A giant statue in the form of a batsman was unveiled outside the Bristol County Ground to mark the commencement of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in the city. The statue, which has the flags of all the 10 participating teams painted on it, stands in Bristol’s Millennium Square. The Bristol County Ground will host three games at the 2019 Cricket World Cup with its first match coming on June 1 between Afghanistan and Australia. ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Venue-Wise Schedule: Download List of Stadiums, Fixtures and Timetable of All Teams in PDF.

The statue has India's logo painted on the left-hand elbow, while the left leg has the painting of the West Indies national flag. England's flag is painted on the statue's left thigh, while the right thigh has Australia's flag painted on it. Flags of other participating nations are also painted on the statue.

Check Out a Picture of the Statue in Detail

International Cricket Council, in a release, stated that the trophy was unveiled at a “Take Part in Giant Art” project which took place at the Bristol Millennium Square. The batsman statue was unveiled on June 1, over the bank holiday weekend in Bristol. The statue is of a batsman, which is approximately 4-metre tall and has flag paints of all the 10 participating teams at CWC19 painted on it. ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Schedule in IST, Free PDF Download: Full Timetable of CWC19 Fixtures With Match Timings and Venue Details.

According to a report from the ICC, the statue was hand painted by the children, adults, artists and cricket stars from the Bristol community during a three-day period when the entire community came together. Comedian Mark Watson and YouTube star Jamel One Five, who hails from Bristol, attended the unveiling gathering.

“The Giant Art installation is the culmination of a brilliant community effort of painting from last week’s bank holiday weekend. We are delighted to bring the colour and creativity of the city to life in this way, hopefully giving the people of Bristol another reason to cheer on the tournament while it takes place here. The live screening in Millenium Square also gives those that can’t be at the game, a chance to watch some of the action at Bristol’s County Ground,” Paul Smith, Director of City and Spectator Experience for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, was quoted as saying by ICC.

This will also be the first time Bristol will be holding three games at any World Cup tournament, which more than doubles the number of World Cup matches this city has hosted. The County Ground hosted one game at the 1983 World Cup and two in the 1999 edition of the tournament. Among the three matches, the first will be a day-night game, while the latter two will be day matches.

The World Cup 2019 kicked-started on May 30 with England beating South Africa by 104 runs in the opening game. West Indies thumped Pakistan by seven wickets in the second match.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 01, 2019 06:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).