Australia to open World Cup campaign against India on October 8
Australia play their nine league matches at eight venues; the England fixture is in Ahmedabad on November 4
ESPNcricinfo staff
27-Jun-2023
Pat Cummins could be the only bowler-captain at the ODI World Cup in India • AP Photo
Australia begin their 2023 ODI World Cup campaign against hosts India in Chennai on October 8, before going on to play their next two games in Lucknow in the north of India: against South Africa on October 13 and a qualifier on October 16.
The World Cup schedule was finally released by the ICC and BCCI at an event in Mumbai on June 27, just 100 days before the start of the tournament on October 5. In comparison, the fixtures for the 2019 World Cup in England and the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand were released more than 12 months in advance.
The tournament will be played across ten venues in India, with the semi-finals in Mumbai and Kolkata on November 15 and 16, and the final in Ahmedabad on November 19. There are reserve days in place for the semis and final. The format will be the same as it was in 2019, with ten teams playing each other once in the league phase and the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.
India qualified for the event as hosts, while Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa made it by finishing in the top eight of the 2020-2023 ODI World Cup Super League. The remaining two qualifiers will be identified at the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, which is being played by Sri Lanka, West Indies, Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Scotland, UAE, USA, and Zimbabwe.
After two successive fixtures in Lucknow, Australia's fourth league match is in the south once again, against Pakistan in Bengaluru on October 20. They then travel north again to play the other qualifier in Delhi on October 25, and then go further north to Dharamsala to play New Zealand on October 28.
Their last three league fixtures are in western India: against England in Ahmedabad on November 4, against Afghanistan in Mumbai on November 7, and against Bangladesh in Pune on November 12, which is the last day of the league stage.
Australia had made the semi-final of the 2019 ODI World Cup where they suffered a heavy defeat against the eventual champions England. They will gear up for the 2023 tournament in India with warm-up games against a qualifier in Thiruvananthapuram on September 30 and Pakistan in Hyderabad on October 3.