Cricket South Africa announce plans for 2027 World Cup

PRETORIA: Cricket South Africa on Thursday announced a local organising committee for the 2027 50-over Cricket World Cup.

The latest announcement revealed that 44 of the 54 total clashes will be played at eight venues in South Africa, with other 10 matches in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

It will be the first men’s Cricket World Cup in Africa since the 2003 version was staged in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

South Africa has hosted two Women’s World Cups since then – the 2005 50-over competition and the 2023 T20 World Cup when the Proteas lost to Australia in the final.

South Africa crush Australia by 98 runs in Cairns ODI

Former South African finance minister Trevor Manuel will head the local organising committee.

In a statement, CSA said matches in South Africa will be played in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha, Bloemfontein, East London and Paarl.

CSA chairperson Pearl Maphoshe said: “CSA’s vision is to stage a global, inspiring event which will reflects the face of South Africa — diverse, inclusive, and united.”

Keshav Maharaj’s ODI ranking with ICC  

Separately,  the International Cricket Council (ICC) released its latest ODI bowlers’ rankings, with South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj reclaiming the No. 1 spot and no Pakistani player featuring in the top ten.

The update follows both the South Africa–Australia ODI series and the West Indies–Pakistan clashes. Despite strong performances at Brian Lara Cricket ground, Pakistan’s pacer Shaheen Afridi also failed to break into the top ten. Afridi now has a record 132 wickets from just 65 ODIs after the series against the West Indies.

England squad for 2025 Women’s World Cup revealed, Knight included

Maharaj surged to the top on the back of his maiden ODI five-wicket haul against Australia in Cairns on Tuesday. The left-armer’s figures of 5/33 not only secured South Africa a commanding 98-run victory but also pushed him two places ahead of Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana (second) and India’s Kuldeep Yadav (third).

The spinner first reached the No. 1 ranking in November 2023, displacing India’s Mohammed Siraj during the Men’s Cricket World Cup. Since then, Maharaj has consistently remained inside the top five before reclaiming the premier spot in the latest update.