Photo Credit: ICC
Temba Bavuma is looking forward to making history as South Africa gear up for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 which will be staged in India from 5 October to 19 November.
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The 33-year-old captain will be making his Men’s Cricket World Cup debut and is delighted to lead his team on the challenging assignment.
“Representing your country in a Cricket World Cup is a dream come true for any player, but to captain your country on cricket’s biggest stage is an achievement beyond most players’ wildest dreams. This will be my first 50-over Cricket World Cup and I am humbled to be entrusted with the job to lead the group of men we will have come September,” Bavuma commented.
South Africa have yet to win an ICC World Cup, but Bavuma is quietly confident of his team’s ability to peak at the right time.
He said: “The road to success is never linear and we’ve definitely had our ups and downs on the road to qualification, but the important thing is that we have made it and we are in it to win it. I’m looking forward to the showpiece that the tournament is guaranteed to be and hope to lead South Africa to historical achievements.”
Some of their biggest fixtures include Australia in Lucknow, England in Mumbai, and India in Kolkata. The Proteas are no strangers to Indian conditions and the skipper says he looks forward to the magnified festive atmosphere that a World Cup in India will bring.
“This is going to be an exciting World Cup for everyone involved,” he continued. “With India as hosts, we as players know the kind of fanfare, noise, and festive energy we can expect from fans in and out of the stadiums.
“It’s going to be a carnival of cricket like no other and definitely a World Cup we are looking forward to take part and excelling in,” Bavuma concluded.
Ten teams feature in what will be the biggest Cricket World Cup ever, across 10 venues, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and final.
The other nine venues are Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram will join Hyderabad in hosting the warm-up matches.
Eight teams have qualified for the 46-day event through the Cricket World Cup Super League while the final two spots will be taken by the finalists of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier taking place in Zimbabwe.
The tournament retains the round-robin format of last time with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches. There are six day matches in the tournament, which will start at 10h30 local time. All other matches, including the knockouts, will be day-night fixtures starting at 14h00.
The top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals to be played in Mumbai on 15 November and in Kolkata on 16 November. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.
South Africa’s schedule of World Cup matches (all day-night matches unless indicated otherwise):
7 October – vs Qualifier 2, Delhi
13 October – vs Australia, Lucknow
17 October – vs Qualifier 1, Dharmshala
21 October – vs England, Mumbai
24 October – vs Bangladesh, Mumbai
27 October – vs Pakistan, Chennai
1 November – vs New Zealand, Pune
5 November – vs India, Kolkata
10 November – vs Afghanistan, Ahmedabad
