The countdown is on for the highly anticipated ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, with less than 50 days remaining until the grand tournament kicks off in India. As the World Cup edges closer, excitement and preparations are ramping up for the 10 participating nations.
An important part of the preparations will be the warmup matches, which allow teams to acclimatize, test combinations, and iron out any issues before the main event.
The International Cricket Council recently announced the schedule and venues for the World Cup warmup fixtures.
A total of 10 warmup matches will be played over a condensed period of just 4 days. This will provide all teams a chance to get vital match practice under their belts right before the World Cup.
The warmup games are scheduled to be held between September 20th and 23rd, just days prior to the commencement of the World Cup on October 7th.
Importantly, the warmup fixtures will be played across 3 different host cities for the World Cup – Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, and Hyderabad.
This will help teams get accustomed to varied conditions across India ahead of the tournament.
All the warmup matches are set to begin at 2 PM local time. The participating teams will be allowed to field all 15 members of their squad during the practice games, giving them a chance to experiment with combinations.
The warmup fixtures will kick off on September 20th with a match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
On the same day, Afghanistan and South Africa will face off at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
The third match on the opening day will feature rivals Pakistan and New Zealand at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Over the next three days, the remaining teams will play their warmup games across the three host cities. The tournament favourites India have warmup fixtures slated against England and Netherlands on September 30th and October 3rd respectively.
ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 Warmup Match Venues
The 10 warm-up matches of World Cup 2023 will be played across 3 different venues across India which are:
- Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
- Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
- Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 Warmup Schedule and Fixtures
| Date | Match | Venue | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, 29 September | Bangladesh v Sri Lanka | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati | 2:00 PM |
| Friday, 29 September | New Zealand v Pakistan | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad | 2:00 PM |
| Saturday, 30 September | India v England | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati | 2:00 PM |
| Saturday, 30 September | Australia v Netherlands | Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram | 2:00 PM |
| Monday, 2 October | England v Bangladesh | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati | 2:00 PM |
| Monday, 2 October | New Zealand v South Africa | Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram | 2:00 PM |
| Tuesday, 3 October | Afghanistan v Sri Lanka | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati | 2:00 PM |
| Tuesday, 3 October | India v Netherlands | Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram | 2:00 PM |
| Tuesday, 3 October | Pakistan v Australia | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad | 2:00 PM |
