The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule has been unveiled. India will play Bangladesh in the opening match in Dhaka on February 19, while Australia, the world champion will take on Zimbabwe on February 21. The Cricket World Cup 2011 will comprise of 49 matches and will be a 43-day mega show.

India will host 29 matches at 8 venues, while Sri Lanka is hosting 12 matches in 3 venues and Bangladesh will host 8 matches. The final of the tournament will be played in Mumbai and 14 teams will fight for the prestigious cup.

The teams have been divided in two groups.

Group A: Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada, Kenya.

Group B: Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland South Africa, West Indies, Netherlands.

Cricket World Cup 2011 Schedule

India’s cricket chiefs have forced a change in next month’s tri-series in Sri Lanka that will leave Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men playing two gruelling back-to-back matches.

The Indians were originally scheduled to play New Zealand on September 10 and hosts Sri Lanka two days later on September 12 in the preliminary stage of the series in Colombo.

But the Indian board had the New Zealand game pushed back by a day to September 11 so that top stars are available for the entire duration of a domestic one-day tournament ending in Bangalore on September 8.

“The change has been made at the request of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),” Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said.

The Indian team will fly into Colombo on September 9, a day after the tri-series opens at the Premadasa stadium with a match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

India’s matches against the Black Caps on September 11 and Sri Lanka the next day will be followed by the final on September 14.

Dhoni’s team, currently enjoying a rare month-long break, will use the tri-series to warm up for the Champions Trophy in South Africa from September 22-October 5.

Pools:

Pool A: Australia, India, Pakistan, West Indies.

Pool B: South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England.

Fixtures:

Sept 22: South Africa v Sri Lanka (D/N) – Centurion

Sept 23: Pakistan v West Indies (D/N) – The Wanderers

Sept 24: South Africa v New Zealand – Centurion

Sept 25: Sri Lanka v England (D/N) – The Wanderers

Sept 26: West Indies v Australia – The Wanderers; India v Pakistan – Centurion

Sept 27: New Zealand  v Sri Lanka – The Wanderers; South Africa v England (D/N) – Centurion

Sept 28: Australia v India (D/N) – Centurion

Sept 29: England v New Zealand (D/N) – The Wanderers

Sept 30: India v West Indies (D/N) – The Wanderers;  Australia v Pakistan – Centurion

Semi-finals:

Oct 2: A1 v B2 (D/N) – Centurion

Oct 3: B1 v A2 (D/N) – The Wanderers.

Final: Oct 5:

Note: (D/N) denotes day/night match.

Cricket India

Holders Australia begins the defence of its ICC Champions Trophy crown against the West Indies in a repeat of the 2006 final.

That match will take place as a day game at The Wanderers, Johannesburg, on Saturday, September 26 and is part of a blockbuster day of action as, later on, India and Pakistan will go head-to-head in a day-night encounter at Centurion Park.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: “We are delighted to announce the fixtures and prize-money for this year’s ICC Champions Trophy.

“This short, sharp event, with its new format involving only the top eight sides in the world in nation-versus-nation action, should be a fantastic spectacle to follow on from the others that have already taken place in the ICC’s centenary year.

“The format, with two pools of four leading to the semi-finals and final, means that every match counts and each side has to hit the ground running.

“We are delighted to confirm a significant increase in the prize pool for the event which should provide the players with a major additional incentive to do well, on top of collecting what is, alongside the ICC Cricket World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20 title, one of international cricket’s crown jewels.

“The significant increase in prize-money is just the first of a series of innovations that we will be announcing as it draws nearer that mark out the ICC Champions Trophy as a high-value tournament for players, spectators and our members.

“We are extremely grateful to South Africa for stepping in to host the event after it was postponed last year because of security concerns in the original host country, Pakistan, and we are also grateful to our members for finding a slot for it in what is a busy year for the global game.

“Thanks to our commercial and broadcast agreements the ICC Champions Trophy generates significant funds for those members which allow them to grow the game in their own constituencies, and that gives it additional value beyond the prestige of the title itself.

“And as the one global multi-team 50-over event between ICC Cricket World Cups, it will provide the world with an invaluable barometer of the form of these top sides in this version of the game ahead of the 2011 tournament in the Asian sub-continent.

“The new format is simple and means we have eight teams, 15 matches and one prize – it should be a great advertisement for the 50-over format of our great sport and I look forward to a prestigious and outstanding event.”

