Bridgetown fiasco raises serious concerns over next edition of event

Bridgetown, Barbados: With the 2007 World Cup final being classified as a rain-curtailed game, it is believed that processes are now going to be put into place to ensure that the chaos does not repeat itself.

Thousands of spectators and visitors to the West Indies paid for what they had hoped would be a 50-overs-a-side game. Instead, they had to settle for a 38-overs-a-side contest which was repeatedly interrupted by rain and finally settled by the Duckworth Lewis ruling. Bad light and errors in judgement by officials also reduced the contest to a farce.

The tournament had already taken a severe financial blow with the early exits of sub-continental powers India and Pakistan.

Herculean task

In terms of logistics, organising the next edition in 2011 is not going to be any easier. The competition will be hosted in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India. Officials are bracing themselves for this. Approximately 15 venues will be hosting matches. They are also foreseeing other problems, mainly travel related, with teams travelling from one venue to another over four countries.

The tournament, slated to be held sometime in February-March, should see good weather conditions. However, they need to be better prepared for the rain days in order to maximise the chances of games being decided on their merit.

It is understood that these factors will be discussed at the ICC's next board meeting.