It’s finally time to see Lion King up close when you reserve a ticket to see the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in Africa next year. The governing body finally revealed last night that one of the toughest and most sought after cricket tournaments is returning to Africa after 24 years. Held across South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, the tournament will also see a new format.
In a spectacular announcement ceremony last night, twelve venues across the three host states were unveiled. While South Africa is has the largest hosting share with eight venues, Zimbabwe pitches in with three venues and Namibia makes its debut as a host with one venue. In South Africa, matches will be held in Wanderers Stadium (Johannesburg), Centurion (Tshwane), Newlands Cricket Ground (Cape Town), Kingsmead Cricket Ground (Durban), St George’s Park (Gqeberha), Mangaung Oval (Bloemfontein), Boland Park (Paarl) and Buffalo Park (KuGompo City, formerly known as East London). Zimbabwe who have remained co-hosts along with South Africa back in 2003 will host the matches across Harare Sports Club (Harare), Queens Sports Club (Bulawayo) and Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium (Victoria Falls); while Namibia pitches in with Namibia Cricket Ground (Windhoek).
The three countries come together in the spirit of Ubuntu, an age-old African philosophy which translates to ‘I am, because we are’. It means that every individual is defined by shared compassion, kindness and connect with one another. The host countries also come together under the log line ‘Three Nations, One Heartbeat’ displaying diversity, community spirit and optimism. Moreover, by hosting a globally significant sports event, the organisers have also enlarged the circle by including 29 officially recognised languages and cultures. The graphic of the event represents an African Fire Bowl enclosed within popular African colours which are subtle hints to their tradition. Colours like the Zimbabwe Chilli, Fynbos pop, and Namib Dune Two Oceans etc are widely featured on this graphic.
The tournament format
The format will have Super Series matches where three teams in the ranks 12-14 will play in the round-robin format. Whichever teams win will qualify for the next level. There will be a 30-match round with 12 teams. The top three teams from each group and the second best teams will together qualify for the Super 7 stage. This stage will have 21 round-robin matches where the top four teams qualify for the semi-finals and then the best two have a face-off in the finals. This three-stage format is said to host 57 matches in total offering teams a better opportunity to display their talent and healthy competitiveness. Cricket fans can visit the official website to know more about the matches and plan their visit accordingly.
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