Details of the how the prize-money will be divided up and information on media accreditation will be announced in due course.

The ICC Champions Trophy began life as the ICC Knock-Out in 1998 and was played every two years through the 2006, changing its name for the 2002 edition.

The sides to have won the event are South Africa (in Bangladesh, 1998), New Zealand (Kenya, 2000), India and Sri Lanka (joint winners after the final was washed out in Sri Lanka, 2002), the West Indies (England, 2004) and Australia (India, 2006).

Pools:

Pool A: Australia, India, Pakistan, West Indies.

Pool B: South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England.

Fixtures:

Sept 22: South Africa v Sri Lanka (D/N) – Centurion

Sept 23: Pakistan v West Indies (D/N) – The Wanderers

Sept 24: South Africa v New Zealand – Centurion

Sept 25: Sri Lanka v England (D/N) – The Wanderers

Sept 26: West Indies v Australia – The Wanderers; India v Pakistan – Centurion

Sept 27: New Zealand  v Sri Lanka – The Wanderers; South Africa v England (D/N) – Centurion

Sept 28: Australia v India (D/N) – Centurion

Sept 29: England v New Zealand (D/N) – The Wanderers

Sept 30: India v West Indies (D/N) – The Wanderers;  Australia v Pakistan – Centurion

Semi-finals:

Oct 2: A1 v B2 (D/N) – Centurion

Oct 3: B1 v A2 (D/N) – The Wanderers.

Final: Oct 5:

Note: (D/N) denotes day/night match.

Pakistan will play Australia in five one-day matches at neutral venues in the Gulf, the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has said. The first two ODIs will be played in Dubai, while the remaining three will be played in Abu Dhabi.

“We have decided to play the five-match one-day series against Australia in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from April 24 to May 7,” said Butt. “The teams will then return to Dubai for the Twenty20 international.”

Australia had cancelled their tour of Pakistan in the wake of the heightened violence in March 2008, and were expected to visit the country separately for the ODI and Test series this year. Venues in England, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai had been considered as alternatives in a discussion with Cricket Australia officials on the sidelines of an ICC executive board meeting late last month.

The PCB had turned down the offer to stage the matches at a neutral venue when CA initially expressed their reluctance to tour last year. Butt said there was a possibility of hosting the Test series against Australia at neutral venues as well. “If Australia do not play the Tests in Pakistan there is a possibility of playing the Test series in England,” he said.

Australia have not played in Pakistan since 1998. In 2002, due to security concerns, a three Test series between the two sides in Pakistan was shifted to Colombo and Sharjah.

The central town of Dambulla will host just one match instead of two during India’s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, the two cricket boards said in a statement on Thursday.

Dambulla, which was due to hold the first two matches of the five-match ODI series, will now host only the opening game on January 28.

The remaining four matches and a Twenty20 international will be played in Colombo during the brief tour, which ends on February 10.

The first and fifth ODI will be day games, while the other matches will be played under lights.

The series was finalised to partly fill the gap created by India’s cancelled tour of Pakistan in January-February following the Mumbai attacks in November.

India last toured Sri Lanka in July-August of 2008, losing the Tests 2-1 before winning the ODI series 3-2.

Revised schedule:

Jan 28: First ODI, Dambulla

Jan 31: Second ODI, Premadasa stadium, Colombo (Day/Night)

Feb 3: Third ODI, Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (Day/Night)

Feb 5: Fourth ODI, Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (Day/Night)

Feb 8: Fifth ODI, Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo

Feb 10: Twenty20 international, Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (Day/Night)

India are scheduled to arrive in Colombo on January 26, playing five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international, before Sri Lanka return to Pakistan for the Test leg of their tour. Sri Lanka Cricket has announced the itinerary for the short home series against India, of which five games will be day-night matches.

India begin their tour on January 28 with the first of two ODIs in Dambulla – the second will be held on January 30 – before the series returns to Colombo. The third and fourth ODIs will be at the Premadasa Stadium on February 2 and 5, followed by the final game at the SSC on February 8. India wrap up their tour with a Twenty20 international at the Premadasa on February 10, leaving them just over a week to prepare for their departure to New Zealand for a hectic series.

Apart from the fifth ODI, all games will be played under lights.

India toured Sri Lanka in July-August of 2008, losing the Tests 2-1 and winning the ODIs 3-2.