Title-holders India drawn with Pakistan in 2015 Cricket World Cup

Co-hosts of the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Australia and New Zealand, have been drawn in the same group for the tournament, while title-holders India will face off against long-time rival Pakistan, officials said Tuesday.

Australia and New Zealand are grouped with England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and two qualifiers.

Title-holders India are pooled with Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and one other qualifying team.

The top four sides from each pool will go through to the knockout stage.

Forty-nine matches will be played in 14 venues across the two host nations, with Australia staging 26 games at grounds in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

New Zealand will host 23 games in seven cities, including Christchurch where international cricket is set to return for the first time since the 6.3-magnitude quake which killed 185 people in 2011.

Other New Zealand cities to host games are Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground will host the final of the 2015 cricket World Cup, 23 years after a bumper crowd at the 100,000-seat stadium saw Pakistan defeat England in the 1992 final.

The March 29 final follows semi-finals at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Auckland's Eden Park, organisers said on Tuesday.

Christchurch, which has scrambled to rebuild facilities in the wake of a ruinous earthquake in 2011, has provisionally been awarded three pool matches in the tournament hosted by Australia and New Zealand from February 14 to March 29.

Local cricket authorities have submitted plans for a redevelopment of Hagley Park in New Zealand's second largest city, and are awaiting the outcome of an Environment Court hearing as to whether they can proceed.

If approved, the city would host the opening match of the tournament between 1996 World Cup champions Sri Lanka and New Zealand on February 14.

"We haven't had international cricket, test matches for five years and one dayers for three years so we just have to get the Environment Court to okay it to get cricket back to Christchurch," former New Zealand bowler Richard Hadlee told local television at the New Zealand launch of the event.

"It's important for the city, for the people and for youngsters too who idolise the players. It gives them the chance to see them and those three games will be hugely critical."

Organisers said the pool matches would be split evenly between both countries with seven cities hosting three pool matches each.

"The last World Cup was the most successful ever... We decided that every team should play in both countries and that's what we've gone and done," CWC 2015 chief executive John Harnden said.

Australia's Sydney Cricket Ground, Adelaide Oval and the MCG would host three of the quarter-finals, while Wellington would host the fourth quarter-final.

The 2015 World Cup will feature the 10 full member nations of the International Cricket Council plus Ireland, who have won qualification, and three other nations.

Two of the teams will be determined via a qualifying tournament in New Zealand in January 2014.

Each of the 14 teams had been divided into two pools where they play each other in a round-robin format before the top four from each pool qualify for the quarter-finals.

Pool A

England, Australia (co-host), Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, New Zealand (co-host), Qualifier 2 (TBD), Qualifier 3 (TBD)

Pool B

South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Qualifier 1 (Ireland), Qualifier 4 (TBD)

Fixtures

Saturday 14 February – Sri Lanka v New Zealand , Hagley Oval, Christchurch (d); England v Australia, Melbourne Cricket Ground (d/n)

Sunday 15 February – South Africa v Zimbabwe, Seddon Park, Hamilton (d/n); India v Pakistan, Adelaide Oval (d/n)

Monday 16 February – West Indies v Ireland, Saxton Oval, Nelson (d)

Tuesday 17 February – New Zealand v Qualifier 3, University Oval, Dunedin (d)

Wednesday18 February – Bangladesh v Qualifier 2, Manuka Oval, Canberra (d/n)

Thursday 19 February – Zimbabwe v Qualifier 4, Saxton Oval, Nelson (d)

Friday 20 February – England v New Zealand, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington (d/n)

Saturday 21 February – Pakistan v West Indies, Hagley Oval, Christchurch (d); Australia v Bangladesh, Gabba, Brisbane (d/n)

Sunday 22 February – Sri Lanka v Qualifier 2, University Oval, Dunedin (d); South Afirca v India, MCG, Melbourne (d/n)

Monday 23 February – England v Qualifier 3, Hagley Oval, Christchurch (d)

Tuesday 24 February – West Indies v Zimbabwe, Manuka Oval, Canberra (d/n)

Wednesday 25 February – Ireland v Qualifier 4, Gabba, Brisbane (d/n)

Thursday 26 February – Qualifier 2 v Qualifier 3, University Oval, Dunedin (d); Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, MCG, Melbourne (d/n)

Friday 27 February – South Africa v West Indies, SCG, Sydney (d/n)

Saturday 28 February – India v Qualifier 4, WACA, Perth (d/n); Australia v New Zealand, Eden Park, Auckland (d/n)

Sunday 1 March – England v Sri Lanka, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington (d); Pakistan v Zimbabwe, Gabba, Brisbane (d/n)

Tuesday 3 March – South Africa v Ireland, Manuka Oval, Canberra (d/n)

Wednesday 4 March – Pakistan v Qualifier 4, McLean Park, Napier (d/n); Australia v Qualifier 2, WACA, Perth (d/n)

Thursday 5 March – Bangladesh v Qualifier 3, Saxton Oval, Nelson (d)

Friday 6 March – India v West Indies, WACA, Perth (d/n)

Saturday 7 March –South Africa v Pakistan, Eden Park, Auckland (d/n); Zimbabwe v Ireland, Bellerive Oval, Hobart (d/n)

Sunday 8 March – New Zealand v Qualifier 2, McLean Park, Napier (d); Australia v Sri Lanka, SCG, Sydney (d/n)

Monday 9 March – England v Bangladesh, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (d/n)

Tuesday 10 March – India v Ireland, Seddon Park, Hamilton (d/n)

Wednesday 11 March – Sri Lanka v Qualifier 3, Bellerive Oval, Hobart (d/n)

Thursday 12 March – South Africa v Qualifier 4, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington (d/n)

Friday 13 March – Bangladesh v New Zealand, Seddon Park, Hamilton (d/n); England v Qualifier 2, SCG, Sydney (d/n)

Saturday 14 March – India v Zimbabwe, Eden Park, Auckland (d/n); Australia v Qualifier 3, Bellerive Oval, Hobart (d/n)

Sunday 15 March – West Indies v Qualifier 4, McLean Park, Napier (d); Pakistan v Ireland, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (d/n)

* Wednesday18 March – First quarter-final, SCG, Sydney (d/n)

*Thursday 19 March – Reserve day for first quarter-final; Second quarter-final, MCG (d/n)

*Friday 20 March – Reserve day for second quarter-final; third quarter-final, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (d/n)

*Saturday 21 March – Reserve day for third quarter-final; fourth quarter-final, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington (d/n)

Sunday 22 March – Reserve day for fourth quarter-final

**Tuesday 24 March – First semi-final, Eden Park, Auckland (d/n)

Wednesday 25 March – Reserve day for first semi-final

**Thursday 26 March- Second semi-final, SCG, Sydney (d/n)

Friday 27 March – Reserve day for second semi-final

Sunday 29 March – Final, MCG, Melbourne (d/n)

Monday 30 March – Reserve day for final

*Quarter-final line-up (If Australia and New Zealand qualify, then they’ll play their quarter-finals in their countries. As such, final line-up, venues and dates to be confirmed after group stage matches):

A1 v B4
A2 v B3
A3 v B2
A4 v B1

**Semi-finals – If Australia and New Zealand meet in semi-finals, then the side that finished higher in the group stage points table will stage the match

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