New Zealand pacer and two-time 50-over World Cup finalist Matt Henry has expressed his excitement for the upcoming World Cup 2023 after the schedule was announced earlier today. Over the past decade, New Zealand has been one of the most consistent performers in the event, having reached the finals of the last two editions (2015 and 2019). The Kiwis have also made the semi-finals on six other occasions, playing at seven venues through the league phase of the 10-team tournament.
The BLACKCAPS play India and Australia in the hill city of Dharamsala on 22 and 29 October, will take on South Africa in Pune on 1 November and feature in a day match against Pakistan in Bengaluru on 5 November.
New Zealand player Matt Henry said the team was looking forward to the event while remembering the epic final that was won by England in the Super Over.
“It’s really exciting to be on the cusp of another ODI World Cup. It’s always a great event and has so much history. We all grew up watching the ODI World Cup and I feel really fortunate to be preparing for a third tournament,” Henry said to ICC.
“It’s fair to say the 2019 World Cup in England will linger in the memory for a while. It was an amazing tournament with so many highlights and obviously a pretty dramatic finish. Heading to India for such a pinnacle event should be an experience like no other and one all teams will be looking forward to immensely,” Henry signed off.
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Ahmedabad will host the tournament opener as well as the final. The nine other venues are Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram will join Hyderabad in hosting the practice matches.
Eight teams have qualified for the 46-day event through the Cricket World Cup Super League while the final two spots will be taken by the finalists of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier taking place in Zimbabwe.
The tournament retains the round-robin format of last time with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches. There are six day matches in the tournament, which will start at 10h30 local time. All other matches, including the knockouts, will be day-night fixtures starting at 14h00.
The top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals to be played in Mumbai on 15 November and in Kolkata on 16 November. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.
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