Sports Correspondent
Zimbabwe will host matches at three venues during the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, with Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls set to welcome the world’s leading cricket nations.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed 12 venues across Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia for the tournament, which returns to Africa for the first time since the 2003 edition.
Zimbabwe’s three venues are Harare Sports Club, Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo and the newly constructed Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls.
South Africa will provide eight venues, while Namibia will host matches at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek.
The South African venues are Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, Centurion in Tshwane, Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town, Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban, St George’s Park in Gqeberha, Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, Boland Park in Paarl and Buffalo Park in KuGompo City, formerly East London.
The 2027 World Cup will feature 14 teams and 57 matches under a new three-stage format.
The tournament will start with a three-team Super Series in Windhoek on October 2, 2027, before the group stage gets underway.
Zimbabwe will begin its campaign in Bulawayo on October 9 against Qualifier A, according to the schedule announced by the ICC.
One of the major highlights for Zimbabwe will be the use of the new Victoria Falls stadium, which is being developed near one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions.
The venue will stage its first World Cup match when India take on Zimbabwe, in what the ICC says will be the final fixture of the group stage.
The tournament will see Zimbabwe co-host the men’s World Cup for the second time, having previously staged matches during the 2003 tournament alongside South Africa and Kenya. Namibia, meanwhile, will host matches at a senior men’s World Cup for the first time.
The ICC has also confirmed that the knockout stages will be concentrated in South Africa.
Newlands in Cape Town will host the first semi-final on November 17, while the second semi-final will be played in Tshwane on November 18. The final is scheduled for Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on November 21.
The World Cup will bring together cricket’s leading nations for a tournament that the ICC says is designed around the theme “Make the Circle Bigger”, celebrating the cultural links between the three host countries.
The ICC describes the 2027 tournament as a return of its premier 50-over event to Africa after 24 years, with the competition running from October 2 to November 21, 2027.
