The grandest flagship event of cricket is around the corner as the carnival of the 2023 Cricket World Cup nears its inception. The global event is set to kick off on October 5 with the previous editions’ finalists rubbing shoulders against each other. The iconic Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad will be staging the tournament opener between defending Champions, England and runners-up, New Zealand.
Ten world-class teams are set to rumble against one another to reach the pinnacle and earn the title of ‘World Champions’. It’ll take 48 intensified encounters on Indian soil to culminate the owner of the crown jewel.
With varied conditions across the Indian subcontinent, the showpiece event promises to be a test of skill, temperament, grit and other essential virtues. Despite the outcomes of matches, the CWC 2023 shall serve as a great learning to the athletes and governing staff in the world of sport and life. Here are all the necessary details you need to know about the Cricket World Cup 2023.
Dates
The quadrennial event is set to commence on October 5 and see the finishing line on November 19. The opener will witness a matchcard that involves a high-octane clash between New Zealand and England.
The hosts will be featuring in their first game of the tournament three days after the initiation on October 8 against Australia at the M. Chidambaram Stadium. In a space of six days, the Rohit Sharma-led unit will be squaring off in the mother of all battles- India versus Pakistan on October 14 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
India’s other mouth-watering clashes include facing New Zealand on October 22 in Dharamsala, England on October 29 in Lucknow, and South Africa on November 5 in Kolkata. The Rahul Dravid-coached side will be playing their ultimate game of the league stages against the Netherlands on November 12, which shall also draw an end to the particular phase.
When it comes to the knockouts, the semi-finals are going to be held at the two most prestigious venues of the country- Wankhede Stadium and Eden Gardens on November 15 and 16 respectively. The main event is going to take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium on November 19.
Venues
The CWC 2023 will be conducted across ten cities namely – Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Dharamsala, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Delhi. Hosts, India will be participating in nine of the listed venues barring Hyderabad. Adding to it, the warm-up fixtures of the tourney will take place in Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati, between September 29 and October 3.
India is scheduled to lock horns with England in a warm-up fixture on September 30 at the Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati, followed by a game against the Netherlands on October 3, at the Greenfield Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.
Tournament History
The ODI World Cup saw its dawn in 1975 in England with eight teams participating in the 60-over per side tournament.
The first couple of editions saw West Indies become the champions and earn the status of ‘World beaters’. However, in an unexpected turn of events, India derailed the brute force in the 1983 World Cup Final, bringing glory to the tri-colored flag.
The 1987 World Cup witnessed the 50 overs per side contest for the maiden time whereas the 1992 version discovered the colored dresses. While Australia dominated the 1987 WC which is also remembered as the first CWC to be held outside England, Pakistan achieved the ultimate glory in 1992 under the leadership of Imran Khan.
After Sri Lanka’s domination in the 1996 World Cup, Australia reigned supreme with 29 straight victories across three editions of the honourary competition. They got their hands on the silverware in 1999, 2003 and 2007. The following edition saw India clinching the glitterati trophy under the leadership of MS Dhoni in subcontinent conditions.
New Zealand are yet to win the World Cup despite making a hat-trick of reaching the knockouts
The Kangaroos bounced back to winning ways in 2015, toppling Trans-Tasmanian rival, New Zealand comprehensively in the final. Moving on to the latest edition, England scraped past the Kiwis by a victory of the barest margin under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan.
Format Explainer
Since the 2019 CWC, the number of participants in the global tournament has been pruned to ten. The hosts along with the other top seven ranked teams in the World Cup Super League secures automatic qualification whereas the ninth and tenth team gets filtered out in the World Cup Qualifiers.
All ten teams play each other once in a single round-robin format during the mega-event. The top four nations in the league table qualify for the semi-final stage where the respective winners meet each other in the colossal clash in quest of gold.
Star Attractions
The 2023 Cricket World Cup is a special edition in its own way. One of the salient features is that this could be the last time one may witness the Fab Four- Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson play together in the 50-overs World Cup.
Each of them is an indispensable entity for their respective nations. However, the torch could transcend to a younger bunch with the likes of Shubman Gill, Harry Brook, Travis Head, and Daryl Mitchell picking the pace.
If precisely talked about certain characters, Ben Stokes has to be one of the names to gain the limelight. The all-rounder came out of retirement to represent the English side while South African wicketkeeper, Quinton de Kock will get his last dance in the forthcoming cricketing carnival. In addition, this could also be the very last 50-overs World Cup for stalwarts such as Rohit Sharma, Mohammad Nabi, David Warner, Shakib Al Hasan, David Miller, etc.
On the contrary, this is also the first-ever World Cup where two-time champions, West Indies will not be a part. This offers the Netherlands the opportunity to showcase their potential on the bigger stage. It also may not be a shocker if either Bangladesh or Afghanistan eclipse a relatively formidable side in the competition.
All in all, exciting times are on the queue with the grandest of the cricketing event inching closer to its run-up.