England to play tri-series against Australia, India just before ICC World Cup 2015

England will be up against world champions, India and Australia in the series.

London: June 22, 2014

England will take part in a triangular one-day tournament in Australia also featuring the hosts and India early next year, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Sunday as it announced the schedule for the series. The Tri-Series will act as preparation for the ICC World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand which starts in February.

India are the current World Cup champions after defeating Sri Lanka on home soil in the 2011 final in Mumbai, while Australia have won the tournament four times. England, despite pioneering one-day cricket as a professional sport, have never won the World Cup although they were the losing finalists in 1979, 1987 and 1992 — when the tournament was last staged in Australia and New Zealand.

But it is a record England are determined to improve upon, having also scheduled a seven-match ODI series in Sri Lanka before the end of this year. The tri-series will see each of cricket’s ‘big three’ nations play each other twice ahead of a final at Perth’s WACA ground on February 1.

“Following our seven-match ODI series in Sri Lanka before Christmas, this tour will provide further excellent preparation for the England team prior to the ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand,” said ECB chief executive David Collier in a statement. “We look forward to an exciting and competitive series against two of the world’s best teams in this format of the game and thank both Cricket Australia and BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) for their support in agreeing this schedule”, he added.