The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the tenth Cricket World Cup, and will be hosted by three South Asian Test cricket playing countries: India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It will be Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a Cricket World Cup. The World Cup will use cricket's One Day International format, with fourteen national cricket teams scheduled[1] to compete. The World Cup will take place during the months of February and March 2011, with the first match being played on 19 February 2011.[2]
The World Cup was also to be co-hosted by Pakistan, but in the wake of the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team in Lahore, the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab, the International Cricket Council (ICC) were forced to strip Pakistan of its hosting rights.[3] The headquarters of the organising committee were originally situated in Lahore, but have now been shifted to Mumbai.[4] Pakistan was supposed to hold 14 matches, including one semi-final.[5] Eight of Pakistan's matches have been awarded to India, four to Sri Lanka and two to Bangladesh.
Bids
The ICC originally announced its decision on which countries would host the 2011 World Cup on 30 April 2006. Australia and New Zealand also bid for the tournament, and a successful Australasian bid for the 2011 World Cup would have seen a 50-50 split in games, with the final still up for negotiation. The Trans–Tasman bid, Beyond Boundaries, was the only bid for 2011 delivered to ICC headquarters in Dubai ahead of the 1 March deadline. Considerable merits of the Australasian bid were the superior venues and infrastructure and the total support of both the New Zealand and Australian governments on tax and customs issues during the tournament, according to Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland[7]. The New Zealand government had also given assurance that Zimbabwe would be allowed to compete in the tournament, following political discussions in the country whether their cricket team should be allowed to tour Zimbabwe in 2005. The Australian bid also won the support of former West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul[8]
ICC President Ehsan Mani said the extra time taken by the Asian bloc to hand over its bid compliance book had harmed the four-nation bid. However, when the time came to vote, Asia won the hosting rights by ten votes to three[7]. The Pakistan Cricket Board has revealed that it was the vote of the West Indies Cricket Board that swung the matter, as the Asian bid had the support of the four bidding countries along with South Africa and Zimbabwe[9]. It was reported in Pakistani newspaper Dawn that the Asian countries promised to hold fund-raising events for West Indian cricket during the 2007 World Cup, which may have influenced the vote[10]. However, chairman of the Monitoring Committee of the Asian bid, I. S. Bindra, said it was their promise of extra profits in the region of US$ 400 million that swung the vote[11], that there "was no quid pro quo for their support"[12], and that playing the West Indies had "nothing to do with the World Cup bid"[12].
ICC prefers to rotate World Cup venues between major cricket playing nations. The world cups have been hosted by England (Three times 1975,79,83) India/Pakistan 1987, Australia/New Zealand 1992, India/Pakistan/Sri Lanka 1996, England (UK,Netherlands) 1999, South Africa (Zimbabwe,Kenya) 2003, West Indies 2007. For the 2011 World Cup Australia/New Zealand were a strong contender ahead of India/Pakistan/Sri Lanka/Bangladesh because they had not hosted a World cup since 1992. In the final voting India et al. won because they argued that since they were a bigger group of countries they should be assigned a World cup more frequently. Due to this, Australia/New Zealand were awarded the 2015 World Cup.
Pakistan stripped of co-host status
Pakistan were stripped of its rights as co-host of the 2011 World Cup by the ICC on 17 April 2009 [13] due to ongoing concerns about the "uncertain security situation" prevailing in the country, especially in the aftermath of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has hinted that it may refuse to participate in the World Cup if they are asked to play in India [14]. However, there is no concrete evidence whether this will actually happen.
It is estimated that the PCB will lose $10.5 million due to the tournament being taken away from them.[15] This figure only includes the match-fee of $750,000 per match guaranteed by the ICC. The overall loss to the PCB and the Pakistani economy is expected to be much greater.
