Africa sets the stage as 2027 World Cup fixtures released
THE International Cricket Council has released the fixture list for the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup. Matches will be played at 12 venues across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia between 2 October and 21 November 2027.
The tournament is the first World Cup to be held in Africa since 2003, when South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya were joint hosts. It will feature 14 teams and 57 matches.
Matches by host country
According to the fixture list:
South Africa: 41 matches at eight venues, Cape Town, Paarl, Gqeberha, Durban, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Bloemfontein and KuGompo City.
Zimbabwe: 10 matches four in Harare, two in Bulawayo and four in Victoria Falls.
Namibia: six matches, all in Windhoek.
The first three fixtures, listed as qualifier matches, will be played in Windhoek on 2, 4 and 6 October. South Africa will host both semi-finals, in Cape Town on 17 November and Tshwane on 18 November, as well as the final in Johannesburg on 21 November.
African teams:
South Africa are in Group B with Bangladesh, England, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Qualifier B.
Their group fixtures are:
New Zealand – 9 October, Cape Town
Qualifier B – 13 October, Paarl
England – 16 October, Gqeberha
Bangladesh – 19 October, Durban
Sri Lanka – 22 October, Johannesburg
Zimbabwe are in Group A with Afghanistan, Australia, India, Pakistan and Qualifier A. Their group fixtures are:
Qualifier A – 9 October, Bulawayo
Afghanistan – 11 October, Bulawayo
Australia – 15 October, Harare
Pakistan – 19 October, Harare
India – 24 October, Victoria Falls
South Africa and Zimbabwe qualified automatically as hosts and ICC Full Members. Namibia is not among the automatic qualifiers. The World Cup Qualifier is scheduled for February and March 2027, and the qualifying teams are yet to be determined.
Later stages
After the group stage, the fixture list sets out matches identified by group position. They run from 25 October to 14 November. Three of these are scheduled for Victoria Falls, on 28 October, 30 October and 1 November. The rest are in South Africa.
