Cricket World Cup 2015 Schedule: Updated Fixtures for Remainder of Tournament

The Cricket World Cup has churned out some enthralling clashes during the opening stages and as the stakes get increasingly higher, the engrossing action shows no signs of abating.

We’ve seen the main contenders for the title flex their muscles with some brutal displays. Players relish the chance to shine on the world stage and some determined performances from the supposed lesser nations help to set the competition alight.

But the upcoming fixtures feature a host of sides who will be doing their absolute utmost to inject some momentum into their respective campaigns as England, Scotland, United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan go in search of an elusive maiden triumph.

Here’s a closer look at the schedule for the remainder of the tournament in full and a rundown of some fixtures that will have some crucial short-term implications.

Pool Matches

• Feb. 23, Pool A: England v Scotland, Christchurch (10 p.m. GMT, Feb. 22)
• Feb. 24, Pool B: West Indies v Zimbabwe, Canberra (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• Feb. 25, Pool B: Ireland v UAE, Brisbane (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• Feb. 26, Pool A: Afghanistan v Scotland, Dunedin (10 p.m. GMT, Feb. 25)
• Feb. 26, Pool A: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Melbourne (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• Feb. 27, Pool B: South Africa v West Indies, Sydney (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• Feb. 28, Pool B: India v UAE, Perth (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
• Feb. 28, Pool A: Australia v New Zealand, Auckland (d/n) (6:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 1, Pool A: England v Sri Lanka, Wellington (Westpac Stadium) (10 p.m. GMT, Feb. 28)
• March 1, Pool B: Pakistan v Zimbabwe, Brisbane (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 3, Pool B: South Africa v Ireland, Canberra (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 4, Pool B: Pakistan v UAE, Napier (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
• March 4, Pool A: Australia v Afghanistan, Perth (d/n) (6:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 5, Pool A: Bangladesh v Scotland, Nelson (10 p.m. GMT, March 4)
• March 6, Pool B: India v West Indies, Perth (d/n) (6:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 7, Pool B: South Africa v Pakistan, Auckland (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
• March 7, Pool B: Zimbabwe v Ireland, Hobart (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 8, Pool A: New Zealand v Afghanistan, Napier (10 p.m. GMT, March 7)
• March 8, Pool A: Australia v Sri Lanka, Sydney (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 9, Pool A: England v Bangladesh, Adelaide (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 10, Pool B: India v Ireland, Hamilton (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
• March 11, Pool A: Sri Lanka v Scotland, Hobart (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 12, Pool B: South Africa v UAE, Wellington (Westpac Stadium) (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
• March 13, Pool A: Bangladesh v New Zealand, Hamilton (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
• March 13, Pool A: England v Afghanistan, Sydney (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 14, Pool B: India v Zimbabwe, Auckland (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
• March 14, Pool A: Australia v Scotland, Hobart (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 15, Pool B: West Indies v UAE, Napier (10 p.m. GMT, March 14)
• March 15, Pool B: Pakistan v Ireland, Adelaide (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Quarter-Finals

• March 18, Quarter-Final 1: A1 v B4, Sydney (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 19, Quarter-Final 2: A2 v B3, Melbourne (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 20, Quarter-Final 3: A3 v B2, Adelaide (3:30 a.m. GMT)
• March 21, Quarter-Final 4: A4 v B1, Wellington (1 a.m. GMT)

Semi-Finals

• March 24, Semi-Final 1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF3, Auckland (1 a.m. GMT)
• March 26, Semi-Final 2: Winner QF2 v Winner QF4, Sydney (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Final

• March 29 Final, Melbourne (4:30 a.m. BST)

Schedule courtesy of BBC Sport.

Teams Still Searching for Maiden Triumph

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

England have suffered heavy defeats to both co-hosts Australia and New Zealand in their opening games. That fact in itself is no disgrace given the quality of the opposition; it’s the manner of the performances that have left plenty concerned about this team’s capabilities of qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition.

Opener Ian Bell has insisted in the build-up to this one that it’s vital his team starts to perform better:

"

Opener Ian Bell is determined to help England get their #CWC15 campaign back on track with a win over Scotland: pic.twitter.com/xn0MPMlE2E

— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) February 22, 2015"

The onus will definitely be on them to do exactly that against a Scotland team who should be there for the taking. But the minnows will be hopeful of springing a surprise in this one, especially with former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood at the helm.

The Scotland coach has admitted in the build-up that things could well get worse before they get better for his former team as well, per BBC Sport:

"

That's going to be an amazing feeling if we can get that first-ever World Cup win under our belt, there's no better time than against England. That would mean so much to Scottish cricket.

…

I really do feel for Eoin Morgan. He’s taken over the captaincy right at the last minute and he's carrying the can for a lot of the work that's gone on over the past year.

I think he can be a Brendon McCullum in the future in the way he'll want the team to move forward and get the right players into the right positions.

"

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Nonetheless, England should be too strong. Scotland actually fared better against the might of New Zealand than the English did recently, but Eoin Morgan’s side were so poor that day that it simply had to have been a one off. Expect his team to get their tournament started in earnest with a crucial victory over the Scots.

That’s if the weather holds out, per BBC Test Match Special:

The West Indies are another nation whose preparations were disrupted in the build-up to this competition. But their recent win over Pakistan seems to have helped lift the mood in the camp and another victory in the upcoming clash with Zimbabwe would give this mercurial side the initiative needed to thrive going forward.

Martin Hunter/Getty Images

As noted by James Gheerbrant of the BBC, the Caribbean islanders were much improved against Pakistan:

But when it comes to the Windies, you can never be quite sure what you’re going to get. In the opening match with Ireland—which they eventually lost—they were both fantastic and fragile in equal measures; if they showcase similar traits again when coming up against Zimbabwe, the African side have the requisite class to capitalise on those perennial flaws.

Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

The Irish team will fancy their chances of making it successive wins when they take on the United Arab Emirates. William Porterfield’s team were magnificent to watch in their win over the Windies and they’ll surely be far too strong for the Pool B minnows; two wins from two would put them in a wonderful position to qualify for the quarter-finals.