Fourteen teams are participating in the 11th Cricket World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand, which began on 14 February and will continue until 29 March. The teams will play a total of 49 matches in 14 different cities. Australian playing fields will host 26 matches in seven cities: Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The other 23 matches will be played on New Zealand's play fields in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington. The final match will be played on the 100,000 capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia. The Cricket World Cup is the number one tournament worldwide in the men's game that includes a one-day championship organised by the International Cricket Council. Preliminary rounds are played in order for players to qualify for the finals which are held every four years. According to the International Cricket Council, the tournament is the 4th biggest global event and the 4th biggest global sport event in terms of fans. The first Cricket World Cup was held in England in 1975 when West Indies defeated Australia in the finals and won the cup. Ten teams play in the world cup finals within test plays, in addition to the other countries that have teams that qualify for the cup finals. Australia is the most successful team among the five teams that have won the championship. The team won four titles, while West Indies and India won the championship twice. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have each won one championship. The last Cricket World Cup was held in 2011 jointly by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Fourteen countries participated in this championship, with India winning the title when it defeated Sri Lanka after achieving six final wickets, to be the first team in the world winning the world cup finals on its own turf. The current championship is participated by England, South Africa, India, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Afghanistan, Scotland and the UAE. The teams are distributed into two groups; the first includes Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Scotland, Sri Lanka and England, while the second group is for the teams of South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and the UAE. The Afghani team joins the cup for the first time in the game's history; the team qualified by acquiring 2nd place in World Cricket Cup Championship. Ireland won the 1st place, so both teams qualified for the cup. The UAE's team participates in the Cricket World Cup for the second time, after joining the championship in Pakistan and India in 1996. The team's participation at the time, 19 years before the current championship, was weak, so they lost during the 1st round and acquired the place before last in their group. Sri Lanka' team won the title in this championship. 2015 Cricket World Cup schedule and time table FEB. Sat 14 Match 2, Pool A – Australia vs England 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Thu 26 Match 17, Pool A – Afghanistan vs Scotland 22:00 GMT, 10:00 local University Oval, Dunedin
Fri 27 Match 19, Pool B – South Africa vs West Indies 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Sat 28 Match 20, Pool A – New Zealand vs Australia 01:00 GMT, 14:00 local Eden Park, Auckland
Sat 28 Match 21, Pool B – India vs United Arab Emirates 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth MAR. Sun 01 Match 22, Pool A – England vs Sri Lanka 01:00 GMT, 14:00 local Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Sun 01 Match 23, Pool B – Pakistan vs Zimbabwe 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane
Tue 03 Match 24, Pool B – South Africa vs Ireland 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local Manuka Oval, Canberra Wed 04 Match 25, Pool B – Pakistan vs United Arab Emirates 01:00 GMT, 14:00 local McLean Park, Napier Wed 04 Match 26, Pool A – Australia vs Afghanistan 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth Thu 05 Match 27, Pool A – Bangladesh vs Scotland 22:00 GMT, 10:00 local Saxton Oval, Nelson Fri 06 Match 28, Pool B – India vs West Indies 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth Sat 07 Match 29, Pool B – South Africa vs Pakistan 01:00 GMT, 14:00 local Eden Park, Auckland Sat 07 Match 30, Pool B – Zimbabwe vs Ireland 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local Bellerive Oval, Hobart Sun 08 Match 32, Pool A – Australia vs Sri Lanka 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Sun 08 Match 31, Pool A – New Zealand vs Afghanistan 23:00 GMT, 10:00 local McLean Park, Napier Mon 09 Match 33, Pool A – England vs Bangladesh 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Tue 10 Match 34, Pool B – India vs Ireland 01:30 GMT, 14:00 local Seddon Park, Hamilton Wed 11 Match 35, Pool A – Sri Lanka vs Scotland 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local Bellerive Oval, Hobart Thu 12 Match 36, Pool B – South Africa vs United Arab Emirates 01:00 GMT, 14:00 local Wellington Regional Stadium Fri 13 Match 37, Pool A – New Zealand vs Bangladesh 01:00 GMT, 14:00 local Seddon Park, Hamilton Fri 13 Match 38, Pool A – England vs Afghanistan 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Sat 14 Match 39, Pool B – India vs Zimbabwe 01:00 GMT, 14:00 local Eden Park, Auckland Sat 14 Match 40, Pool A – Australia vs Scotland 03:20 GMT, 14:00 local Bellerive Oval, Hobart Sun 15 Match 42, Pool B – Pakistan vs Ireland 03:20 GMT Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Sun 15 Match 41, Pool B – West Indies vs United Arab Emirates 23:00 GMT, 14:00 local McLean Park, Napier Wed 18 Quarter Final 1 – TBD (A1) vs TBD (B4) 03:20 GMT Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Thu 19 Quarter Final 2 – TBD (A2) vs TBD (B3) 03:20 GMT Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Fri 20 Quarter Final 3 – TBD (A3) vs TBD (B2) 03:20 GMT Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Sat 21 Quarter Final 4 – TBD (A4) vs TBD (B1) 01:00 GMT Wellington Regional Stadium Tue 24 Semi Final 1 – TBD vs TBD 02:00 GMT Eden Park, Auckland Thu 26 Semi Final 2 – TBD vs TBD 03:20 GMT Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Sun 29 Final – TBD vs TBD 03:20 GMT Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
