Full schedule for ICC Champions Trophy 2013 announced

ECB today announced the full schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 with Cardiff, Edgbaston and The Oval all set to host England fixtures during the three week tournament featuring the world's top eight One-Day sides.

England, who lost to West Indies in the final of the competition when it was last staged on home soil in 2004, will kick off their campaign by taking on Australia at Edgbaston on June 8 with further group matches against Sri Lanka at The Oval on June 13 and New Zealand at Cardiff on June 16.

The 50 Overs-a-side competition begins in Cardiff on June 6 with a heavyweight clash between the current ICC World Cup holders, India, and South Africa, winners of the inaugural Champions Trophy tournament in 1998.

The group stages at Edgbaston will also include two eagerly anticipated head-to-head contests between arch sporting rivals Australia and New Zealand ? on June 12 ? and India and Pakistan ? on June 15.

Cardiff, Edgbaston and The Oval will each host four group matches in the competition which will see the eight teams divided into two pools of four. Group A will feature Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka with India, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies contesting Group B.

The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals, hosted at The Oval and Cardiff, with the winners then progressing to the ICC Champions Trophy Final at Edgbaston on Sunday June 23rd.

Tournament Director, Steve Elworthy commented: "This will be an incredible opportunity for fans to see the world's very best One-Day sides in action over the space of less than three weeks and the fixture schedule has thrown up a host of exciting head-to-head contests.

"The format means every match counts and all eight teams will feel that they are capable of winning the tournament in a competition which is set to be one of the highlights of the 2013 summer. "

Tickets for the tournament are expected to go on sale from early November and further details of how to purchase will be released via the ICC website - www.icc-cricket.com and the ECB website - www.ecb.co.uk.

Fixture list in full