TLDR: the format stinks without major upsets.
I actually have fond memories of the 1992 World Cup but I probably didn't watch a single match. Too young, no SKY, on the in the middle of the night. Guessing there might have been highlights or bits on the news where I saw most of it. I do remember listening at school to the last few overs of the final during a break at school. I'm pretty sure I had a VHS review/highlights compilation so that, and the endless re-runs or mini documentaries about it (because it's the only one that England were good in until 2019), has burned it into my memory.
However, that tournament did have:
The kits
Australia and West Indies, probably the favourites, both having poor tournaments which meant you had a new winner and a feeling of greater competitiveness
Pakistan's somewhat lucky comeback from the brink to go on and win it
Zimbabwe beating England, albeit in a dead rubber
New Zealand being one of the best teams, perhaps unexpectedly
South Africa returning from the ban and showing themselves to be a very strong team
Controversial semi final
Fairly decent final
2019
The fact that England got themselves into a position where they had to win every match to qualify made it interesting (from a biased English perspective anyway) and the mother of all finals makes it seem like a far better tournament than it actually was.
This one
There's only India who I consider nailed on for the top four, then it'll be three from another five. I'd be amazed if it was any different. So, it immediately feels predictable.
Could end up with a situation in 7/8 days where four teams are basically out and still a month to go before the end of the league stage. While the tussle for the top spots could get interesting, we could still see teams fall off from that top six contenders (India, England, Australia, NZ, Pakistan, South Africa) with a couple of defeats. I actually saw someone, on your favourite subreddit, say something along the lines of "it could get interesting when the smaller teams can no longer qualify but are trying to stop the others from improving their NRR".
Frankly, I wasn't even bothered when England lost to New Zealand because I figure England should beat the four weakest sides and then at least pick up two wins against the other five which would probably be enough to finish top four. That being said, those six 'contenders' could feel the same, so that will make the final couple of rounds interesting. The tournament really needs Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to pick up wins against the stronger sides to mix things up. I can't see Afghanistan or Netherlands beating anyone other than Bangladesh or Sri Lanka - happy to be proven wrong though.
