ECB aim for blockbuster 2009

David Collier: 'The summer of 2009 promises to be a true festival of world cricket throughout England and Wales' © Getty Images Enlarge

The ECB are preparing for a 'blockbuster' summer in 2009 after being given the green light to host the Twenty20 World Championship that summer, which will coincide with the next Ashes series in the country.

David Collier, the ECB chief executive, presented the case for England and Wales staging the events at a meeting of the ICC in Dubai on Monday and he was "delighted" at the news. The decisions are required to be ratified by the ICC annual conference at their July meeting in London.

The ECB's 21-minute submission was backed by DVDs and a comprehensive bid document which included letters of support from the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Leader of the Opposition and the Liberal Democrat spokesman on sport as well as numerous other organisations.

Collier told the ICC that he believed the ECB's submission "provided a brave, exciting and commercially lucrative offering" to the ICC with the United Kingdom being able to deliver live prime-time television broadcasts to audiences in every competing nation.

"The UK," he added, "offers the benefits of world-class transport links, international hotels, excellent logistics, superb venues and a stage already set for Twenty20 cricket. The UK has also become renowned for its multi-ethnic crowds and a passion for Twenty20 cricket."

Collier went onto say: "The summer of 2009 promises to be a true festival of world cricket throughout England and Wales. The Twenty20 World Championship will be the first one in which all full member nations must take part. The decision by ICC is a fulsome demonstration of confidence in the ECB's ability to stage world-class events at world-class venues and ECB's role in creating Twenty20 cricket."