The new host of world cup 2011
Due to the recent terror strikes in India and the unstable political situation in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, there is a possibility of the International Cricket Council (ICC) seriously considering a proposal to shift the 2011 cricket World Cup to Australia and New Zealand.
2011 Cricket World cup in Asia
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are scheduled to stage cricket's top tournament in February and March of 2011, but a meeting of ICC CEos in South Africa next weekend is likely to consider putting another country or countries on standby to host the event.
According to Fox Sports, Australia and New Zealand will host the World Cup in 2015.
Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland said safety and security issues surrounding the 2011 World Cup were "bound to come up" next weekend.
"It hasn''t been talked about but that may well have changed out of this Mumbai incident but one would hope the World Cup and other events that are planned for various places in the sub-continent can go ahead as planned. But there will be plenty of things that will need to be planned in the fullness of time," he said.
Australia was put on standby to host the 2007 World Cup when it appeared the West Indies were labouring in their attempts to have new stadiums and general infrastructure built on time.
Sutherland said he did not know if another country had already been put on standby for the 2011 tournament, and was non-committal when asked if Australia would have enough time to prepare for the event if it was switched. "I don''t know the answer to that," he said.
"It''s something that down the track would need to be looked at, but we are very keen for it to go ahead where it has already been allocated. Let''s see how things settle down after the tragic events of Mumbai."
ICC spokesman James Fitzgerald said there had yet to be any discussions about shifting the tournament.
An Australian team source said if the bloodshed and political uncertainty continued in the four cricketing nations then players may be not interested to make the trip.
Several tours of Pakistan have been cancelled for security reasons while Federal Government advice encourages Australians to avoid Sri Lanka (civil war) and Bangladesh (general trouble).
Very funny ... ICC World Cup 2011 New Dress Code | New ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Uniform.
First Look: Mascot for 2011 Cricket World Cup
"Appu", the elephant was the mascot of the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi and almost three decades down the line, the pachyderm has been chosen to perform the same role at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
"The idea of our mascot is to crystallise the feelings and action of the sport and the fans in a graphic form that reflects the visceral tone and emotion that Cricket creates in its followers, especially in an event like the CWC.
"It also emphasises the enthusiasm of youth both in general and for Cricket itself, especially on the sub-continent with its massive and dedicated following. He's stylised to give an instantly recognisable graphic strength so that with exposure his bold lines and strong colouring will instantly create a friendly face for the CWC," tournament director Ratnakar Shetty said in a media release.
Stumpy, Elephant mascot of 2011 Cricket World Cup - making a statement
Not much of a cricket fan, least of all the utterly dull, languorous 5-day Test match format [its connoisseurs are stuck in a time warp - there, I said it - now sue me #kidding], I was flipping through the sports channels during the 3rd Test match being played between India & Sri Lanka. Just as I was about to switch to the next channel, they happened to telecast the unveiling of the mascot of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup - Stumpy, a 10-year old Elephant. Now, being decked up in some sort of a rain coat notwithstanding, what struck me was the actual choice of the mascot - an Elephant.
Though stripped of its rights to physically host any of the matches, Pakistan still remains one of the organizing members or hosts of the games, however just-on-paper it may be. The tournament is supposed to be just as much of a contributory effort of Pakistan [again, on paper] as any of the other 3 countries & it it would not be unexpected on parts of the Pakistanis to expect that their participation as hosts get highlighted in important aspects of tournament [such is that country of great expectations - they expect everything from everybody - weapons, money, trade aid....the list is endless - the inflated sense of entitlement that they posses].
In light of their continued participation as host of the World Cup, choosing an Elephant as a mascot seems to me as a way for the other 3 countries - India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka, to make a statement - the World Cup is not Pakistan's baby - they're an outsider - a hanger-on, leeching off the revenue it would generate.
The message should not be very hard to get across to the Pakistanis - the Elephant is native to all the 3 countries except Pakistan. No elephant has ever roamed in the wild of, what was described by its founder itself, the moth-eaten country. The elephant has had no presence or association with Pakistan.
Quite a snub from the organizers I'd say - something that the country should've got used to by now, what with not a single IPL team owners bidding for Pakistani players, its invitation to play in the Champion League Cricket being withdrawn, countries refusing to step foot on its soil and thus having to face the ignominy of losing to those countries on some "friendly foreign soil" - the list goes on and on. Can't say I'm not enjoying it though #evilme.
World Cup 2011 countdown
Which country plays where, when and what matches is the topic of following, formally called as cricket schedule, for year 2011..