ICC World Cup 2019: Winner to get whopping $4 mn; total prize pot $10 mn

ICC World Cup 2019 winner is set to take home a big paycheck. The International Cricket Council (ICC), in a statement on Friday, said that the winner of the 10-team tournament will earn a purse of $4 million, the highest prize money to date, along with the trophy that they will lift at the Lords on July 16. The cricketing body has set the total prize money of for the tournament at $10 million which will be divided among all the teams. ICC confirmed that the runners-up will earn $2 million and there will be prizes for each league match won too. 

"The total prize pot of $10 million will see the runners-up earn $2 million and the losing semifinalists $800,000 each at the end of the 46-day tournament being played across 11 venues in England and Wales from May 30. There are prizes for each league match won in what promises to be a highly competitive tournament with the world`s best teams playing each other in a round-robin format," the council said in a statement.

It also announced that cricket clubs and communities across England and Wales are set to host Cricket World Cup Family Days between June 7 and 9 on the sidelines. During the weekend when England face Bangladesh and India play Australia on June 8 and 9 respectively, clubs will open their doors to welcome local players, families, and volunteers as part of the England and Wales Cricket Board`s (ECB) aim to engage one million kids over the World Cup.

Clubs have had a chance to apply for a grant of up to PS1,000 (Approximately 90,000 INR). The fund is aimed to digitise clubhouses through the installation of new broadband and Wi-Fi or to upgrade their catering facilities. Leigh Cricket Club in Lancashire is one of the clubs taking part. It will celebrate with a match against a special PCA Masters team featuring a host of former England players. 

Meanwhile, ICC has also announced a star-studded lineup of commentators which includes Harsha Bhogle, Sanjay Manjrekar and Sourav Ganguly from India. 

Full list of commentators for 2019 World Cup squad: Nasser Hussain, Michael Clarke, Ian Bishop, Sourav Ganguly, Melanie Jones, Kumar Sangakkara, Michael Atherton, Alison Mitchell, Brendon McCullum, Graeme Smith, Wasim Akram, Shaun Pollock, Michael Slater, Mark Nicholas, Michael Holding, Isa Guha, Pommie Mbangwa, Sanjay Manjrekar, Harsha Bhogle, Simon Doull, Ian Smith, Ramiz Raja, Athar Ali Khan and Ian Ward.