Is it a year in the 21st century? Yes? Well then of course there’s cricket world cup taking place. In fact 2023 is a bumper year for international limited-overs cup competitions, given that the women’s 20-over World Cup finished in March. England’s defence of the men’s 50-over World Cup is later this year.
When and where is it?
This World Cup was originally slated for the spring of 2023, but the coronavirus pandemic screwed up calendars, prompting the ICC to push it back by about six months. According to the latest messages from the ICC, the tournament will be held in October and November, with the final due on November 26
India are due to host the tournament, although a dispute between the boards of India and Pakistan means that there are doubts, albeit small ones for now, about India keeping the hosting rights. The dispute is about whether India will boycott the Asia Cup, which will be hosted in Pakistan in September. If they do, Pakistan have threatened to boycott the World Cup in retaliation.
Who is taking part?
Only ten teams will play at the tournament. Seven have qualified automatically. They are: India (as hosts), and New Zealand, England, Australia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan (according to results in ODI cricket since the 2019 World Cup).
One more team will qualify automatically, according to their ODI results. The four teams competing for this final automatic qualification spot are West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland and South Africa.
The final two places at the tournament will be decided in a World Cup qualifying tournament held in Zimbabwe in September. This qualifying tournament will feature the three teams who miss out on automatic qualification, plus the lower-ranked ODI nations, including the likes of Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, Scotland, Oman, Namibia, UAE and Nepal.
What is the 2023 World Cup format?
The 2023 edition will follow the schedule used at the 2019 edition: a round-robin stage, followed by semi-finals and a final. In the round-robin all ten teams will play each other once. A victory will be worth two points and a tie or no result will be worth one point. The top four teams will qualify for the semis, with the top-ranked team against the fourth-ranked team, and the second and third placed teams against each other.
Full fixtures and schedule
The fixtures and schedule can only be announced when the final ten teams have qualified. However, working backwards from the proposed date of the final (November 26), the semi-finals are likely to be on Tuesday 21 and Thursday 23. The 45 matches in the round-robin group stage will probably start in early or mid-October, with at least one game every day.
What are the latest odds?
At the start of 2023, the odds are as follows.
India 5/2
England 11/4
Australia 9/2
Pakistan 7/1
New Zealand 8/1
Who will be in the England squad?
By Will Macpherson
Matthew Mott, the England white-ball coach, says the Indian Premier League will have a “huge bearing” on selection for the World Cup.
In a quirk of their congested schedule, England’s 3-0 T20 defeat in Bangladesh was their last white-ball action until September, with the Ashes and Hundred coming first in the home summer.
Mott’s team play New Zealand and Ireland across 10 matches in September, immediately before departing for the World Cup. But the squad for the showpiece tournament has to be picked before their next ODI – for logistical and marketing reasons – meaning fringe players will need to rely on other cricket to secure their places in the squad.
Mott felt that England’s mixed performances in Bangladesh, having won the ODI series but lost the T20s, would be instructive for World Cup selection. While the IPL is a different format, it does take place in India and features many of the world’s best white-ball players.
The IPL begins on March 31, with 15 Englishmen set to be involved. A strong tournament for the likes of Reece Topley, Phil Salt or Will Jacks – who is a doubt due to injury – could propel them into the squad, while Harry Brook will be looking for a statement showing after being picked up for more than £1m by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“It has a huge bearing [on selection],” said Mott. “The IPL is renowned as one of the best competitions in the world, you’ve got all the best players playing in those conditions, we’ll be watching really closely on how our guys go.
“It’s a long time before our next game, there’s a lot of opportunities for players to put their hands up. We know it’s going to be an incredibly hard 15 to pick, a lot of players disappointed in that group, once they’re all fit it’ll be hard to squeeze them all in.”
Mott himself will take some time off, before scouring the domestic game for players who can improve England.
“The beauty is we have the opportunity to watch a lot of cricket, players getting opportunities in different formats and that is a big part of what we do, keeping in touch with the rest of the selection panel about what we are looking for, little incremental improvements. It seems an amazing amount of time before we get back together but it’ll come round fast and there will be a lot of talking and thinking in between.”
Source link: https://sports.yahoo.com/cricket-world-cup-2023-dates-124302370.html?src=rss
