Tag: ICC World Cup 2023

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has given captain Kane Williamson a two-week deadline to prove his fitness for the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, starting in October, head coach Gary Stead said Monday.

The batsman tore the cruciate ligaments in his right knee playing for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League in April.

The 33-year-old has recovered well and is batting in the nets, with a place in New Zealand’s 15-man squad now in sight.

“We’ve got about two weeks from now until we name that side,” Stead told New Zealand media.

“We’re going to give him every chance to use that full amount of time. He’s in full rehab mode, he’s back batting in the nets again, which is great to see.

“He’s progressing really well, but there’s a lot of work for him still to do to make sure he gets where we need him to be.”

Kane Williamson has scored more than 6,500 runs in one-day international cricket and led New Zealand in their nail-biting defeat to England in the 2019 World Cup final.

New Zealand play England in their opening game of the World Cup in Ahmedabad on October 5.

As part of his recovery bid, Williamson is with the squad on their white-ball tour of England.

“Of course, we want him at the World Cup, but there is that bigger picture that we want Kane Williamson fit for the rest of his career,” added Stead.

“There will be honest conversations that Kane and I will have around exactly where he is at.”

All-rounder James Neesham has withdrawn from the T20I squad for the series against England, which starts Wednesday, to return home ahead of the birth of his first child.

New Zealand ODI squad: Tom Latham (c & wk), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Will Young.

New Zealand T20I squad: Tim Southee (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips. Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi.

READ: Pakistan to face Australia, New Zealand in warm-up fixtures of World Cup

Pakistan will face Australia, and New Zealand in warm-up fixtures of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India next month, as ICC announced the official warm-up fixtures for the mega-event.

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 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.

On the opening day of warm-up fixtures Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka in Guwahati, South Africa will tackle Afghanistan in Thiruvananthapuram and New Zealand will face Pakistan in Hyderabad.

Hosts India will battle it out against reigning champions England the following day in Guwahati, while five-time winners Australia will be looking for some valuable practice when they play the Netherlands in Thiruvananthapuram on the same day.

All games will commence at 2:00 pm IST and teams will be allowed to field all members of their 15-player squads during the matches.

World Cup warm-up fixtures:

Friday 29 September

Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
South Africa v Afghanistan, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
New Zealand v Pakistan, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

Saturday 30 September

India v England, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Australia v Netherlands, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Monday 2 October

England v Bangladesh, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
New Zealand v South Africa, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Tuesday 3 October

Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
India v Netherlands, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Pakistan v Australia, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

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England batsman Harry Brook has revealed his frustration at being left out of the squad for this year’s Cricket World Cup.

Ben Stokes’ decision to come out of one-day international retirement played a key role in Brook failing to make England’s preliminary squad for the defence of their 50-over crown.

The 24-year-old has emerged as one of England’s brightest young talents, helping them to a dramatic drawn Ashes series against Australia recently.

But England’s selectors left Harry Brook out of a 15-man squad for their four warm-up matches with New Zealand in September.

The same group will most likely be chosen to try and retain the World Cup in India in October and November.

“Obviously it’s disappointing, but I can’t do anything about it now, you’ve just got to move on. I’m trying not to think about it anymore,” Brook said after playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred at Lord’s.

“I’ve not had much conversation with (coach) Matthew (Mott) or (captain) Jos (Buttler). They said with Stokesy coming back I was probably going to miss out this time.

“He (Stokes) is one of the best players to ever play cricket, so I can’t really complain, can I?”

While Harry Brook has made a flying start to his Test career, he has played just three ODI matches for England.

“I feel like I’m playing well at the minute and feel I could potentially add value to the team. There’s always something more you could do,” he said.

“I haven’t had much opportunity to play one-day cricket, whether that be for Yorkshire or England and, although I’ve played a lot of T20 cricket, I don’t know I’ve done as well as I have in the past in the last six months, so that might have had an effect.”

READ: No Ramiz Raja in Asia Cup 2023 commentary panel

England’s Test captain Ben Stokes has come out of his ODI retirement ahead of England’s defence of the ICC Men’s World Cup in India later this year.

Prior to that, he will make his comeback in the ODI format in the upcoming home ODI series against New Zealand.

Ben Stokes, announced his retirement from ODI cricket during the home series against South Africa last year.

The England Men’s selection panel, on Tuesday, confirmed Ben Stokes’ return, as they announced squads for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against New Zealand commencing from August 30.

“The return of Ben Stokes only adds to that quality with his match-winning ability and leadership. I am certain that every fan will enjoy seeing him back in an England ODI shirt again,” England Men’s National Selector, Luke Wright said.

