Bloemfontein, East London get thumbs up as SA's eight 2027 Cricket World Cup venues confirmed

Bloemfontein and East London have won the ground lottery and will be included, along with the six other big South African venues, to host the 2027 Cricket World Cup matches.

Newlands, St George's Park, Boland Park, Kingsmead, Wanderers and SuperSport Park will be the main World Cup grounds, with Boland Park earning its upgrade through being an SA20 and Mzansi Super League venue after it was a backwater venue at the last World Cup in the country 21 years ago.

The Proteas, who bombed out spectacularly at the group stages of that tournament by misfiring in their big games against West Indies (Cape Town, lost), New Zealand (Johannesburg, lost) and Sri Lanka (Durban, tied). During the 2003 showpiece, the Proteas also played in Bloemfontein (where they beat Bangladesh) and East London (where they beat Canada).