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The 2011 World Cup will get underway on 19th February 2011 with co-hosts Bangladesh and India meeting in Dhaka while reigning champions Australia open with a match against Zimbabwe.
Mumbai is to stage the final on 2nd April and the other hosting country Sri Lanka begin their campaign against Canada in Hambantota on 20th February.
Although the groups for the tenth edition of the World Cup had already been drawn, the fixtures had not been revealed until today.
“The match schedule announcement allows all our stakeholders to start planning their tours," ICC Vice-President Sharad Pawar commented while ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat added: “This is an important indicator of the excellent progress we are making towards staging our flagship event."
The ICC confirmed that Dhaka, as well as hosting the opening match, will be hosting the opening ceremony two days before the opening game.
A total of 49 matches will be played with the 14 teams split into two groups of seven with the top four from each group qualifying for the straight knockout phase of the competition.
Tournament director Prof. Ratnakar Shetty said: “The sub-continent has hosted high-quality events in the past, including two ICC Cricket World Cups in 1987 and 1996, and we are committed to stage another world-class event in 2011, one which will be memorable and enjoyable for all.
“However, the announcement of the match schedule will mean that the venues hosting the matches will have to meet their timelines to ensure everything is ready for what we believe will be a superb spectacle and a great advertisement for the sport which has a huge following in the sub-continent.”
Group A: Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya
Group B: India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands
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