England will start their Cricket World Cup defence with a rematch of the epic 2019 final against New Zealand after the schedule for this year’s tournament in India was finally confirmed just three months out from its start date.
Jos Buttler’s side will open the competition in Ahmedabad on October 5, with the final also taking place at the city’s 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium on November 19.
The same ground is scheduled to hold England’s pool stage meeting with Australia on November 4 as well as the blockbuster clash of rivals Pakistan and India on October 15.
Pakistan had at one stage threatened to boycott the tournament amid long-standing political hostilities between the countries, which have been stoked by India’s refusal to travel to its neighbour for the autumn’s Asia Cup. However, all nine of Pakistan’s pool stage matches are scheduled to be played in India.
The host nation will wait until the fourth day of the tournament to get their campaign underway with a showpiece against Australia in Chennai on October 8.
The format for the competition is the same as in 2019, with ten teams - two of which are yet to qualify - playing in a single round-robin group and the top four advancing to the semi-finals, which will be played in Mumbai and Kolkata.
England’s schedule poses something of a logistical nightmare for travelling fans, with Buttler’s side due to play their nine group matches across eight different cities. All but one of those matches is slated as a day-night game with a 2pm local start time, mid-morning in the UK.
There will also be a number of official warm-up matches played in India, while England have home ODI series against New Zealand and Ireland planned for their build-up in September before heading to the sub-continent.
