The countdown to the ICC Cricket World Cup returning to Durham for the first time in 20 years has begun and tournament organisers have today announced the ticket timeline for the year ahead.
Next year’s tournament, which will feature 10 teams across 48 matches between 30 May and 14 July, will be the fourth time England & Wales have hosted the global event.
To reward the hard work that goes into running the game across England & Wales, anyone in the cricket family will get priority access to the ticket ballot on 1 May. There will then be a public ballot in July. Ticket prices and the full match schedule will be announced at the end of March.
Whether its players, coaches, umpires or fans, this will be their chance to beat the rush and book their seats early. The full match schedule and ticket prices will be announced at the end of March.
Register now at cricketworldcup.com to make sure you get the latest ticket news delivered direct to your inbox.
To mark the 500 days to go milestone, we look back at the last time Durham hosted World Cup cricket.
The first three Cricket World Cups were held in England & Wales, before it returned in 1999 for the 7th edition, which Australia won by defeating Pakistan in the final at Lord’s.
On the pitch in 1999, Australia were just starting to assert their dominance on the one-day international game, claiming the first of their hat-trick of World Cup successes, but it wasn’t without drama, namely that Semi-Final against South Africa.
The Riverside hosted two fixtures at the World Cup in 1999, so we decided to roll the clocks back 19 years to that summer and re-live the games that took place at Durham…
Pakistan v Scotland (20 May 1999)
Pakistan won by 94 runs
After winning their first group game, Pakistan’s second game at the Cricket World Cup in 1999 came against Scotland in Durham.
While Pakistan were overwhelming favourites for the game, at one point there looked like a surprise could be in store, as Scotland had them 92/5 just past the half-way point in their innings. However, Mohammad Yousuf (81*), Moin Khan (47 off 41) and Wasim Akram (37* off 19) added valuable runs to end Pakistan’s innings on 261/6.
Akram and Shoaib Akhtar showed their class with the ball and took five early wickets (two for Akram, three for Akhtar) to leave Scotland reeling on 19/5.
All-rounder Gavin Hamilton showed his class for Scotland, though, top-scoring with 76 off 111 balls, but with wickets falling around him, Pakistan eased to a 94-run victory.
Australia v Bangladesh (27 May 1999)
Australia won by 7 wickets
Australia all-rounder Tom Moody inspired the eventual World Cup 1999 winners to a convincing win over Bangladesh at the Riverside.
Moody took 3 for 25 off 10 overs with the ball, before smashing 56* off just 29 balls in Australia’s chase.
Bangladesh, playing in their first Cricket World Cup, batted out their 50 overs, but only managed to reach 178/7, with Minhajul Abedin top-scoring for the Tigers with 53*.
The Aussies wasted no time in their chase, scoring at a run rate of above 9 an over to knock off their target in 19.5 overs. As well as Moody’s innings of 56*, Adam Gilchrist was at his free-flowing best, hitting 12 fours in a 39-ball 63.
How well do you remember the World Cup in 1999?
Test your knowledge in the 500 days to go competition and be in with a chance of winning one of eleven pairs of tickets to ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 matches.