Cricket World Cup 2011: batter up!

This year India will be the host of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and if you fancy the game, fancy a hot holiday and spicy food, then a trip to the tourny is exactly what you need.

Starting off in mid-February and running until the first weekend in April (where the final will be played in Mumbai), there are plenty of chances to see national teams from Commonwealth and a host of other countries fight to be this year’s world champion. Cricket’s not just about bats and balls, especially for India. Cricket is considered a religion in India. The people are crazy about the sport brought over by the Brits so long ago. Edmund Blunden muses, “Cricket to us was more than play, it was a worship in the summer sun.”

The opening ceremony will be held in Bangladesh at the country’s national stadium in Dhaka on February 17th, 2011 with the first match of the championship happening a couple days later. Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka will all share the hosting of matches.

Important matches to see:

England vs. Netherlands (Feb. 22) in Nagpur
England vs. India (Feb. 27) in Kolkata
England vs. Ireland (Mar. 1) in Bangalore
England vs. South Africa (Mar. 6) in Chennai
Bangladesh vs. England (Mar. 11) in Chittagong
England vs. West Indies (Mar. 17) in Chennai

Tickets to matches are priced as little as 20p for games in Sri Lanka and upwards for games in India and Bangladesh. Purchase tickets to the Cricket World Cup from the official merchant only (kyazoonga.com), watch out for scalper sites, their tickets are not valid. Getting there will of course be the biggest expense since flights from London to Mumbai start at £359 (rtn, taxes included) for flights in late February.

Match finals start on March 23rd, 2011.