Cricket
India face defending champions England, Netherlands as ICC unveils schedule for World Cup warm-up fixtures
While the fixture against England takes place at Guwahati’s Barsapara Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield International Stadium hosts the warm-up clash against the Dutch.
FirstCricket Staff August 23, 2023 22:59:05 IST 
File image of the Indian cricket team. AP
The ICC on Wednesday announced the schedule of warm-up matches for the Cricket World Cup that takes place in the months of October and November.
Hosts India are set to face defending champions England and Netherlands in the practice games on 30 September and 3 October respectively. While the fixture against England takes place at Guwahati’s Barsapara Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield International Stadium hosts the warm-up clash against the Dutch.
India later face five-time champions Australia in their World Cup opener on 8 October in Chennai.
A total of three venues — Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad — will host the official warm-up matches for all the 10 teams before the World Cup opener in Ahmedabad on 5 October between New Zealand and England.
“The 10 teams will each play two official 50-over contests during the week leading up to the start of the World Cup on October 5, with matches to be held in three different cities across India,” the ICC said in a release.
“The matches will be held in Guwahati, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram between Friday 29 September and Tuesday 3 October and will provide teams with the perfect opportunity to acclimatise to the conditions they are expected to face during the World Cup.”
Read | BCCI tells HCA no further changes in World Cup schedule possible
All matches in the warm-up round will start in the afternoon.
“All games will commence at 2:00pm IST and teams will be allowed to field all members of their 15-player squads during the matches,” the ICC said.
Full schedule:
29 September: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Guwahati), South Africa vs Afghanistan, (Thiruvananthapuram) and New Zealand vs Pakistan (Hyderabad).
30 September: India vs England (Guwahati), Australia vs Netherlands (Thiruvananthapuram).
2 October: England vs Bangladesh (Guwahati), New Zealand vs South Africa (Thiruvananthapuram).
3 October: India vs Netherlands (Thiruvananthapuram), Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka (Guwahati), Pakistan vs Australia (Hyderabad).
With inputs from PTI