SA face England in World Cup opener

South Africa’s 2019 Cricket World Cup fixture list will have some eerie similarities to their infamous 1999 campaign in England, according to espncricinfo, with the ghosts of Edgbaston combining with their tournament nemesis.

The schedule, which the International Cricket Council board will deliberate over in Kolkata today, sees the Proteas enjoying the honour of playing the opening game of the tournament, against England at The Oval on May 30. It is the same venue at which they beat the hosts by 122 runs in the 1999 World Cup in England.

But after that matters get scary with history repeating itself with South Africa once again playing against Australia in their last match before the knockout round on July 6, with one of the semifinals scheduled for Edgbaston, the scene of their notorious tied semifinal in 1999 that eliminated them from the tournament.

The Proteas also take on New Zealand, who have knocked them out of the last two World Cups, at Edgbaston on June 19.

Although there is a reasonable gap of three-to-five days between all the other Proteas’ games, the proposed schedule states that there will be an awkward eight-day gap between their match against Sri Lanka and their crunch clash with Australia. That match, as well as their June 15 game against Afghanistan, will be day/night affairs.