Cricket World Cup 2027 Schedule Sets 57 Matches Across 12 Venues

The Cricket World Cup 2027 schedule is out. The ICC published the full fixture list on 1 October 2026 and opened a public ticket ballot the same day. Fourteen teams will play 57 matches at 12 grounds in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Play starts on 2 October 2027. The final is on 21 November 2027 in Johannesburg, with 22 November held as a reserve day.

India begin against Australia at Newlands in Cape Town on 7 October. It is a repeat of the 2023 final. They meet Pakistan three days later at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. Those two fixtures anchor the opening week. Qualifying for the last group place is settled first, in Windhoek.

Twelve grounds across three countries

South Africa carries the bulk of the tournament. Zimbabwe and Namibia take the rest. The ICC listed the host venues as follows.

• South Africa, eight grounds: Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha, Johannesburg, KuGompo City, Paarl and Tshwane.
• Zimbabwe, three grounds: Bulawayo, Harare and Victoria Falls.
• Namibia, one ground: Windhoek.

The last World Cup staged on the continent was in 2003, when South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya shared it. Namibia was not a host then. Windhoek now opens the tournament.

India open against Australia in Cape Town

Group A holds India, Australia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and a qualifier. Group B holds New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, Bangladesh and the second qualifier. Each group plays a single round robin. That is 15 matches a group.

Three teams from each group go through. The best fourth-placed side joins them. That makes seven for the next stage.

ANI reported the rest of India's group programme as Afghanistan in Tshwane on 14 October, Qualifier A in Bloemfontein on 17 October and Zimbabwe in Victoria Falls on 24 October. That last fixture takes India out of South Africa. Virat Kohli has already said the 2027 tournament will be his last World Cup for India.

Four stages and a play-in round

The Super Series comes first. Three of the lowest seeded teams play three matches in Windhoek from 2 October 2027, and the winner takes the last group place. The group stage follows with 30 matches. The Super 7 is a single round robin of 21 matches, and the top four from it reach the semi-finals on 17 and 18 November. ANI reported the semi-finals will be held in Cape Town and Tshwane.

A ballot decides who gets tickets

Registration for the ballot is free and opened alongside the schedule, the ICC said. Entrants may apply once per person per match, and successful applicants are drawn at random rather than served in the order they apply. The ballot closes at 23:59 South African time on 21 November 2026, a full year before the final. The ICC put the cheapest tickets at about 9.50 US dollars.

ICC Chairman Jay Shah said: "The announcement of the schedule and opening of the ticket ballot are major milestones on the road to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027." Trevor Manuel, who chairs the local organising committee board, said: "South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia are ready to welcome the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and supporters from around the world back to our continent."

Windhoek, Harare and Victoria Falls on the list

Namibia has one venue and it stages the first cricket of the tournament. Zimbabwe has three, including Victoria Falls. Boards, venue operators and local organisers have about seven weeks until the ballot closes. The first ball is roughly 12 months away.

The fixture list also fixes the travel map. The tournament runs over seven weeks. Teams in Group A move between Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Bloemfontein and Victoria Falls. Group B sides stay largely inside South Africa.

Fourteen teams are in the tournament. Only 12 reach the group stage. The three lowest seeded sides meet in the Super Series and one of them goes through. The ICC has listed the two open group slots as Qualifier A and Qualifier B. Seven weeks is long by recent standards. The 2023 edition in India ran 48 matches. This one adds nine more and spreads them over three countries.