The International Cricket Council and Yahoo!India on Thursday announced the launch of the official website of the ICC World Cup 2011 – iccevents.yahoo.com, the online destination to follow the happenings of the sporting extravaganza, starting from February 19.

The website would have live match updates, detailed match analysis, exclusive video content, engaging games and rewarding contests, an ICC release said.

Fans can also purchase ICC merchandise through the website, the release informed.

ICC General Manager (Commercial) Campbell Jamieson said he and other members of the world governing body of the game were “thrilled to be working with Yahoo! to launch an online destination that offers the exclusive ICC Cricket World Cup content in an innovative and engaging way.”

Among the content will be “Commentweeter” to get a consolidated view of Twitter updates directly from cricket fans and the top cricketers of the world in one single view, the release added.

Cricket-loving India suffered a sporting humiliation on Thursday when its most famous ground, Eden Gardens in Kolkata, was declared unfit to host its first fixture of next month’s World Cup.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said another stadium would have to be found to hold the India-England clash on February 27 after a renovation programme at Eden Gardens fell months behind schedule.

“Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement.

The ICC did not say where the game would be played and said it would face a “challenge” to relocate the game because of last-minute ticketing and travel requirements.

Three other World Cup fixtures, which runs from February 19 to April 2 in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, are also scheduled to take place at the ground.

The decision was a major blow for India’s image and the estimated 64,000 spectators who were expected to pack the legendary stadium, which has been undergoing a major renovation.

The ruling echoed the chaotic run-up to New Delhi’s 2010 Commonwealth Games, which instead of marking the arrival of a new, modern India on the world stage became a national embarrassment of delays, shoddy workmanship and alleged corruption.

“All venues had ample time in which to prepare for World Cup matches,” said Lorgat.

“We had been understanding and had provided extensions to the deadline dates but unfortunately we are now at a point where we must carefully manage our risks.”

The ICC said concerns were mainly over “cricket operations, media, broadcast and sponsorship facilities” that were not finalised or confirmed by the venue.

In recent weeks, fears had grown over Edens Gardens as it remained a chaotic scene of cranes, rubble, dust and bare concrete.

Hundreds of labourers wearing virtually no safety equipment have been toiling day and night to finish off two new blocks of stands which are still covered in scaffolding.

When an agency reporter visited in early January, seats had yet to be fitted in many tiers at the ground, which is celebrated as one of the great pilgrimage sites of international cricket.

Until Thursday’s ICC ruling, Indian organisers had been dismissing reports about problems at Eden Gardens as scare-mongering by the media.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) which runs Eden Gardens, said on Tuesday that the ground would host the match without difficulty.

“It appears that ICC team is happy after the inspection of the venue. The match is on 27th, we have to finish the work before the match,” he said.

In Thursday’s statement from the ICC, tournament director Ratnakar Shetty said: “We will work with the new venue, the tour operators and the ticket distributors to manage the logistical challenges that will surely arise.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which oversees the multi-billion-dollar sport in India and is seen as dominating the game worldwide, distanced it from the failure to rebuild Eden Gardens on time.

“I don’t think the BCCI should be blamed for this,” BCCI spokesman Rajiv Shukla said.

“These things happen. I am sure the organising committee will choose a suitable venue soon for that game. But there is no doubt the remaining matches in Kolkata will be held on schedule.”

Newly-appointed ICC president Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that immediate resumption of cricket ties between India and Pakistan is not possible.

“Immediate ties between both countries is not possible. It is not in the hands of the cricket boards. It is a diplomatic issue. This is a decision taken by the Indian government,” Pawar said.

Asked about demands for the introduction of day-night Tests to save the longer format of the game, Pawar said the “issue has not reached his ear”.

“We are only administrators. If needed, I will let the experts take a call (on the issue),” he said.

To a query whether the ICC was mulling to shift its headquarters back to England, Pawar said, “In England, there are 40 per cent taxes while there are no taxes in Dubai. The moment England thinks similarly about cricket we will consider it.”

Pawar said he was confident about BCCI president Shashank Manohar’s integrity to handle the controversial Lalit Modi issue.

Tickets to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 began selling online on Wednesday from the www.iccevents.yahoo.com site. Phase I of ticket sales will be primarily online. Retail outlet and box-office sales will be rolled out in Phase II the date for which will be announced in due course.

Mr. Sharad Pawar, Vice President ICC and Chairman of the Central Organizing Committee bought the first ticket to the inaugural match between India and Bangladesh online. Mr. A H M Mustafa Kamal, President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board followed with his purchase to the inaugural match to be played in Dhaka.

Haroon Lorgat, Chief Executive of the ICC, said: “Our mission is to reach out to as many cricket fans as possible, both in the subcontinent and around the world. We’re thrilled to appoint KyaZoonga in this crucial role, as we have been impressed with their ticketing track record, world class ticketing services and previous experience with cricket ticketing in the Indian subcontinent.

Launching online ticket sales to thirteen venues across the three host countries, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, almost nine months prior to the largest international cricket event is a “first” for the tournament. We look forward to seeing a full house throughout the ICC flagship tournament.”