On 9 April 2009, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt revealed that they had issued a legal notice to oppose ICC's decision.[16] However, the ICC claims that the PCB is still a co-host and they have only shifted the matches out of Pakistan.[17] Pakistan have proposed that South Asia host the 2015 World Cup and Australia/New Zealand host 2011, however this option has not found favour with their co-hosts and hence seems unlikely.[18]
Allocation of matches
On 11 April 2005, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan announced an agreement about the allocation of games [19]. The original plan involved India hosting the final, while Pakistan and Sri Lanka would host the semi-finals.[20] and the opening ceremony will take place in Bangladesh.[21]
After being stripped of its co-host status, Pakistan made the bid to host its home games in the cities of UAE as a neutral home venue. This is in response to the fact that the last few months of cricket that Pakistan has played, has been in the cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The pitches in these stadia have also been developed to suit the Pakistani players. This would not harm any timing schedules as there are regular flights from the city of Mumbai to Dubai.
However, on 28 April 2009, the ICC announced the re-allocation of matches originally intended to be played in Pakistan. As a result, India will now host 29 matches across eight venues including the final and one semi-final; Sri Lanka will host 12 in three venues, including one semi-final; while Bangladesh will stage eight at two grounds as well as the opening ceremony on 18 February 2011.[22]
Format
Late in 2007, the four host nations agreed upon a revised format for the 2011 World Cup, in which 14 teams will participate instead of 16. The first round of the tournament will be a round-robin similar to the one held in South Africa in the 2003 edition in which the 14 teams are divided into 2 groups of 7 teams each. The 7 teams play each other once with the top four from each group qualifying for the quarter-finals. The format ensures that each team gets to play a minimum of six matches even if they are ruled out of the tournament due to early defeats. One semi-final of the tournament was officially handed over to India, after Pakistan were stripped of its rights to host the tournament.
- The planned semi-final venues are the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka and PCA Stadium in Mohali, India
- The final is scheduled to be played at the renovated Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India.
Qualification
As per ICC regulations, all 10 full members automatically qualify for the World Cup, including Zimbabwe who have given up their test playing status until the standard of their team improves.[23]
| Team | Mode of Qualification |
|---|---|
 Australia | ICC Full Member |
 Bangladesh | ICC Full Member |
 England | ICC Full Member |
 India | ICC Full Member |
 New Zealand | ICC Full Member |
 Pakistan | ICC Full Member |
 South Africa | ICC Full Member |
 Sri Lanka | ICC Full Member |
 West Indies | ICC Full Member |
 Zimbabwe | ICC Full Member |
The ICC also organised a qualifying tournament in South Africa to determine which Associate teams would participate in 2011 event. Ireland who had been the best performing Associate nation since the last World Cup, won the tournament, beating Canada in the final. The Netherlands and Kenya also qualified by virtue of finishing third and fourth respectively.
| Team | Mode of Qualification |
|---|---|
| Ireland | 1st place in 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier |
 Canada | 2nd place in 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier |
 Netherlands | 3rd place in 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier |
 Kenya | 4th place in 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier |
Venues
Although all the Indian stadiums for the 2011 World Cup had been finalised [24] before but the venues of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were finalised on 9 November 2009. A detailed release about venues of the World Cup will be released later.
Media coverage
The World Cup has grown as a media event with each tournament. International Cricket Council has sold the rights for broadcasting of 2011 Cricket World Cup for around US$ 2 Billion to ESPN Star Sports. The tournament would be broadcasted all around the world in about 220 countries.
