As the anticipation builds for the highly anticipated International Cricket Council's (ICC) Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, fans eagerly await the commencement of the tournament.
The grand event is set to kick off in India on October 5th (tomorrow) with the opening match featuring defending champions England against the runner-up of the last edition, New Zealand.
This year's World Cup will witness ten teams vying for the coveted title across ten different venues, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting both the tournament opener and the final.
Qualification for the tournament was determined through a series of events. India secured a spot as the host nation, while the next seven teams earned their places based on their performance in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League, a three-year competition involving 13 teams participating in eight three-match bilateral series each. New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, Afghanistan, and South Africa secured their spots by finishing in the top eight positions in the Super League, while the remaining teams had to compete in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, including those from League 2 and the Qualifier Play-off tournament. Sri Lanka and the Netherlands qualified for the Cricket World Cup 2023 through the Qualifier.
The World Cup will follow a round-robin format, with all teams facing each other in a total of 45 league matches. The top four teams will advance to the semi-finals, scheduled for November 15th and 16th in Mumbai and Kolkata, respectively, with reserve days allocated for these crucial matches.
In case teams finish the round-robin stage with the same number of points, the total number of wins will be used as the first tiebreaker, followed by net run rate as the second determining factor. Typically, a record of seven wins out of nine matches should secure a semi-final berth, as demonstrated by India and Australia in the 2019 edition.
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 offers a substantial prize pool, with the winners receiving US$4 million, the runners-up earning US$2 million, and the losing semi-finalists taking home $800,000 each from the total prize fund of US$10 million. In the group stage, each winning team will be awarded US$40,000, while the six teams that do not advance to the semi-finals will receive a payment of US$100,000.
For cricket enthusiasts looking to attend matches in person, tickets are available for various Cricket World Cup fixtures, with additional ticket sales yet to open for the general public. Detailed information on ticket availability can be found at tickets.cricketworldcup.com/explore/c/icc-cricket-world-cup.
The ICC World Cup 2023 promises a thrilling lineup of matches, with the world's best teams competing for the title. The complete schedule for the event is readily accessible, and team squads have been finalized, adhering to tournament regulations. Any replacements made after the September 28th deadline required approval from the ICC.
For those looking to catch the action live on television, the official broadcasters for ICC World Cup 2023 include PTV Sports in Pakistan, Star Sports in India, Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, ESPN in the United States of America (USA), and Fox Sports in Australia.