Professor R.S. Shetty, Tournament Director, ICC CWC 2011 commented on the occasion of the launch, “In order to make it easy for the spectators to buy tickets well in advance, we are launching the online sale of tickets for the event on June 1, 2010.”

Tickets are available by clicking on the ticketing link on the official ICC website www.iccevents.yahoo.com. Credit cards, debit cards and net banking will be the accepted modes of payment for the purchase and delivery of tickets. At the customers’ option, tickets booked online will either be delivered by courier or can be picked up at the venue pick-up counters nearer the tournament date. Tickets are available by team, by venue or by looking up the entire tournament schedule. Additionally, unique packages such as “Follow your Team”, “Love your City” or “Be a Great Host” allow the customer to access a combination of matches to suit their preferences. Detailed instructions on how to buy, schedule information, package descriptions, as well as Frequently Asked Questions are available in the Official Ticket Guide published and distributed at the ticket launch. This guide is also available for download online. Ticket purchase Terms and Conditions are also available online.

The ticketing site has several innovative and customer-friendly features such as multiple currency options (INR, LKR, BDT, USD) and View from the Stand, a first of its kind feature that allows customers to view the cricket ground from their selected stands before they purchase their tickets. Other unique features include automatic Facebook and Twitter updates to users’ profiles once they have bought their tickets.

Neetu Bhatia, Chairman and CEO of KyaZoonga said, “We are truly excited about going global with our partnership with the ICC. It is our honor and privilege to have Mr. Pawar buy the first ticket to the tournament. The World Cup is the final word when it comes to global cricketing competition and we are proud to have been appointed its Official Ticketing Partner. Cricket in the sub-continent is a uniquely fantastic experience and we are very excited about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of ticketing an international event of the stature of the World Cup at home. The ICC and each of the host country Boards – the BCCI, SLC and BCB have a singular goal of providing easy access to cricket fans to their favorite game. We will work closely with them to do what we do best – continue to provide customers and fans, both locally and globally, with seamless access to tickets for fixtures held in the sub-continent.

Cricket India

Ogilvy & Mather has been selected as the official Advertising and Media Agency for the 50-over ICC Cricket World Cup to be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh next year.

In 1948, David Ogilvy founded the agency that went on to become Ogilvy & Mather later. The company is eighth largest advertising networks in the world and has more than 450 plus offices in 169 cities.

The 10th edition of the World Cup will take place during February and March 2011, with the first match being played on February 19th in Dhaka and final in Mumbai on April 2nd.

It will be Bangladesh’s first time co-hosting of a World Cup and fourteen cricketing nations will complete in the quadrennial event.

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 International Cricket Council (ICC) were forced to strip Pakistan of its hosting rights.

The tournament will take place at 13 venues in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. The prize money for the prestigious event has been set by the ICC Board at a record $10 million in order to reflect the importance of the competition.

Tickets for the premium event will go on sale online from June 1, 2010 at www.iccevents.yahoo.com.

Cricket has taken a major stride towards potential inclusion in the Olympics after Games chiefs voted to recognise the governing International Cricket Council (ICC).

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), meeting in Vancouver, also said it would recognise the federations of sport climbing and power boating.

“They are recognised federations by us, which now means that they can take part in IOC events,” said IOC director of communications Mark Adams, adding it could be seen as a first step towards becoming Olympic sports.

Cricket was granted the status of a “recognised” Olympic sport in 2007, for sports not in the Olympic programme but which confirm to certain criteria such as universality, for a two-year period, pending a decision on making the move permanent.

But despite calls from the likes of former Australia star Adam Gilchrist for Twenty20 to be included, the ICC currently has no imminent plans to bid for the format to included.

Cricket was part of the 1900 Olympics in Paris and has not appeared since, but it is set to feature at this year’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, and has been in the Commonwealth Games as recently as 1998.

Recent additions to the Olympic sports roster include golf and rugby sevens.

International Cricket Council is now planning to split One-day matches into two innings of 25 overs each, an idea mooted by the Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar earlier this month.

In order to spice up the One-day format, Tendulkar had proposed that every team should play two innings of 25 overs each and ICC cricket manager Dave Richardson said the governing body might soon conduct a trial.

“I quite like that idea, I believe South Africa may trial something along those lines,” Richardson said.

“This might work in day/night cricket where one team has to bat in day and the other at night. It provides something different and reduces the effects on the team who loses the toss and has to bat first on a damp wicket, for example,” he said.

Even though Tendulkar aired his view earlier this month, Richardson said the idea had popped up in the past as well and came up for discussion at annual meeting of the ICC cricket committee in May.

One-day cricket is already facing tough challenge from Twenty20 and the England and Wales Cricket Board scrapped Friends Provident trophy, the only 50-over domestic tournament, in favour of a Twenty20 event.

Richardson, however, is concerned that splitting it into two innings would mean less centuries as batsmen would have less overs to bat.

“I don’t necessarily like the idea of playing two matches of 25 overs each with the openers batting again. The charm of One-day cricket is seeing someone batting at four and scoring a good hundred,” Richardson said.

