2019 Cricket World Cup - World Cup Cricket Schedule

The 2019 Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be hosted by England and Wales, from 30 May to 15 July 2019. This will be the 12th Cricket World Cup competition, and the fifth time it will be held in England and Wales, following the 1975, 1979, 1983 and 1999 World Cups.

The hosting rights were awarded in April 2006, after England and Wales withdrew from the bidding to host the 2015 Cricket World Cup, which was held in Australia and New Zealand. The first match will be played at The Oval while the final will be played at Lord's. The 10-team-tournament has gained much criticism due to the lack of associate teams in the tournament, but the ICC plan to keep the competition at just 10 teams. Australia are the defending champions.

Qualification

The 2019 World Cup will feature 10 teams, a decrease from previous World Cups in 2011 and 2015 which featured 14 teams. The hosts England, and the top seven other teams in the ICC rankings (comprising the ten full members and two associate members), as of 30 September 2017, will earn automatic qualification with the remaining two spots being decided by the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh. This means that ICC Associate and Affiliate members, which had previously been guaranteed four spots through the Qualifier, can be represented by at most two teams and possibly none at all if they are beaten by Full Members in the Qualifier. This also means that at least 2 Test playing nations will play in the qualifying tournament and therefore a Test nation could miss the World Cup for the first time. The format for the tournament will have just one group so each team will play 9 group games before 2 semi finals and a final.

Current ranking table

Venues

The fixture list for this event has not been released. However, on 17 December 2014, the ECB indicated that the final would be held at Lord's, and the semi-finals at Old Trafford and Edgbaston Cricket Ground. In addition, the opening match of the tournament will be held at The Oval.

London Stadium could also be added to the list of venues pending the result of a feasibility test. In January 2017, the International Cricket Council (ICC) completed an inspection of the ground, confirming that the pitch dimensions would be compliant with the requirements to host ODI matches.

References