Cricket World Cup 2015: Dates, Times, Live Stream, TV Info, Schedule and Preview
The 2015 Cricket World Cup gets underway in Australia and New Zealand on Saturday ahead of six weeks of the highest quality ODI cricket on offer.
The two host nations look good to go deep into their home tournament, while South Africa are also being hotly tipped to challenge for one-day cricket's ultimate prize.
Defending champions India are unlikely to repeat their triumph of 2011 having struggled recently for consistent form, while an improving England are still some way short of the world's best.
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Read on for full details of the tournament Down Under and a preview to whet the appetite ahead of the first ball being bowled.
Dates: Feb. 14 to March 29
TV Info: All matches live in the UK on Sky Sports, highlights available on ITV
Live Stream: Streaming available via Sky Go
| Date | Start Time (GMT) | Fixture | Venue |
| Feb. 14 | 10 p.m. (day before) | Sri Lanka v New Zealand | Christchurch |
| Feb. 14 | 3:30 a.m. | England v Australia | Melbourne |
| Feb. 15 | 1 a.m. | South Africa v Zimbabwe | Hamilton |
| Feb. 15 | 3:30 a.m. | India v Pakistan | Adelaide |
| Feb. 16 | 10 p.m. (day before) | West Indies v Ireland | Nelson |
| Feb. 17 | 10 p.m. (day before) | New Zealand v Scotland | Dunedin |
| Feb. 18 | 3:30 a.m. | Bangladesh v Afghanistan | Canberra |
| Feb. 19 | 10 p.m. (day before) | Zimbabwe v UAE | Nelson |
| Feb. 20 | 1 a.m. | England v New Zealand | Wellington |
| Feb. 21 | 10 p.m. (day before) | Pakistan v West Indies | Christchurch |
| Feb. 21 | 3:30 a.m. | Australia v Bangladesh | Brisbane |
| Feb. 22 | 10 p.m. (day before) | Sri Lanka v Afghanistan | Dunedin |
| Feb. 22 | 3:30 a.m. | South Africa v India | Melbourne |
| Feb. 23 | 10 p.m. (day before) | England v Scotland | Christchurch |
| Feb. 24 | 3:30 a.m. | West Indies v Zimbabwe | Canberra |
| Feb. 25 | 3:30 a.m. | Ireland v UAE | Brisbane |
| Feb. 26 | 10 p.m. (day before) | Afghanistan v Scotlan | Dunedin |
| Feb. 26 | 3:30 a.m. | Sri Lanka v Bangladesh | Melbourne |
| Feb. 27 | 3:30 a.m. | South Africa v West Indies | Sydney |
| Feb. 28 | 1 a.m. | Australia v New Zealand | Auckland |
| Feb. 28 | 6:30 a.m. | India v UAE | Perth |
| March 1 | 10 p.m. (day before) | England v Sri Lanka | Wellington |
| March 1 | 3:30 a.m. | Pakistan v Zimbabwe | Brisbane |
| March 3 | 3:30 a.m. | South Africa v Ireland | Canberra |
| March 4 | 1 a.m. | Pakistan v UAE | Napier |
| March 4 | 6:30 a.m. | Australia v Afghanistan | Perth |
| March 5 | 10 p.m. (day before) | Bangladesh v Scotland | Nelson |
| March 6 | 6:30 a.m. | India v West Indies | Perth |
| March 7 | 1 a.m. | South Africa v Pakistan | Auckland |
| March 7 | 3:30 a.m. | Zimbabwe v Ireland | Hobart |
| March 8 | 10 p.m. (day before) | New Zealand v Afghanistan | Napier |
| March 8 | 3:30 a.m. | Australia v Sri Lanka | Sydney |
| March 9 | 3:30 a.m. | England v Bangladesh | Adelaide |
| March 10 | 1 a.m. | India v Ireland | Hamilton |
| March 11 | 3:30 a.m. | Sri Lanka v Scotland | Hobart |
| March 12 | 1 a.m. | South Africa v UAE | Wellington |
| March 13 | 1 a.m. | Bangladesh v New Zealand | Hamilton |
| March 13 | 3:30 a.m. | England v Afghanistan | Sydney |
| March 14 | 1 a.m. | India v Zimbabwe | Auckland |
| March 14 | 3:30 a.m. | Australia v Scotland | Hobart |
| March 15 | 10 p.m. (day before) | West Indies v UAE | Napier |
| March 15 | 3:30 a.m. | Pakistan v Ireland | Adelaide |
| March 18 | 3:30 a.m. | Quarter-final 1 | Sydney |
| March 19 | 3:30 a.m. | Quarter-final 2 | Melbourne |
| March 20 | 3:30 a.m. | Quarter-final 3 | Adelaide |
| March 21 | 1 a.m. | Quarter-final 4 | Wellington |
| March 24 | 1 a.m. | Semi-final 1 | Auckland |
| March 25 | 3:30 a.m. | Semi-final 2 | Sydney |
| March 29 | 4:30 a.m. BST | Final | Melbourne |
Preview
Australia are the top-ranked ODI side in the world, per the ICC, but only a World Cup win will truly confirm their status as the best team on the planet.
They have historic pedigree at World Cups having won the competition on four of the previous 10 occasions it has been staged, their last triumph coming back in 2007 when they beat Sri Lanka in the final.
Michael Clarke has made a return from injury in time for the tournament, with the skipper scoring a fine 66 in a warm-up game against the UAE on Wednesday, per The Cricketer:
The likes of David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell make up one of the world's finest ODI batting lineups, while Mitchell Johnson is arguably the most devastating quick bowler in international cricket.
With home advantage in their favour also, Darren Lehmann's side are set to go deep at the 2015 World Cup with cricket writer Freddie Wilde suggesting they will go all the way:
As Wilde indicates, the Black Caps should also go far in the tournament, Kane Williamson the form man in among other world-class batsmen—including Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor.
However, the Kiwis need to throw off their World Cup hoodoo which has seen them reach six semi-finals in 10 World Cup appearances but never reach a final.
This year's team is brilliantly led by McCullum and, in Trent Boult, they also have a bowler who can cause real damage, as he did in Wednesday's warm-up match against South Africa, per the Black Caps:
If it comes down to a final between the hosts, Australia will be the likely favourites as it is to be held in Melbourne, but the Kiwis certainly have the talent to go all the way.
Similarly, another historically under-performing World Cup side, South Africa, should be aiming for the top prize Down Under.
The Proteas were crushed by New Zealand in their final warm-up match, but as Wisden India's Dileep Premachandran notes, missing players—most notably Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn—make that something of a false result:
Steyn is one of the world's best fast bowlers and will thrive in the conditions, while Amla and AB de Villers are two of the top batsmen in the tournament.
Furthermore, they have terrific depth in both departments with experienced players like JP Duminy and young stars—opening batsman and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock could make a telling contribution.
Equally, in Imran Tahir they have a truly effective spinner, per East Coast Radio's Andre Bloem; a huge asset in ODI cricket:
South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are undoubtedly the favourites with England and West Indies much too inconsistent and the subcontinent heavyweights—India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka—likely to be hamstrung by the conditions.
However, it should still be a highly competitive tournament, and it all gets under way when Sri Lanka go up against New Zealand on Saturday.
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