If the 2027 schedule left you confused, you're not alone. The tournament uses a structure never seen before at a men's ODI World Cup. Here's the plain-English version.
Stage 1: the Super Series
Four teams come through the World Cup Qualifier in early 2027. The winner goes straight into the group stage. The other three play each other once in Windhoek between 2 and 6 October, and only the top team survives. It's a brutal opening round: two of the 14 teams will be out after just two matches each.
Stage 2: two groups of six
Group A: India, Australia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and a qualifier. Group B: New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, Bangladesh and a qualifier. Each team plays five games.
The top three from each group go through, along with the better fourth-placed team. Finishing fourth isn't necessarily the end, but it means relying on results in the other group.
Stage 3: the Super 7
Seven teams play each other once, with everyone starting on zero points. That's a key difference from the Super Six used in 1999 and 2003, where group points carried over. A poor group stage is forgotten if you qualify.
Why are Super 7 fixtures already named?
The organisers pre-seeded seven teams into slots (A1, A2 and so on) so the full schedule could be released a year early. If a seeded side fails to qualify, whoever takes its place inherits its slot. So the Super 7 fixture "India v Australia, Victoria Falls, 28 October" really means "A1 v A2", and the teams playing will be India and Australia only if both qualify as expected.
Stage 4: the knockouts
1st plays 4th and 2nd plays 3rd, then the final is at the Wanderers on 21 November.
Read the full format explainer, or see which slots each team holds on the schedule.