Ben Stokes played a vital role for England in their 2019 ODI World Cup triumph. He scored an unbeaten 84 in the final against New Zealand and forced the match into a super over before Jofra Archer’s super over helped England lift their maiden ODI World Cup title by ‘the barest of margins’.

England’s white-ball coach Matthew Mott while talking to the media on Sunday, shared his wish to bring Ben Stokes out of retirement to be part of their World Cup defence in India.

“There has not been a clear direction on what he’s going to do yet, but we are still hopeful. I’ve always said his bowling would be a bonus, but just look at what he brings with the bat, even in the field,” said Mott.

“Watching him throughout the whole Ashes series, he had such a great presence. He’s done it for years when it comes to performing in one-day cricket and so he’s an invaluable commodity.” He concluded.

Along with Ben Stokes, uncapped fast bowler Gus Atkinson is also included in the 15-player ODI squad, as well as the T20I squad.

Meanwhile, uncapped Josh Tongue and John Turner are also selected for the T20I series against New Zealand.

“We have been able to name two extremely strong squads that underline the depth of talent we enjoy in white-ball cricket,” Luke Wright said.

“We’re also excited to give first international call-ups to both Gus Atkinson and John Turner while Josh Tongue has deserved a place in the T20 squad after impressing during the Ashes.” he further added

England ODI squad

Jos Buttler (captain)

Moeen Ali

Gus Atkinson

Jonny Bairstow

Sam Curran

Liam Livingstone

Dawid Malan

Adil Rashid

Joe Root

Jason Roy

Ben Stokes

Reece Topley

David Willey

Mark Wood

Chris Woakes

England T20I squad

Jos Buttler (captain)

Rehan Ahmed

Moeen Ali

Gus Atkinson

Jonny Bairstow

Harry Brook

Sam Curran

Ben Duckett

Will Jacks

Liam Livingstone

Dawid Malan

Adil Rashid

Josh Tongue

John Turner

Luke Wood

READ: Wahab Riaz retires from international cricket

DUBAI: The registration for the ticket sale for this year’s ICC Men’s World Cup in India has kicked off, the apex cricketing body announced on Tuesday.

Cricket fans across the globe are required to register before getting their hands on ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 tickets, to guarantee their attendance at the upcoming cricket extravaganza in India.

“Ahead of tickets going on sale, fans will have the opportunity to register their interest via https://www.cricketworldcup.com/register from 15 August [today]. This will enable them to receive ticket news first and help secure their spot at the World Cup, and experience the joy of cricket in one day,” the ICC said in a statement last week.

The sale of tickets will commence on August 25, and conclude on September 15.

Tickets for the warm-up matches of the World Cup will be available for sale on August 25, while the tickets for the Pakistan-India clash will go on sale on September 3.

ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup tickets will be sold in phases and the dates for ticket sales are as follows:

25 August – Non-India warm-up matches and all non-India event matches

30 August – India matches at Guwahati and Trivandrum

31 August – India matches at Chennai, Delhi and Pune

1 September – India matches at Dharamsala, Lucknow and Mumbai

2 September – India matches at Bengaluru and Kolkata

3 September – India matches at Ahmedabad

15 September – Semi Finals and Final

The ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 commences on Thursday, 5 October when 2019 finalists England and New Zealand clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the event culminating in the final at the same venue on Sunday, 19 November.

The tournament will be played in ten different venues – Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram in addition to Hyderabad will host the warm-up matches from 29 September to 3 October.

Pakistan’s updated schedule for ICC Men’s World Cup 2023:

October 6: Pakistan vs Netherlands, Hyderabad

October 10: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Hyderabad

October 14: Pakistan vs India, Ahmedabad

October 20: Pakistan – vs Australia, Bengaluru

October 23: Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Chennai

October 27: Pakistan vs South Africa, Chennai

October 31: Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Kolkata

November 4: Pakistan vs New Zealand, Bengaluru (Day match)

November 11: Pakistan – vs England, Kolkata

It is important to note that the day matches will commence at 10:00 AM Pakistan Standard Time (PST) while the day-night matches will start at 01:30 PM (PST).

READ: Chris Woakes named ICC Men’s Player of the Month for July 2023

England’s white-ball coach Matthew Mott eyeing to bring the 2019 World Cup hero Ben Stokes out of retirement to be part of the squad for their World Cup defence in India later this year.

Motts is also planning to take a gamble on fast bowler Jofra Archer amid his fitness vows, as he is ‘a proven performer.’

English selectors are expected to announce an 18-player squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India this Tuesday, which will be further trimmed down to the final 15 prior to September 28, as per ICC rules.

Matthew Mott has told the media that there are two elements, ‘a call from Jos Buttler to his fellow England captain Stokes’ and ‘an updated medical report on another hero of 2019 in Archer’ would be crucial before the selectors finalise the squad.

