Wankhade Stadium will be ready by Dec 31: BCCI

The BCCI dismissed media reports that repair at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium was running at the back schedule and claimed the venue would be ready in time for next year's cricket World Cup final.

Board Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said in a statement that Wankhede Stadium will be ready by Dec 31 and there was no truth in the report that DY Patil Stadium has been reserved as a standby venue.

"As the Tournament Director of ICC Cricket World Cup-2011, I would like to place on record that the ICC Committee, keeping track of the attentiveness of the World Cup venues, is satisfied with the progress of the work at the Wankhede Stadium," Shetty said.

"The stadium would be ready by end of December 2010 which is the time limit given to Mumbai Cricket Association. The central Organising Committee of ICC Cricket World Cup-2011 has not taken any decision regarding D Y Patil ground as an altenative venue," he said.

The report has said that the Wankhede Stadium would miss the November 30 deadline and that the Cricket Board has determined to keep much-in-shape DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai as standby to avoid any last minute glitches.

Flintoff hopes to return in coming weeks

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff hopes to make his long-awaited return from knee surgery in coming weeks".

Flintoff has had two knee operations since helping England win the Ashes against Australia in the final Test at the Oval in last year.

The Lancashire batsman retired from Test cricket after that match, but he still hopes to play in ODI internationals for England, as well as representing his county in domestic action.

Flintoff, 32, believes he could play for Lancashire some time in the coming weeks as a batsman and then slowly step up his bowling work-load as well.

"It's going well, there's light at the end of the tunnel," he told Sky Sports News.

"It's been a long road with the rehab since then but I'm hoping to play again in the next few weeks.

"I'm back in the nets at Lancashire and from nowhere I've found the ability to bat again which is encouraging.

"I'm going to have to play in the second team first and force my way back into the first team but with the way I'm batting, I'm hoping to do that with the bat initially and then pick up the bowling from there.

"Rather than worrying about where my feet go, my hands and my head and getting too technical, I've basically gone back to how I used to play when I was younger, just see the ball and hit it as hard as I can.

"That's the way I tend to play, especially in the short form of the game, but I just can't wait to get cracking.

"It's been so long, and I'm now starting to get excited and chomping at the bit to start."

Kapil Dev's 'mad' captaincy won us WC 1983: Srikkanth

Members of 1983 World Cup winning team never thought of even reaching the semifinals but it was their "mad" Captain Kapil Dev's inspirational leadership that guided them to the coveted trophy, said chief India selector Krish Srikkanth.

Srikkanth, one of the key members of the team that beat the mighty West Indies twice in 1983 World Cup including in the final, said many players had even booked flight tickets for the United States for holidaying after the tournament as they believed they would not go beyond the group stage.

"None of the players thought we would reach the semifinals. So, they booked flight tickets for the US. The plan was to watch the semifinal and the final and then fly to the States for a holiday. The tour agent said that even my wife can come as I married in March 1983. So my booking was for Bombay-London-New York," he said at a book launch function in the city yesterday.

"At that time we were minnows in ODIs. Before 1983, we had won only one match in a World Cup, against East Africa which was a team not heard of. So to be honest there was no hope of going beyond the group stage of the competition," said the former dashing opener.

Srikkanth said Kapil was somehow very serious and said his side can beat the mighty West Indies and his self-confidence rubbed off on to his team-mates.

"Somehow Kapil was very serious. He said we had beaten the West Indies once so we can beat them in our first group match at Old Trafford. He said 'Dil se khelo' we can do it," he stated.

"All the players said Kapil had gone mad. West Indies have Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes as openers. After that they have Vivian Richards, Larry Gomes, Jeff Dujon and four fast bowlers whom I never wanted to face. But Kapil insisted at the pre-match meeting that we can beat them. That gave us the self-confidence that we wanted and we managed to defeat them in the group match and in the final," Srikkanth said.

"I can say that the group match victory against the West Indies was the turning point in India's ODI history. And I say there will never be another Kapil in this country and for that matter in the world," he declared.

