England will return to Zimbabwe for the 2027 Cricket World Cup, with the team scheduled to play a group-stage match in Harare on 20 October 2027. The fixture w...
England will return to Zimbabwe for the 2027 Cricket World Cup, with the team scheduled to play a group-stage match in Harare on 20 October 2027. The fixture will mark England’s return to Zimbabwe for an international match more than two decades after their last visit to the country in 2004.
The return comes after a long period in which cricketing relations between England and Zimbabwe were affected by political tensions during the government of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. England boycotted their scheduled match against Zimbabwe at the 2003 World Cup in Harare, citing concerns surrounding the situation in the country at the time.
England did, however, return to Zimbabwe in 2004 for a five-match one-day international series. That tour included the international debut of Kevin Pietersen, who later became one of England’s leading batsmen. The 2004 visit remains the last time England’s men’s team played in Zimbabwe.
The 2027 World Cup fixture list, announced by the International Cricket Council on 1 October 2026, places England in Group B alongside New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and one qualifier. England will begin their campaign against Bangladesh in Windhoek, Namibia, on 8 October before facing Sri Lanka at the same venue five days later.
England will then face South Africa in Gqeberha on 16 October before travelling to Zimbabwe for their Harare fixture on 20 October. Their final scheduled group match is against New Zealand in Gqeberha on 23 October. The group-stage schedule means England will have one match in Zimbabwe during the tournament’s opening phase.
The Harare fixture is part of a 14-team World Cup that will be hosted across Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia. The tournament is scheduled to run from 2 October to 21 November 2027, with 57 matches to be played across 12 venues in the three countries.
Zimbabwe and South Africa qualified automatically as co-hosts, while eight other teams gained direct qualification based on their positions in the ICC Men’s ODI rankings at the 30 September 2026 cut-off. The remaining places will be decided through the World Cup qualifying process.
Zimbabwe will host matches in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls. The new Mosi-oa-Tunya Stadium in Victoria Falls is included among the venues for the tournament, while Harare and Bulawayo will also stage World Cup matches. The ICC schedule includes several matches in Zimbabwe during the group stage.
England’s return to Zimbabwe follows efforts to rebuild cricketing relations between the two countries. In 2025, Zimbabwe Cricket officials held discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board about the possibility of England touring Zimbabwe during the 2027-2031 Future Tours Programme. At that stage, discussions were described as being at an early stage.
The proposed return to Zimbabwe also comes after Zimbabwe played a Test match in England in 2025. According to reports at the time, the two cricket boards had been working to strengthen their relationship after years without England playing in Zimbabwe.
The 2003 World Cup boycott had followed discussions involving England players, security officials and the International Cricket Council. England ultimately did not play their scheduled match in Harare, a decision that affected their position in the tournament. The team later travelled to Zimbabwe in 2004 for the five-match one-day series.
The 2027 tournament will therefore provide the first opportunity for England’s current generation of players to play a World Cup match in Zimbabwe. Their Harare fixture is scheduled for 20 October, with the match forming part of a group stage that will determine which teams advance to the Super 7 phase.
Under the tournament format, the top three teams from each group will advance to the Super 7 stage, while the better-performing fourth-placed team from the two groups will also qualify. England’s fixtures have been arranged with the tournament’s later stages already taking venue and travel requirements into account.
England are also scheduled to play Pakistan in Victoria Falls on 30 October if the relevant Super 7 qualification and seeding conditions apply. The ICC has already designated England as AB4 in the seeded Super 7 fixture structure, although progression to that stage will depend on the tournament results.
For Zimbabwe, the 2027 World Cup will be the country’s first time co-hosting the men’s 50-over global tournament. The event will bring international cricket back to several Zimbabwean venues, including the new Victoria Falls facility, while Harare and Bulawayo will also stage matches involving teams from around the world.
The England fixture in Harare will be one of the matches connecting the tournament’s international competition with the history of cricket between England and Zimbabwe. After the 2003 boycott and the 2004 England tour, the two sides will meet again in Zimbabwe during the 2027 World Cup, subject to the tournament proceeding according to the published schedule.
