Australian captain Ricky Ponting holds the winning trophy after beating the West Indies in the ICC Champions Trophy cricket final in Mumbai last November. - Reuters

The total prize money for the 2007 ICC CWC World Cup is US$5 million (approx. Ja$338.6m).

The winners of the 16-team tournament, which runs from March 11 to April 28, will pocket US$2,240,000 (JA$151,692,800) while the beaten finalists are set to collect US$1m (Ja$67.72m).

In 2003 the total prize money was the same, but for this year's tournament the percentage to the top two teams has been increased. At the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa the champions (Australia) collected US$2m (Ja$135.44m), while the runners-up (India) picked up US$800,000 (Ja$54,176,000).

Semi-final losers are also in for an increase as they will get US$450,000 (Ja$30,474,000), up from US$400,000 (Ja$27,088,000) in 2003.

Unlike last time where the fifth and sixth-placed teams received US$150,000 (Ja$10.15m) and US$80,000 (Ja$5.41m) respectively, this time around fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth-placed teams will collect US$200,000 (Ja$13.54m), US$150,000 (Ja$10.15m), US$100,000 (Ja$6.77m) and US$50,000 (Ja$3.4m) respectively.

Group match winners will still get US$10,000 (Ja$677,600) while losers will take home US$5,000 (Ja$338,800).

Group stage

The first round of the competition will be Group Stage. Each team will play all the other teams in their respective groups. Two points will be allocated for a win, one for a tie.

Following the Group Stage, the top two teams will advance to the Super Eight round and will carry points with them, collected from the other advancing team from their group.

Each team will play every other team that has qualified for the Super Eight series; expect for the team that it played in the Group Stage (six matches).

The top four teams from the Super Eight will advance to the April 24 and 25 semi-finals, after which the winners will meet in the grand final on April 28 in Barbados.