Cricket World Cup 2015 Schedule: Dates, Live Stream Info for Upcoming Fixtures
The true contenders for the 2015 Cricket World Cup have started to separate themselves from the pack after the first week of competition.
Co-hosts New Zealand have taken a commanding lead at the top of Group A while South Africa and India look like the teams to beat in Group B.
The Proteas and Men in Blue will go head-to-head in Melbourne on Sunday in one of the most-anticipated matches of the entire tournament. The defending champions looked fantastic in their opener against eternal rivals Pakistan, but South Africa's form appeared just as impeccable in their win over Zimbabwe.
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Elsewhere, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan face off in a must-win match after both teams lost their Group A opener, England will be battling for their tournament lives against winless Scotland, and West Indies will want to build on their strong showing against Pakistan when they play Zimbabwe.
The schedule for the upcoming fixtures is:
- Feb. 22, Pool A: Sri Lanka vs. Afghanistan, Dunedin (10 p.m. GMT, Feb. 21)
- Feb. 22, Pool B: South Africa vs. India, Melbourne (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
- Feb. 23, Pool A: England vs. Scotland, Christchurch (10 p.m. GMT, Feb. 22)
- Feb. 24, Pool B: West Indies vs. Zimbabwe, Canberra (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
TV info and live stream: The official broadcasters of the 2015 Cricket World Cup are Sky Sports (UK) and ESPN (U.S.). Mobile coverage is available via the Sky Go app and Watch ESPN.
All statistics used are courtesy of ESPN Cricinfo, unless stated otherwise.
The Lions' 98-run loss against New Zealand in the opening match of the tournament doesn't look as damning now as it did a week ago. The Black Caps dominated Sri Lanka in that match but have since recorded an easy win over Scotland and embarrassed England, establishing themselves as the early favourites for the title.
Sri Lanka hasn't played since, preparing for an Afghanistan side that took a beating against Bangladesh, losing by 105 runs. And while on paper the 1996 champions shouldn't have any problems winning their first match of the tournament, captain Angelo Mathews isn't taking his next opponent lightly, via AFP (for Yahoo! News):
"We are playing the full team. Every game is important for us, whether you play Afghanistan or Australia, every game is important, so we'll take every single game very seriously, and we'll play the best XI possible on that day.
They're a very dangerous team. You can't take them lightly because they can upset a team, and they've got nothing to lose.
We can't just run through them. We've got to fight really hard from ball one to ball 300 probably, and fight it out and just take it as a Test-playing nation.
"
Sri Lanka's batting isn't the team's biggest strength, and with swing bowler Lasith Malinga struggling tremendously against the Black Caps, the lopsided loss wasn't really a surprise.
Malinga ended the match with no wickets and 84 runs conceded, dreadful numbers by his standards, and he'll be hoping to bounce back against the inexperienced Afghanistan side.
The Proteas had no issues putting runs up on the board against Zimbabwe, riding the duo of David Miller and JP Duminy to 339 not out, but in India, they'll be facing a whole different beast.
The Men in Blue are looking for their first-ever World Cup win over South Africa, as shared by STAR Sports, and this year's side looks like it has a great chance of finally overcoming those demons:
Virat Kohli is in sensational form, scoring an incredible 107 runs from 168 balls against Pakistan, and surrounded by a number of talented batsmen, his battle against Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and the rest of the Proteas' bowlers should be must-see television.
The rivalry between Scotland and England may not be as fierce in cricket as it is in other sports, but thanks to the recent struggles of the English side, the Scots will fancy their chances of pulling off the upset win over their troubled neighbours.
As shared by ESPN Cricinfo's Freddie Wilde, the team actually managed to score more runs against the Black Caps, even if they didn't face Tim Southee at the top of his game:
For England, this is more than just a must-win match. After a devastating loss against Australia and an even worse showing against New Zealand, the knockout stages of the 2015 World Cup seem as far away as ever.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are their main rivals for the final two tickets to the next round, and their net run rate (both positive) currently blows England number of -3.952 out of the water.
Coach Peter Moores knows the team needs to step it up, and fast:
The West Indies' vaunted collection of bowlers finally came through against Afghanistan, surrendering just 160 runs in 39 overs. Jerome Taylor, Jason Holder and Andre Russell are backed by one of the most explosive but inconsistent groups of batsmen in the world, and with performances like these, they could go deep in the tournament.
Windies took advantage of some massive errors in fielding from Afghanistan, however, and while Zimbabwe aren't exactly a team to be feared, the standard of play has to improve tremendously before the squad faces off against the likes of India and South Africa.
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