While every cricket fan was filled with joy to watch the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023, cricketers too expressed their feelings towards the tournament.
Tom Latham on Playing World Cup 2023
As per the ICC Men’s Cricket ODI World Cup 2023 schedule, England and New Zealand will play the first match of the tournament on October 5 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. A total of 48 matches will be played between 10 participating teams across 10 venues in different cities across India.
It will be the first time the competition is held entirely in India; three previous editions were partially hosted there – 1987, 1996, and 2011. As of the previous edition, the 2023 edition will also follow the same format where each participating team will play the other nine teams once in the group stage where a total of 45 group matches will be played.
The top 4 teams of the ICC ODI World Cup points table will enter the knockout stage to play semifinal 1 and semifinal 2.
New Zealand standing captain Tom Latham expressed his feelings towards the tournament and said we’re going to see some fantastic cricket over the next sort of six to eight weeks.
“Playing in a World Cup in these sort of conditions over in India is pretty special and I’m sure we’re going to see some fantastic cricket over the next sort of six to eight weeks.
So, fingers crossed there’s plenty of one-day cricket coming up in the future, but from our point of view, all we can do is try to entertain from a cricket point of view. If we can do that and put a good showcase on for the people around the world, then hopefully it’s here to stay”.
The first game of the event will be played between England and New Zealand at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Ahead of the tournament’s start, the BCCI secretary announced that they will provide free drinking water for spectators at stadiums across India.
Three players across both teams(England and New Zealand) including Kane Williamson are set to miss the opening match of the grand event owing to various injuries.