“If you bat in the middle order of a Twenty20 or a new 25-over innings, you’re not to get much of an opportunity to hit three figures, one downside of the Twenty20 game,” he said.

He, however, made it clear that such an experiment should be conducted at the domestic level before pushing it into international cricket.

“If it has been trialled successfully at domestic level, it may give the trial to give it the go-ahead at international level,” he said.

“The ICC has been proactive with ideas and innovations, like the powerplays. The idea of the ‘super-sub’ wasn’t as successful and got rid of quite quickly. One of the criticisms was that we trialled things at international as opposed to domestic level.

“Our tactics going forward are member countries trial changes first domestically and if they are successful, then we can take them on board at the international level,” Richardson said.

The ICC cricket committee will discuss the result of the experiment when it meets next year.

Pakistan would prefer to play their 2011 World Cup matches in Sri Lanka if their team is not allowed to play in India due to strained relations between the sub-continental neighbours.

According to sources, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ejaz Butt had indicated it to the ICC President David Morgan in their recent meeting in Dubai.

India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the three joint hosts of the World Cup as ICC and PCB have resolved their dispute over hosting of matches in Pakistan.

Relations between India and Pakistan hit a low after the terror attacks in Mumbai last November which led to suspension of bilateral cricket ties.

“The PCB believes the test case for the World Cup will come when the IPL-III will be held in March-April next year,” one source said.

“If the Pakistan government allows its cricketers to play in the IPL then we should not have any problems sending our team to India for the World Cup matches,” the source said.

The central organizing committee of the World Cup which no longer includes any Pakistani representative is due to finalize the schedule of matches and venues for the World Cup in November after which the PCB will know where its team has to play in the tournament.

The International Cricket Council and the Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday amicably resolved the dispute over staging of the 2011 World Cup matches in the strife-torn country, clearing the way for the smooth hosting of the elite event in the sub-continent.

As per the agreement, to be signed soon, the PCB will retain its host fees and also receive an additional payment as reasonable compensation for loss of hosting rights that it would have enjoyed had it hosted the matches on Pakistan soil.

The PCB, on its part, has agreed to withdraw its legal proceedings against the ICC.

The resolution was reached during a meeting between ICC President David Morgan and PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt.

According to the agreement between the PCB and commercial arm of the world governing body “the PCB would be free of its liabilities and obligations associated with hosting matches during the tournament, including the location of the tournament secretariat which had originally been set for Lahore.”

“This resolution is good for world cricket and provides an improved platform for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 as we now have a degree of certainty surrounding the event that was not there while the dispute was ongoing,” Morgan said in a statement.

“I am glad we were able to come to an amicable agreement and I believe this is a fair resolution for the PCB and the ICC,” Morgan said.

The ICC Board in April had stripped the host status of Pakistan, taking away the 14 matches it was originally allocated because of security situation in that country.

Morgan also promised Pakistan to bring cricket back in that country as and when security improves.

“When the position in Pakistan, from a safety and security point of view, becomes satisfactory to the ICC and its specialist security advisors as well as to visiting teams, then international cricket will return to Pakistan,” he said.

PCB chief Butt also expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the talks.

“The PCB is content with the settlement that has been reached. We are able to see this dispute from the other side. We realise also the logistical and administrative difficulties that would be associated with organising our matches in the other three co-host countries.

“Our number-one priority is that cricket in Pakistan must not be allowed to suffer unduly and I believe this agreement is the best possible outcome for the game,” he said.

South Africa left out tall fast bowler Morne Morkel Thursday when they announced a 15-man squad for next month’s ICC Champions Trophy to be played in South Africa.

Morkel, regarded as a match-winner when he burst on the national scene in 2006-07, paid the price for inconsistent performances last season.

While Morkel missed out, left-arm fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe returned to the national team for the first time since undergoing a cartilage operation on his right knee in March. Tsotsobe took four for 50 in his only One-Day International against Australia in Perth in January.

Tsotsobe, 25, joined Wayne Parnell, 20, as one of two promising left-arm pace bowlers in the squad. Parnell was one of the outstanding performers in the World Twenty20 in England in June.

Left-arm spin bowler Robin Peterson also gained a recall.

“There were some difficult choices to make,” said selection convener Mike Procter.

“At the moment South African cricket is blessed with an abundance of fast bowling talent with the emergence of Tsotsobe and Parnell as outstanding new prospects and Charl Langeveldt becoming available again.

“Langeveldt is not fit enough yet to be considered after his shoulder surgery and Morne Morkel is the unlucky one to miss out. He is very much part of our long-term planning and has a major role to play but we would like to see more consistency from him at this stage,” said Procter.

Procter said one of the strengths of the team was that there were numerous options, with four spin bowlers, two all-rounders in Jacques Kallis and Albie Morkel as well as a strong pace attack.

“There is also batting potential most of the way down the order.”

The Champions Trophy will be played at two venues, Centurion and Johannesburg, from September 22 to October 5.

South African squad: Graeme Smith (capt), Johan Botha (vice-capt), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe.