World Cup games on at at Riverside

DURHAM will host three ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 matches, including England’s final group game against New Zealand, as the ICC announced the full schedule for the tournament.

England’s clash against the Blackcaps is the last of the three matches to be staged at the Riverside on Wednesday, July 3.

Sri Lanka & South Africa will go head-to-head in the North East on Friday, 28 June and the Sri Lankans return three days later on Monday, 1 July when they play West Indies.

Durham County Cricket Club chief executive David Harker

(pictured below) said: “We are excited to be hosting the 2019 Cricket World Cup at the Riverside.

“We are looking forward to welcoming fans from across the world as well as the England, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka teams.

“We are delighted to be hosting another major England game in Durham. The competition will provide an excellent showcase of cricket at the highest level with some of the world’s best players on show.

“The games will provide a worldclass entertainment experience for cricket fans, sports fans and family days out. The competition will once again provide global coverage for Chester-le-Street, Durham and the wider region.”

England will open the tournament at The Oval on May 30, 2019 when they will take on South Africa, while Australia will launch their title defence on June 1 against the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier champions Afghanistan in a day/night match in Bristol.

Eleven world-class venues will be used in the 46-day tournament in which each side will play the others once in a single-league format, with the top four sides after 45 matches progressing to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile Durham begin a four-day Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash at Northampton this morning with opening batsman Cameron Steel returning to the 12-man squad.

Steel was forced to miss last week’s home defeat by Kent thanks to illness, but returned to action in Durham’s second XI clash against Leicestershire earlier this week.