With Australia completing a magnificent whitewash of the Poms in test, limited over and 20/20 cricket this summer, we have good reason to get excited about the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup which will be played right in here in Oz.
2015 may seem a long time away, but it will be here before we know it. The qualifying events are over, with Scotland the the United Arab Emirates having won the right to play off against the major cricketing nations and the 'minnows' making up the numbers. The Scottish team are pumped, and all Aussies with cricket in their veins should be too, according to the organisers.
The Scottish Cricket Team celebrates its victory in the 2014 Cricket World Cup qualifying tournament
To get yourself pumped for World Cup Downunder, you can head to Fed Square in Melbourne at lunchtime on 14 February, to join in a special countdown event. Only 365 more sleeps until the action starts on 14 Feb 2015.
There will be 'cricket identities'. Not the current batch of Aussie stars of course, as they are away facing the might of South Africa. Perhaps some past or future champions for your photo collection.
There will be cricket activities to join in. A spot of tippety-run perhaps? There will be freebies. And, believe it or not, tickets will go on sale.
Brett Lee, Australia's best bowler at World Cup 2011, wonders who will deliver the goods in 2015. Photo Kingston Jr. via Wikimedia Commons
If you love your cricket, or if you love the atmosphere of major international sporting events, it is worth checking the
World Cup fixture well in advance. Matches will be played at various venues around Australia and New Zealand, and some of them will definitely be booked out in advance.
For example, if Australia gets into the final four in its pool, it will play a quarter final at the Adelaide Oval on Friday March 20, 2015. That's a fabulous venue for watching cricket, far more intimate than the MCG and with a lovely blend of the old scoreboard and hill and you-beaut new grandstands. Expect tickets to sell very quickly.
