Sri Lanka to play WC quarters in Sydney
Sri Lanka to play WC quarters in Sydney
Sri Lanka will play their quarter-final match of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Sydney provided they get through the pool stages and qualify for the knockout part of the competition.
Sri Lanka are in Pool A with host nations Australia and New Zealand and they also have England, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Scotland in the group.
The ICC in announcing the quarter-final venues states: “If the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 co-hosts, Australia and New Zealand, were to qualify from Pool A, they will play their quarter-finals in Adelaide and Wellington on 20 and 21 March, respectively.
“Aside from the hosts, the current Reliance ICC ODI Championship table lists the two next highest ranked teams in Pool A as Sri Lanka and England. If these teams qualify for the quarter-finals, then Sri Lanka will play in Sydney on 18 March and England will play in Melbourne on 19 March, irrespective of where in the top four these teams finish in their pool.”
Explaining the quarter-final venue allocations, ICC General Manager – Cricket, Geoff Allardice, said in a media release: “It is customary for the ICC to afford the hosts the opportunity to play knock-out matches at home where possible during an ICC Cricket World Cup.
“It is also usual for the ICC to assign venues to the higher ranked teams on the assumption they will progress through the pool stage. This is done to assist teams and spectators with their planning by giving them greater certainty. On this basis, the ICC has allocated quarter-final venues to the next two highest ranked teams from Pool A. However, if any one of the two hosts or the two next highest-ranked Pool A teams fail to reach the quarter-finals, then the team that qualifies instead will play at the venue that was allocated to the side that did not quality.”
The venues for quarter finalists from Pool B will be determined by their Pool A opponents, which will be determined by their respective finishing positions in the pool stage. For example, if India tops Pool B in position B1, then it will play against the Pool A team that finishes in position A4. Therefore, if Sri Lanka finishes in position A4, then India will play Sri Lanka in Sydney on 18 March.