The ICC has released the schedule of the ICC Champions Trophy that is to commence in England, exactly a year from now. Sri Lanka will face South Africa in their opening game on the 3rd of June while hosts England will kick off proceedings with a game against Bangladesh on the 1st at The Oval.
5th seed Sri Lanka have been grouped alongside 2nd seed India, 3rd seed South Africa and 8th seed Pakistan.
Among the top clashes in the Group stage are the games between India and Pakistan and 2015 World Cup finalists and Trans-Tasman rivals Australia and New Zealand.
The tournament which will only feature the top 8 teams in the world, will have a total of 15 matches – including three knock-out games and will be played over two and a half weeks.
The top two sides from each group will progress to the semi-finals, which will be played at Cardiff and Edgbaston on the 14th and 15th June respectively, with The Oval hosting the final.
“The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 is not just an ODI competition; it carries a great deal of value since it is being played just three months before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 qualification cut-off date. As such, every point earned here could be crucial.” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said at an event held to announce the tournament schedule.
“The announcement of the ICC Champions Trophy schedule 12 months before the start of the event will provide sufficient time to all eight sides to plan for the tournament and arrive in England and Wales fully prepared and geared up so that they can collect enough points to directly qualify for the 2019 extravaganza.”
The top eight sides on the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings as at 30 September 2015 have qualified for this tournament, with world champion Australia seeded number-one and the West Indies narrowly missing out on qualification.
Previous winners
1998* – South Africa
2000* – New Zealand
2002 – Sri Lanka and India
2004 – West Indies
2006 – Australia
2009 – Australia
2013 – India
*The ICC Champions Trophy in 1998 and 2000 was known as the ICC Knock-Out
Groups
| Group A | Group B |
| Australia | India |
| New Zealand | South Africa |
| England | Sri Lanka |
| Bangladesh | Pakistan |
Event schedule:
Thurs, 1 June – England v Bangladesh, The Oval (d)
Fri, 2 June – Australia v New Zealand, Edgbaston (d)
Sat, 3 June – Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval (d)
Sun, 4 June – India v Pakistan, Edgbaston (d)
Mon, 5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, The Oval (d/n)
Tues, 6 June – England v New Zealand, Cardiff (d)
Wed, 7 June – Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston (d/n)
Thurs, 8 June – India v Sri Lanka, The Oval (d)
Fri, 9 June – New Zealand v Bangladesh, Cardiff (d)
Sat, 10 June – England v Australia, Edgbaston (d)
Sun, 11 June – India v South Africa, The Oval (d)
Mon, 12 June – Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff (d)
Wed, 14 June – First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff (d)
Thurs, 15 June – Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston (d)
Sun, 18 June – Final, The Oval (d)
*Content Courtesy of ICC
