Schedule confirmed for 2023 World Cup, England face New Zealand in tournament opener

The 48-match tournament will run from October 5-November 19, with hosts India beginning their campaign against Australia on October 8

The schedule has been confirmed for the 2023 Men's Cricket World Cup, with England facing New Zealand in the tournament opener in Ahmedabad on October 5.

The match is a repeat of the 2019 final, which England won in dramatic fashion in a Super Over.

The 45-match group stage of the 2023 tournament will run from October 5-November 12, with matches hosted in 12 cities across India.

The semi-finals will then take place on November 15 and 16 in Mumbai and Kolkata, respectively, before the final on November 19 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. All three knockout fixtures will be day/night matches.

As in 2019, each team plays the other nine in a single round robin format, with the top four teams qualifying for the knockout stage.

^{England will face New Zealand in the tournament opener - a repeat of the 2019 final [Clive Mason/Getty Images]}

^{India and Pakistan are set to meet in Ahmedabad on October 15 [Quinn Rooney/Getty Images]}

Eight teams – Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa – have qualified for the tournament.

The final two teams will be confirmed following the conclusion of a qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe on July 9. Netherlands, Oman, Scotland, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe have progressed to the Super Six stage of the ongoing qualifying event, with each team set to play three further matches before the top two advance to the final and book their spot at the World Cup. 

After New Zealand, England will continue their title defence with matches against Bangladesh (October 10, Dharamsala), Afghanistan (October 14, Delhi), South Africa (October 21, Mumbai), and Qualifier 2 (October 26, Bengaluru) before facing India (October 29, Lucknow) and Australia (November 4, Ahmedabad) in consecutive matches. Games against Qualifier 1 (November 8, Pune) and Pakistan (November 12, Kolkata) will round off their group campaign.

India, meanwhile, will start their tournament with a blockbuster meeting with Australia in Chennai on October 8 while their hotly anticipated match against Pakistan will take place in Ahmedabad on October 15.

England fixtures (times TBC): New Zealand (October 5, Ahmedabad), Bangladesh (October 10, Dharamsala), Afghanistan (October 14, Delhi), South Africa (October 21, Mumbai), Qualifier 2 (October 26, Bengaluru), India (October 29, Lucknow), Australia (November 4, Ahmedabad), Qualifier 1 (November 8, Pune), Pakistan (November 12, Kolkata)

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