England will play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground if they reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup irrespective of pool position, the International Cricket Council has announced.
The world governing body laid out its full plans for the last eight this morning, having previously announced that co-hosts Australia and New Zealand would play at the Adelaide Oval and the Wellington Regional Stadium respectively should they qualify from Pool A.
Sri Lanka and England are the two next-highest-ranked teams in the pool, and will play at the Sydney Cricket Ground and MCG respectively if they advance, the latter on March 19.
Should any of the named teams not qualify, the nation that advances in their place will play at the venue which was allocated to them. The venues for teams from Pool B will be determined by their Pool A opponents.
"It is customary for the ICC to afford the hosts the opportunity to play knockout matches at home where possible during an ICC Cricket World Cup," said ICC general manager - cricket Geoff Allardice said.
"It is also usual for the ICC to assign venues to the higher-ranked teams on the assumption they will progress through the pool stage.
“This is done to assist teams and spectators with their planning by giving them greater certainty. On this basis, the ICC has allocated quarter-final venues to the next two highest-ranked teams from Pool A."
For the semi-finals, Australia and New Zealand would again be allocated home venues unless they are scheduled to meet each other, in which case the team which finished higher in their pool would get home advantage.
The semi-finals will be at Eden Park on March 24 and the SCG on March 26, but who will play where will not be announced until it is known if Australia and New Zealand will advance.