Everything you need to know about the Cricket World Cup 2015
From Powerplay to Super Over to where to find the best live coverage and highlights, it's all here...
How many teams are competing?
The tournament consists of 14 teams. The initial group phase involves two pools of seven teams playing in a round- robin format.
Pool A
England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Scotland
Pool B
South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland, United Arab Emirates
The format
Matches are 50 overs per side with 2 points for a win and 1 point for a tie, or if the match is abandoned.
The Knockout Stage
The top four teams from each pool will go to the knockout stage, comprising quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. There will be no third place play-off.
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How does two balls per innings work?
Two new balls will be used per innings – one from each end. This provides bowlers with more swing and bounce for a longer period of time.
The Powerplay
In one-day cricket, five fielders have to be within the 30-yard circle of the wicket. The captain can place the other players wherever he likes. However, in a powerplay over there are extra restrictions on where fielders can stand. This World Cup features two powerplay periods. The first ten overs of a match are a mandatory power play, in which only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle. This encourages the placing of fielders in catching positions.
The second powerplay (aka “batting powerplay”) is a block of five overs where only three fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle. This prevents the fielding side simply putting men on the boundary. The batting powerplay can be taken whenever the batting side chooses, as long as it is completed no later than the 40th over.
What is the Super Over?
In the event of a tie in the final, each team batting one over, in a six-ball shoot-out. The team batting second in the match will bat first in the Super Over. The fielding team chooses the end to bowl from. Whichever team scores most runs in their one over, wins. The loss of two wickets automatically ends a team’s innings. If scores are tied at the end of the Super Over, the team with the most number of boundaries from the main match and the Super Over wins.
The venues
This is the sixth World Cup to be held across two countries – previous tournaments were held in the Indian subcontinent and in Africa.
Australia
Adelaide Oval
The Gabba Brisbane
Manuka Oval Canberra
Bellerive Oval Hobart, Tasmania
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Waca Perth
Sydney Cricket Ground
New Zealand
Eden Park Auckland
Wellington Regional Stadium
Seddon Park Hamilton
McLean Park Napier
Saxton Oval Nelson
University Oval Dunedin
Hagley Oval Christchurch
Where to catch the action
SKY SPORTS WORLD CUP Live coverage of all 49 matches. From Friday 13 February, Sky Sports 2 becomes Sky Sports World Cup.
ITV AND ITV4 ITV will show highlights of all England’s matches, beginning with Australia this Saturday at 10.35pm. ITV4 has highlights of all other matches at 10pm each night (11pm Tuesdays).
RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA Live ball-by-ball coverage and some coverage on Radio 4 LW on Saturday and Friday. Kevin Pietersen joins the commentary team from the quarter-finals onwards.
Here's the RadioTimes.com episode guide so you don't miss any matches...
