ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 count down clocks unveiled today

Countdown clocks being unveiled today at events in all seven New Zealand host cities
13 February 2014

Tomorrow marks one year until the opening match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, with tickets on general sale from 2pm that afternoon.

Tournament organisers are today unveiling ICC Cricket World Cup countdown clocks at public events in each of New Zealand’s seven host cities: Auckland, Hamilton, Napier, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin. A gift to the host cities, the clocks are designed to provide a focal point for tomorrow’s milestone and help fans count the days to the opening match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval.

Children’s tickets are available for every match in the tournament including the final. All children’s tickets for the pools’ stage are $5. Prices for adults start from just $20.

The ICC Cricket World Cup was last hosted by New Zealand and Australia in 1992, when Martin Crowe’s Young Guns went on a seven match winning streak and qualified as the top side for the semi-finals, only to lose a nail-biting match against Pakistan at Eden Park. Since then the tournament has grown to become one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Organisers are expecting more than a million people to attend matches and another billion to watch the global broadcast.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said the tournament is a unique opportunity for fans to enjoy the best of world cricket.

“The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 provides an exciting opportunity to see the best players and the best teams in the world compete for cricket’s biggest prize. In one year’s time, we will see fourteen teams go head-to-head across Australia and New Zealand. One Day International cricket has never been more competitive than it is at the moment and fans from every one of the competing teams will be justified in looking forward to following their teams with great anticipation.”

Head of New Zealand for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Therese Walsh said New Zealanders had shown the world how well they can host a World Cup and this is another very special opportunity.

“We have all 14 teams playing in New Zealand and our share of big games, such as the opening match and New Zealand versus Australia. Should it qualify, we will also host New Zealand’s quarter and semi-final. I believe kiwi fans will not want to miss seeing the big names, and we've shown before how well our country can get into the spirit of a tournament and provide tremendous support to the smaller nations."

"The country is truly behind our own team, too. We have some genuine stars and a lot of exciting new talent. The recent India One Day series has shown us how special the 50-over game can be, but the atmosphere and experience at the ICC Cricket World Cup will be something else again," said Ms Walsh.

Tickets for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 can be purchased from 2pm Friday and from Ticketek outlets across New Zealand. A special ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 ticket booth will also be operating at the Basin Reserve from2pm Friday afternoon, and again on Saturday, for fans attending the second test between New Zealand and India.

The final two participating nations in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 were confirmed just under a fortnight ago when Scotland and United Arab Emirates secured the last two qualification berths through the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2014, played here in New Zealand.

The final pools for the tournament are:

• Pool A: England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Scotland

• Pool B: South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and United Arab Emirates

Full details on the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

ENDS

© Scoop Media