India to take on England, Netherlands in warm-up matches ahead of ODI WC

India will be playing defending champions England and the Netherlands in warm-up matches ahead of the Men’s ODI World Cup, the official schedule for which was released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday.

Shortly after India’s three-match ODI series against Australia ends on Sept.27, Rohit Sharma’s team will take part in the two World Cup warm-up matches. India will face England at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sept.30.

After this, they will play against the Netherlands, who qualified for the ten-team competition by entering the World Cup qualifiers final in Zimbabwe, at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Oct.3.

India will open their World Cup campaign against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Oct.8.

The World Cup warm-up matches will be held from Sept.29 to Oct.3 across three venues in India -- Guwahati, Hyderabad, and Thiruvananthapuram. Fans can buy tickets for the warm-up matches, with a start time of 2 pm, from Aug.25, through the Book My Show website, unveiled as the official ticketing partner for the World Cup.

Fans who are Mastercard holders are eligible to buy tickets through an exclusive 24-hour window, meaning tickets for warm-up matches will be on sale for them on Aug.24.

Likewise, the sale of tickets for India games and knockouts will happen a day earlier than usual for Mastercard holders, on Aug.29 and Sept.14 respectively, due to the organisation being named a commercial partner of the ICC.

As at the previous ICC Cricket World Cup events, warm-up fixtures will be 50 overs per side, but will not carry ODI status as teams will be allowed to field all members of their 15-player squad in these matches.

The Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 begins on Oct.5 when defending champions England face New Zealand in a re-match of the 2019 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which will also be the venue for the final to be held on Nov.19.

Meanwhile, as part of the preparation for the upcoming all the countries are busy playing in  bilateral series.

England will play with New Zealand in T20 and ODIs. New Zealand Cricket said on Wednesday that former English internationals Ian Bell and James Foster will help coach the Black Caps on their white-ball tour of England which starts next week.

New Zealand performance manager Simon Insley said the England pair will boost the Kiwis’ backroom staff.

“Ian Bell has had a broad range of experiences as batting coach since retiring,” Insley said. “James Foster has worked with a number of our Black Caps through his extensive coaching history.”

Bell retired from cricket in 2020 after 118 Tests for England. He was part of five Ashes-winning campaigns against Australia.

Bell will be New Zealand’s assistant coach for their four Twenty20 matches in England, then switch to batting coach for the four-game one-day series against England next month and three ODIs in Bangladesh. Bell will be joined in the New Zealand camp by ex-wicketkeeper Foster, who played seven Tests for England.

Foster will be Black Caps assistant coach for the England ODI series and the 50-overs World Cup in India, which starts this October.

Former New Zealand batting great Stephen Fleming will also boost the Black Caps staff for the England ODI series.

Insley said the backroom changes will spread the workload with two Tests also scheduled in Bangladesh following the World Cup.

“We’re delighted with the calibre of coaches we’ve been able to confirm to assist the Black Caps,” he added.

New Zealand Cricket said that head coach Gary Stead will be rested for their two Tests in Bangladesh this December. Batting coach Luke Ronchi will take charge with ex-Pakistan coach Saqlain Mushtaq helping as spin coach.

Agencies