NewzSouth Africa will be pleased with the fixtures announced for next year’s Cricket World Cup, with the Proteas avoiding some big teams in the opening round of the global showpiece on home soil. Drawn in Group B on Thursday, the SA team will turn out against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England, Bangladesh and a qualifier side. A tough Group A consists of top-ranked India, defending champions Australia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and another qualifier.
The top two teams in each group and the best fourth-placed side from both pools will progress to the Super 7 stage of the competition. And the top four teams in the Super 7 round will compete in the semifinals, to be contested in Cape Town on 17 November and Centurion on 18 November. The final will be held at the Wanderers, in Johannesburg, on 21 November.
Play-offs and venues The first game of the tournament will be played between India and Australia – the same teams that contested the 2023 World Cup final – in Cape Town on 7 October. South Africa will turn out in their first match against New Zealand, also at Newlands, on 9 October. A total of 12 venues will be used for the tournament, which will be co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia.
In South Africa, games will be played in Cape Town, Paarl, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Bloemfontein, Durban, KuGompo City and Gqeberha. Other host cities and towns include Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, as well as Windhoek in Namibia.
Summary from source