“Jos will probably lead the way on that communication (with Ben Stokes), but Ben’s pretty straight with all of us. We will see if he’s keen,” Mott said.

He further emphasized Stokes’s importance to the team in all three aspects of the game.

“There has not been a clear direction on what he’s going to do yet, but we are still hopeful. I’ve always said his bowling would be a bonus, but just look at what he brings with the bat, even in the field,” said Mott.

“Watching him throughout the whole Ashes series, he had such a great presence. He’s done it for years when it comes to performing in one-day cricket and so he’s an invaluable commodity,” he concluded.

Ben Stokes, announced his retirement from ODI cricket during the home series against South Africa last year. He made his ODI debut in 2011 and represented England in 105 ODI games.

The decorated all-rounder scored 2919 runs, including three centuries, and took 74 wickets in his glittering ODI career.

He played a vital role for England with his unbeaten 84 in the 2019 ODI World Cup against New Zealand and forced the match into a super over before Jofra Archer’s super over helped England lift their maiden ODI World Cup title by ‘the barest of margins’.

Jofra Archer was also a hero for England in their successful World Cup campaign in 2019.

However, his career has been plagued with injuries as he managed to play only seven games since the World Cup final against New Zealand in 2019.

However, the English coach is ready to take a risk, as Archer has been a ‘match-winner’ for the English side.

“There is a high chance that we will take a risk on a proven performer that has done it on the world stage,”

“We are planning for him to be available. Obviously, a lot of things have to go his way and it will be a tight timeline but with players like that you are going to give them every opportunity to prove their fitness, and so we will keep an open mind.”

The England selection committee will also announce ODI and T20I squads to face New Zealand and Ireland in limited-overs series from August 30 to September 26.

World champions England will kick off their World Cup campaign in the opening game against 2019 finalists New Zealand on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

READ: Virat Kohli lauds Babar Azam as ‘the top batsman in the world’

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Friday, named their star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan to lead Bangladesh in the forthcoming Asia Cup and ICC T20 World Cup 2022.

Shakib took over the role after Tamim Iqbal announced to step down as Bangladesh’s ODI captain after he was ruled out of the upcoming Asia Cup due to his recurring back injury, unlikely to heal in time.

Following his appointment, Shakib Al Hasan faces a challenging task to lead Bangladesh in this year’s Asia Cup, followed by a home ODI series against New Zealand in September and then the ICC Men’s World Cup in India in October-November.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan made the announcement in a surprise media briefing at his residence in Dhaka.

“Shakib Al Hasan is the captain for the Asia Cup, New Zealand series and World Cup,” he said.

“We will speak more to him when he returns to Bangladesh [from Lanka Premier League]. We have to know his long-term plan.

“I spoke to him on the phone yesterday. But it is better if we talk to him in person since he is busy with a franchise league currently. We will also talk about which format he will keep leading, whether it is all three formats or one or two of them.

“There was never any confusion. I told you before. He is the obvious choice. Who else can lead? But we had to talk to him before appointing him. Nobody should think anything else. Shakib is the captain. He was always the main choice.”

BCB President further revealed that Bangladesh’s Asia Cup squad will be the same as their World Cup squad.

“They have just one spot open. We still don’t know about Tamim Iqbal who is recovering from a back injury. We might trial one or two openers in the Asia Cup,” he said.

Following his appointment as the ODI captain, Shakib Al Hasan has now become Bangladesh’s all-format captain, having started his third stint as Test captain and T20I captain last year.

It is worth mentioning here that Shakib Al Hasan has thus far led Bangladesh in 52 ODIs, 19 Tests and 39 T20Is.

READ: Asia Cup tickets to go on sale from Saturday

Tickets for the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 will go on sale from August 25, a mere 41 days before the cricketing extravaganza hits the grounds in India on October 5.

The dates for ticket sales for World Cup 2023 are as follows:

25 August – Non-India warm-up matches and all non-India event matches

30 August – India matches at Guwahati and Trivandrum

31 August – India matches at Chennai, Delhi and Pune

1 September – India matches at Dharamsala, Lucknow and Mumbai

2 September – India matches at Bengaluru and Kolkata

3 September – India matches at Ahmedabad

15 September – Semi Finals and Final

“Ahead of tickets going on sale, fans will have the opportunity to register their interest via https://www.cricketworldcup.com/register from 15 August. This will enable them to receive ticket news first and help secure their spot at the World Cup, and experience the joy of cricket in one day,” the ICC said in a statement.

“We call on all of cricket’s hundreds of millions of fans to register your interest from next week to ensure you are one of the first to receive ticket news and to be a part of the biggest Cricket World Cup,” Chris Tetley, ICC’s head of events, said in a statement.

The ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 commences on Thursday, 5 October when 2019 finalists England and New Zealand clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the event culminating in the final at the same venue on Sunday, 19 November.

The tournament will be played in ten different venues – Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram in addition to Hyderabad will host the warm-up matches from 29 September to 3 October.

Pakistan’s updated schedule for ICC Men’s World Cup 2023:

October 6: Pakistan vs Netherlands, Hyderabad

October 10: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Hyderabad

October 14: Pakistan vs India, Ahmedabad

October 20: Pakistan – vs Australia, Bengaluru

October 23: Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Chennai

October 27: Pakistan vs South Africa, Chennai

October 31: Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Kolkata

November 4: Pakistan vs New Zealand, Bengaluru (Day match)

November 11: Pakistan – vs England, Kolkata

It is important to note that the day matches will commence at 10:00 AM Pakistan Standard Time (PST) while the day-night matches will start at 01:30 PM (PST).

READ: Fire breaks out at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens amid World Cup preparations

A fire broke out in the dressing room of Kolkata’s Eden Gardens stadium during the renovation work for this year’s ICC Men’s World Cup.

According to the details, the fire erupted due to a short circuit in the false ceiling of the dressing room which led to the players’ kits and other equipment burnt to ashes.

The crew working on renovating the stadium, however, immediately informed the management about the unfortunate incident, who then contacted the fire department.

The firefighters deployed two to bring the fire under control which took several hours to be tamed.

It is worth mentioning here that the Eden Gardens in Kolkata is poised to host a total of five matches in the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup including the second semi-final.

Babar Azam-led Pakistan will play two matches at the venue. They will take on Bangladesh on October 31 and England on November 11, their last group stage match of the mega event.

Additionally, if Pakistan qualify for the semi-final, they will play again at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday, rescheduled Pakistan’s three matches including the highly-anticipated clash against India due to a religious festival in India.

As per the updated schedule, Pakistan will now square off against arch-rivals India on October 14, a day earlier than the original schedule, while face Sri Lanka on October 10 and England on October 11.

Pakistan’s updated schedule for ICC Men’s World Cup 2023:

October 6: Pakistan vs Netherlands, Hyderabad

October 10: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Hyderabad

October 14: Pakistan vs India, Ahmedabad

October 20: Pakistan – vs Australia, Bengaluru

October 23: Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Chennai

October 27: Pakistan vs South Africa, Chennai

October 31: Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Kolkata

November 4: Pakistan vs New Zealand, Bengaluru (Day match)

November 11: Pakistan – vs England, Kolkata

It is important to note that the day matches will commence at 10:00 AM Pakistan Standard Time (PST) while the day-night matches will start at 01:30 PM (PST).

READ: Pakistan lost to India, knocked out of Asian Champions Trophy

The highly-anticipated India-Pakistan fixture at this year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup has been rescheduled to October 14, while details of eight other matches have also been changed.

The high-octane clash India-Pakistan World Cup fixture was originally slated to take place on October 15 but the date was coinciding with the beginning of the Navratri, a festival celebrated with mass participation across Gujarat.

Consequently, the law-enforcement agencies advised the Board of Control for Cricket in India to make a tweak.

As a result, England’s fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi will be moved from Saturday, 14 October and will now be played 24 hours later on Sunday, 15 October.

Pakistan’s contest against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad has moved from Thursday, 12 October to now being played on Tuesday, 10 October and Australia’s big match against South Africa in Lucknow moved back 24 hours and will now be played on Thursday, 12 October instead of Friday, 13 October.

Similarly, New Zealand’s game against Bangladesh originally scheduled as a day match for 14 October in Chennai has been moved back and will now be held on Friday, 13 October and be played as a day-night contest.

From the initial phase of the tournament, a minor change to the fixture refers to the timing of England’s match-up against Bangladesh in Dharamsala, with the clash becoming a day match and a 10:30AM (local time) start after it was originally scheduled as a day-night fixture.

Towards the end of the league stage, there are three changes with the double-header encounters of Sunday, 12 November being moved a day earlier to Saturday, 11 November – Australia vs Bangladesh in Pune (10:30AM) and England vs Pakistan in Kolkata (02:00PM).

Meanwhile, India’s last league game against the Netherlands has now been shifted from 11 to 12 November, a day-night clash to be played in Bengaluru.

The World Cup commences on Thursday, 5 October when 2019 finalists England and New Zealand clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the event culminating in the final at the same venue on Sunday, 19 November.

READ: Pakistan’s squad for Afghanistan ODIs, Asia Cup 2023 unveiled

More to follow…