Seedings Example: If India and New Zealand are locked on 12 points at the end of the nine matches each where India posted five wins and two no results while New Zealand accrued the same tally with four wins and four matches getting washed out then India go through. In the scenario that both India and New Zealand have the same number of wins, then whichever team has a better net run rate progresses. In the unlikely scenario that teams have the same net run rate then it would come down to head-to-head. With matches getting washed out, it could come down to the last and final point - the seedings. Much before the tournament began, ICC kept seedings for teams according to their ranking at the time. ICC seedings for Cricket World Cup 2019: 1 - South Africa; 2 - India; 3 - Australia; 4 - England; 5 - New Zealand; 6 - Pakistan; 7 - Bangladesh; 8 - Sri Lanka; 9 - Afghanistan; 10 - West Indies. If all matches in the league stage had been wiped out, then the semi-finals would have been South Africa vs England and India vs Australia. What if teams are tied in the semi-finals and final? In case of a tied fixture in the knockout stage of the competition, then there would be a Super Over. In the last two editions, Super Over was available only for the final. What if rain strikes during the semi-finals and final? ICC has kept one reserve day for the semi-finals and final. There have been no reserve days for the league stage of the World Cup. In the scenario that there is no cricket over two days in the semi-final, then the two teams will be separated on their position in the league stage. If there is no play possible in the final, even on the reserve day, then the two teams will share the trophy. For all the latest news, opinions and analysis from ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, click here