South Asian countries ask for World Cup bid extension

CRICKET: Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to extend Tuesday's deadline for bids to host the 2011 World Cup.

Australia and New Zealand confirmed on Tuesday they were lodging a joint bid to stage the event.

"We have asked the ICC to extend the date to March 20. The heads of all four boards will meet in Chandigarh, India on March 12 to finalise the joint bid," Pakistan Cricket Board Director of Cricket Operations Saleem Altaf told Reuters.

Altaf said the four countries had prepared a letter expressing their interest in hosting to the ICC but not their final official bid.

"We need to sort out some matters with the ICC relating to certain conditionalities asked for from bidding countries. We have to get clearance from our governments. That is why we have asked for a delay in final date of submission," Altaf said.

The successful bidder is expected to be announced in July.

Australia and New Zealand co-hosted the 1992 World Cup and were next in line to stage the 2011 event after Asia (1996), England (1999), South Africa (2003) and the West Indies (2007) each took their turn staging the tournament.

However, the ICC announced late last year that they were scrapping their rotational policy for an event-by-event bidding process after the sub-continent demanded they should be given every third World Cup because of the money they can generate for the game.

KARACHI, Tuesday (Reuters)