The men’s Cricket World Cup starts tonight with the opening ceremony in Hagley Park, Christchurch. The first game will be held in Christchurch on Saturday, between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The final game will be in Melbourne, Australia on March 29th.
Fourteen (14) countries will take part in the Cricket World Cup, playing a total of 49 games. Seven of the teams are in Pool A while the other 7 are in Pool B. Twenty-three (23) games will be played in New Zealand and 26 in Australia. Three of the quarterfinals will be held in Australia but one will be held in Wellington. One semi-final will be held in Auckland on March 21st while the other semi-final will be held in Sydney on March 26th.
Most of the countries where cricket is very popular are the ones which were British colonies in the nineteenth century, like India, the West Indies and Zimbabwe. However, surprisingly, the United Arab Emirates also has a team.
The World Cup is held every four years. It was last held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2011. India won the Cup. The Women’s Cricket World Cup was held in 2013, also in India. It was won by Australia.
Each game is a one-day game, not the usual 5 days.
Vocabulary
- Pool A and Pool B – groups A and B
- quarter-finals – 4 games near the end between the 8 best teams
- semi-finals – 2 games between the 4 best teams
- final – one game between the 2 best teams
Structures:
Active and passive
- Active: India won the Cup.
- Passive: It was won by Australia. Passive is probably more common.
Future passive
will be held / will be (held) /will be played
It is possible to say: New Zealand will hold the first semi-final, but again passive is very common.
Note: the Cricket World Cup is held every 4 years (present passive for something that is true); was held in 2011 (past passive)