World Cup 2003 preparations on the go.

South Africa's leading cricket grounds have been asked to submit applications to host the four most important matches of the 2003 World Cup.

Chairman of the 2003 organising committee, Ali Bacher, said on Monday that South African unions had been requested to bid for the rights to stage the tournament's first game (and opening ceremony), the two semifinals and the final and closing ceremony.

"We will be looking at things like capacity, infrastructure and media facilities," said Bacher. "These will obviously be the biggest games of the tournament and we want them all to be special."

Bacher's committee held its first meeting on May 5 and he said he hoped the tournament would be opened by a ceremony "with a particularly African flavour" which featured the players from all 14 particpating nations.

In all 54 matches would be played in the tournament, 30 of them at South Africa's six Test venues. Six matches would be played outside South Africa, in Zimbabwe in Harare and Bulawayo and, if the ground proves to meet requirements, in Nairobi.

The opening game will be a day/night match in order to accommodate the opening ceremony, but if the semifinals and final are staged at inland venues they will be played during the day because of the amount of dew which accumulates on the grass during the month of May.