World Cup Qualifier to be moved?
Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live Sports Xtra during their coverage of the Scotland v England ODI today, Cricket Scotland chief executive Roddy Smith seemed to indicate that the UAE will no longer be hosting the World Cup Qualifier next year.
This begs the question as to exactly where it will be moved to. The requirements for hosting are such that a country needs at least six grounds with turf wickets and decent facilities, at least two of which need to be ODI approved.
The only associate countries (other than the UAE) that currently fit that description are Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Kenya and Malaysia. Ireland can be ruled out after hosting the 2005 tournament, and Scotland are pencilled in for the 2013 tournament. Hosting in Canada brings with it the problems of getting counties to release players as it would have to take place during the English season, so that would suggest Malaysia or Kenya to host.
Posted: August 18th, 2008 by Andrew Nixon.
Comments: 6
Comments
Comment from Tom Mather
Time: August 19, 2008, 7:03 am
That seems strange. It would have been a big advantage for the UAE to be hosting it. I wonder why they aren’t able to.
Comment from ray
Time: August 19, 2008, 2:55 pm
I would’ve liked to hear the remark. It would certainly make things interesting. Certainly, hosting was UAE best chance to qualify - they would still be hard-pressed to gain ODI status, though.
The northern hemisphere countries probably would not mind if the tounament was played later in 2009, after their domestic seasons have started.
Comment from Laksh
Time: August 21, 2008, 7:13 pm
wats the reason for the shift? I thought UAE is the perfect choice as the 2011 Wc is also gonna be held in Asia. UAE should be perfect for their infrastructure, fan base & conditions which are equal to the 2011 hosts? Shifting the tournament would be a real bad idea.
Comment from ray
Time: September 2, 2008, 1:20 pm
CricketEurope is reporting that Bangladesh are the likely replacement for host of the World Cup Qualifier. The state of the stadia in UAE is the apparent reason for a change in venue.
Link:
http://www.cricketeurope4.net/DATABASE/ARTICLES2/articles/000043/004351.shtml
Comment from Ian MacQuillin
Time: September 4, 2008, 6:56 pm
According to Cricinfo, they can “reveal” today that the qualifiers are to be moved to Bangladesh, 17 days after it was speculated on here and 5 days after it was confirmed on CricketEurope.
Comment from Andrew Nixon
Time: September 5, 2008, 8:29 am
Ian - Yes, that did give me quite a chuckle.
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