Cricket World Cup 2015 Schedule: Dates, Times, Fixtures and Viewing Details

The sharp end of the Cricket World Cup is looming large as the quarter-final stages move into view and there remains plenty up for grabs as the group phase reaches a conclusion.

While England’s hopes went up in smoke in Pool A—thus cementing the safe passage of four teams in the group—the other seven-team group could be set for a thrilling finish, with three nations set to battle it out for two berths in the last-eight of the competition.

Those sides are Pakistan, West Indies and Ireland. Here, Freddie Wilde of ESPN cricinfo outlined the various qualifying criteria for each team:

"

For #Ire to qualify: - #WI must lose to #UAE or match be abandoned Or - #Ire must beat #Pak or match be abandoned #CWC15 #UAEvWI #IrevPak

— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) March 10, 2015"

With the round-robin format winding down, here’s a look at the remaining schedule for this tournament and some of the key encounters remaining before we reach the knockout phases.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Fixtures

Pool Matches

Mar. 13 Pool A: Bangladesh v New Zealand, Hamilton (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 13 Pool A: England v Afghanistan, Sydney (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 14 Pool B: India v Zimbabwe, Auckland (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 14 Pool A: Australia v Scotland, Hobart (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 15 Pool B: West Indies v United Arab Emirates, Napier (10 p.m. GMT, Mar. 14)

Mar. 15 Pool B: Pakistan v Ireland, Adelaide (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Quarter-Finals

Mar. 18 Quarter-final 1, A1 v B4, Sydney (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 19 Quarter-final 2, A2 v B3, Melbourne (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 20 Quarter-final 3, A3 v B2, Adelaide (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 21 Quarter-final 4, A4 v B1, Wellington (1 a.m. GMT)

Semi-Finals

Mar. 24 Semi-final 1, Winner QF1 v Winner QF3, Auckland (1 a.m. GMT)

Mar. 26 Semi-final 2, Winner QF2 v Winner QF4, Sydney (3:30 a.m. GMT)

Final

Mar. 29 Final, Melbourne (5:30 a.m. BST) 

Schedule courtesy of BBC Sport.

All matches live on Sky Sports 2.

Games can be streamed via Sky Go (UK) and ESPN Cricket 2015 (US)

West Indies vs. United Arab Emirates

Paul Kane/Getty Images

The Caribbean islanders are one of the trio of teams that will be scrapping for a spot in the quarter-finals of this thrilling competition. As aforementioned, it’s imperative they win their match with the UAE if they’re to stand any chance of making it to the knockout stages.

It’s been a World Cup of peaks and troughs for Jason Holder and his men. Chris Gayle’s double century in their match against Zimbabwe has undoubtedly been a major highlight, but up to now every facet of their team has been too inconsistent for them to be considered serious challengers.

Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Wilde was pretty scathing in his assessment of their performance during their four-wicket loss to India recently:

Against the very best sides the Windies have struggled massively, but they should definitely have enough in the tank to beat the Associate nation, who have yet to win a game at this tournament. UAE have shown some segments of promise at this tournament however, perhaps most notably the performances turned in by Shaiman Anwar.

Hannah Peters/Getty Images

The 35-year-old has been majorly impressive at this competition so far. He’s showcased a willingness to be adaptable to the situation, has an array of different shots and the century he scored in the match with Ireland was arguably one of the finest of the tournament so far.

But even with Anwar in exemplary form and the Windies’ capricious nature considered, the more illustrious nation will come out on top here. When they do, it’ll make the Pool B finale between Ireland and Pakistan a very intriguing affair.

Ireland vs. Pakistan

Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Indeed, the Irish side would have to beat Pakistan in order to progress if the West Indies triumphed. Earlier in the tournament that may not have looked too tough an ask with the 1992 winners in apparent disarray. But after two losses from their opening two games, Pakistan have won their last three matches in succession.

As noted by Nooruddean Choudry of the Mirror, their most recent win over South Africa was a major shock:

Pakistan are a notoriously streaky team, though. They seem to thrive when riding the crest of a momentous wave and after that particular win against the Proteas they’ll come into this crunch clash with Ireland in high spirits.

Hannah Peters/Getty Images

By contrast, Ireland suffered a heavy loss to India in their last match. But they shouldn’t be too downhearted after that one; as noted by Sambit Bal of ESPN cricinfo, the men in green actually fared a lot better than most against the imperious reigning champions:

It’s a match that’s going to be tense, tight and probably decided on a few precarious instances. However, Pakistan seem have got their feet under the table at this competition and their bowling attack has what it takes to restrict a dynamic, balanced Irish batting line-up.

Ireland have done all that was feasibly expected of them to make it this far with a fighting chance and the fortitude they’ve showcased at critical times in the competition bodes well for them ahead of this one. But Pakistan will have a smidgen too much quality here.