Australia battle to host 2011 World Cup
The Australian cricket board is mounting a determined fight to prevent the 2011 World Cup heading to Asia
Cricinfo staff
11-Oct-2005
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Australia, who last hosted the World Cup, along with New Zealand, in 1992, had been widely assumed to be a shoe-in for the 2011 event. But a push from Asia, in particular from India and Pakistan, has won considerable support because of the huge revenues available from hosting in the region.
Some sections of the Indian media have reported in the last few days that the deal has already been agreed within the ICC, with an offer by the Indian government to agree to tax incentives being the deciding factor.
Jagmohan Dalmiya, the main player in Indian cricket politics, has been campaigning hard for the tournament, and last week he was quoted as saying that he believed the subcontinent should hold one in three World Cups, given the revenues available and massive audiences. "I am told that Australia is a strong contender for the 2011 World Cup, but we will make a strong pitch for it," he said. "Not only four of the 10 Test-playing nations - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - are from the subcontinent, but the region generates the maximum funds for world cricket. It is only fair that every third World Cup should be held in our part of the world."
The ICC meeting in Australia this week will discuss this and other related issues. It appears likely that a new way of allocating ICC events, such as the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, will be introduced, with a system of biding more akin to the Olympics and the football World Cup winning out, albeit retaining some elements of a rotation policy. But an announcement on the 2011 event is not expected until next year at the earliest.
"The board will be looking at the process in which bids are decided in the future," Brendan McClements, the ICC general manager of corporate affairs, told Reuters. "One of the things they are considering is opening up the bids to everyone."