Matches
Group Stage
Group A
| Team | sc | Pld | W | T | L | NR | NRR | PCF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Canada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sri Lanka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zimbabwe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 February 2011 | New Zealand | v | Kenya | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 20 February 2011 | Sri Lanka | v | Canada | Hambantota International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 21 February 2011 | Australia | v | Zimbabwe | Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 23 February 2011 | Pakistan | v | Kenya | Hambantota International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 25 February 2011 | New Zealand | v | Australia | Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 26 February 2011 | Sri Lanka | v | Pakistan | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 28 February 2011 | Zimbabwe | v | Canada | Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 1 March 2011 | Sri Lanka | v | Kenya | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 3 March 2011 | Pakistan | v | Canada | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 4 March 2011 | New Zealand | v | Zimbabwe | Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 5 March 2011 | Sri Lanka | v | Australia | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 7 March 2011 | Kenya | v | Canada | Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 8 March 2011 | Pakistan | v | New Zealand | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 10 March 2011 | Sri Lanka | v | Zimbabwe | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 13 March 2011 | New Zealand | v | Canada | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 13 March 2011 | Australia | v | Kenya | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 14 March 2011 | Pakistan | v | Zimbabwe | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 16 March 2011 | Australia | v | Canada | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 18 March 2011 | Sri Lanka | v | New Zealand | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 19 March 2011 | Pakistan | v | Australia | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 20 March 2011 | Zimbabwe | v | Kenya | Eden Gardens, Kolkata Attendance: |
| | ||||
Group B
| Pts | Pld | W | T | L | NR | NRR | PCF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| India | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Africa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Indies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 February 2011 | India | v | Bangladesh | Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 22 February 2011 | England | v | Netherlands | Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 24 February 2011 | South Africa | v | West Indies | Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 25 February 2011 | Bangladesh | v | Ireland | Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 27 February 2011 | India | v | England | Eden Gardens, Kolkata Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 28 February 2011 | West Indies | v | Netherlands | Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 2 March 2011 | England | v | Ireland | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 3 March 2011 | South Africa | v | Netherlands | Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 4 March 2011 | Bangladesh | v | West Indies | Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 6 March 2011 | India | v | Ireland | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 6 March 2011 | England | v | South Africa | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 9 March 2011 | India | v | Netherlands | Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 11 March 2011 | Ireland | v | West Indies | Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 11 March 2011 | Bangladesh | v | England | Chittagong Divisional Stadium, Chittagong Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 12 March 2011 | India | v | South Africa | Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 14 March 2011 | Bangladesh | v | Netherlands | Chittagong Divisional Stadium, Chittagong Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 15 March 2011 | South Africa | v | Ireland | Eden Gardens, Kolkata Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 17 March 2011 | England | v | West Indies | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 18 March 2011 | Ireland | v | Netherlands | Eden Gardens, Kolkata Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 19 March 2011 | Bangladesh | v | South Africa | Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 20 March 2011 | India | v | West Indies | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Attendance: |
| | ||||
Knockout stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 23 March - Dhaka | ||||||||||
| Group A 1 | ||||||||||
| 29 March - Colombo | ||||||||||
| Group B 3 | ||||||||||
| quarter finals 1st Winner | ||||||||||
| 24 March - Colombo | ||||||||||
| quarter finals 3rd Winner | ||||||||||
| Group A 2 | ||||||||||
| 2 April - Mumbai | ||||||||||
| Group B 4 | ||||||||||
| semi finals 1st Winner | ||||||||||
| 25 March - Dhaka | ||||||||||
| semi finals 2nd Winner | ||||||||||
| Group A 4 | ||||||||||
| 30 March - Mohali | ||||||||||
| Group B 2 | ||||||||||
| quarter finals 2nd Winner | ||||||||||
| 26 March - Ahmedabad | ||||||||||
| quarter finals 4th Winner | ||||||||||
| Group A 3 | ||||||||||
| Group B 1 | ||||||||||
Quarter-finals
| 23 March 2011 | TBD | v | TBD | Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 24 March 2011 | TBD | v | TBD | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 25 March 2011 | TBD | v | TBD | Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 26 March 2011 | TBD | v | TBD | Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Attendance: |
| | ||||
Semi-finals
| 29 March 2011 | TBD | v | TBD | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Attendance: |
| | ||||
| 30 March 2011 | TBD | v | TBD | Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali Attendance: |
Posts
