The buzz for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is increasing with every passing day. The quadrennial event will be held in India from October 5 to November 19.
On Wednesday (August 23), the excitement went to a whole new level as ICC announced the warm-up fixtures for the showpiece tournament.
“The 10 teams will each play two official 50-over contests during the week leading up to the start of the World Cup on October 5, with matches to be held in three different cities across India,” the apex body said in a statement.
Guwahati, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram will host the games between September 29 and October 3. The warm-up matches will provide teams with the perfect opportunity to adapt to the conditions they are likely to face during the World Cup.
On the opening day of warm-up fixtures, Bangladesh will lock horns with Sri Lanka in Guwahati, South Africa will take on Afghanistan in Thiruvananthapuram and New Zealand will face Pakistan in Hyderabad.
Hosts India will battle it out against defending champions England on September 30 in Guwahati, while Australia will fine-tune their preparations by playing Netherlands in Thiruvananthapuram on the same day.
India’s second practice match is scheduled on October 3 against Netherlands in Thiruvananthapuram.
The warm-up clashes will kick-off at 2:00pm IST and teams will be allowed to field all members of their 15-player squads during the matches.
World Cup warm-up fixtures:
Friday 29 September
Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
South Africa v Afghanistan, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
New Zealand v Pakistan, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
Saturday 30 September
India v England, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Australia v Netherlands, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Monday 2 October
England v Bangladesh, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
New Zealand v South Africa, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Tuesday 3 October
Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
India v Netherlands, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Pakistan v Australia, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
(With ICC Inputs)
