ICC announce 2027 Men's World Cup schedule, England's opener set against Bangladesh

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has published the fixture schedule, groups and venue details for the Men's ODI World Cup 2027 that is set to take place in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The tournament is slated to commence on October 2nd with a three-team Super Series at Windhoek, Namibia, on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who spent two decades in South Africa as a lawyer.

The group stages unfurl on October 7th at Newlands, Cape Town, with a repeat of the 2023 final as Australia lock horns with bitter rivals India.

Harry Brook's England will begin their World Cup with a fixture against Bangladesh the next day at Windhoek.

Meanwhile, co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe will entertain their home fans for the first time in the competition on the 9th and 11th, respectively. The two sides received automatic qualification being the host nations.

England in Group B

Group A: India, Australia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Qualifier A.

Group B: New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, Bangladesh, Qualifier B.

Unlike the previous couple of World Cups where 10 teams would slug it out and the top four would progress to a semi-final, the expanded format this year sees 2019 champions England pitted in Group B.

1996 champions Sri Lanka are the only other side who have tasted World Cup success in the group from the teams in there. England face them in their second encounter at the same venue, before a high-voltage clash versus South Africa in Port Elizabeth.

They would then travel to Harare in Zimbabwe to face-off against Group B's wildcard entrant, before closing off their round robin stage versus New Zealand, again, in Port Elizabeth.

The first semi-final be take place on November 17th in Cape Town, and the second the following day in Tshwane. Johannesburg holds the prestige to host the final. Each of the three knockout matches will have a reserve day.

Super 7 and format explained

But before the semis and the grand finale, the top seven teams will grapple in a newly-developed 'Super 7' phase.

No points will be carried over from the group stages, from where the top three sides from each group, along with the top-seeded fourth place finisher will advance.

Teams have been pre-seeded to ensure clarity for fans, and the top four sides from the newly-introduced format will enter the semi-final. Each team will play their opponent once.

If any pre-seeded team miss out, the team taking their place will be seeded in that position. At present, the seedings are as follows: A1: India, A2: Australia, A3: Pakistan, AB4: England, B1: New Zealand, B2: South Africa, B3: Sri Lanka.

In total, the World Cup will be graced by 12 venues - eight in South Africa, three in Zimbabwe and one in Namibia.