Dhoni signs massive 200 crore deal with Rhiti Sports

Indian cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has signed a massive Rs 200 crore endorsement deal with a talent management company, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar in the corporate contract sweepstakes.

MS Dhoni has entered into 2 year deal with Rhiti Sports Management and Mindscapes, which will manage the Indian captain's long list of endorsements and brand associations, corporate profile, patents and digital rights, images, visibility on social networking sites and merchandise through a joint venture.

Tendulkar's 3 year deal with sports management firm Iconix, signed in 2006, was worth Rs 180 crore.

Confirming the development, Rhiti Sports General Manager Sanjay Pandey said as per the agreement, the company will be looking after Dhoni's entire spectrum of endorsements.

Currently, Dhoni is the country's most classy sportsperson and is associated with 22 brands such as PepsiCo, Reebok, Aircel, Godrej and Hersheys.

Dhoni, often described as India's most eligible bachelor, married childhood sweetheart and hotel management student Sakshi Singh Rawat at a private ceremony outside the northern town of Dehra Dun last week.

A Forbes study last year on the world's richest cricketers put him at the top with an annual earning of 10 million dollars, followed by Tendulkar at eight million dollars.

Two other Indian cricketers, Yuvraj Singh (5.5 million dollars) and Rahul Dravid (five million dollars), were ranked 3rd and 4th, while England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was in 5th place with four million dollars, Forbes said.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was in sixth place with 3.5 million dollars a year, the magazine said, adding the figures included club and national team salaries and commercial endorsements.

Will play in 2011 World Cup if team wants: Muralitharan

All set to bid adieu to his Test career, Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan said if the team wants will play the 2011 cricket World Cup in the sub-continent.

Muralitharan has announced that he will leave from the longer version of the game after playing the 1st Test against India starting July 18 at Galle.

"I will be happy to see the younger players shape up and win the World Cup 2011 for Sri Lanka. But if the authorities think I should also be a part of the team, then I will play," the world's highest wicket taker said at a press conference.

Hitting back at his attackers, who questioned his bowling action, Muralitharan said it was easy to criticize anybody with a naked eye but bio-mechanics proved that his action was legal.

He also thanked Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and World Cup winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga for their support when his action repeatedly came under the scanner.

The batsmen worldwide have often feared facing him but when asked which batsmen he would find difficult to bowl at, Muralitharan named Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar.

"It is difficult. Overall I think I played lot of cricket against the West Indies during Lara's days. And also played a lot against Sachin Tendulkar. Like that you can name so many. But these two players are very special players in the world. And I think they have played me the best," Muralitharan said.

Muralitharan said his Test record of 792 wickets was not unbreakable.

Ashes no excuse for World Cup flop, says Strauss

England Skipper Andrew Strauss has insisted blaming a poor performance at next year's World Cup in Asia on the prior Ashes tour of Australia won't wash as an excuse for failure.

No England team has won the World Cup, cricket's leader one-day trophy and many pundits believe they are unlikely to break their duck so long as they continue to head to the tournament on the back of an Ashes tour of Australia, where they haven't won a Test series since 1986/87.

But Australia has won the last three World Cups(1999, 2003, 2007), all after Ashes series albeit they were home campaigns for the Aussies.

Strauss, speaking to reporters at Trent Bridge here on Wednesday, where the 1st one-day international between England and Bangladesh takes place on Thursday, said moaning about the schedule was a waste of time.

"It is what it is and it didn't stop Australia winning the last World Cup," Strauss said.

"There's no reason why you can't go from a busy Ashes series and then win the World Cup.

"What you want in that Ashes series is for you to win and be full of confidence and have that under your belt before you go to the World Cup; that would be the perfect way to go in to a World Cup."

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Cricket World Cup Summary

Year	Host Nation(s)	Final Venue	Final
			Winner	Runner-up
2011	India, SL, Ban	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai	?	?
2007	West Indies	Kensington Oval, Bridgetown	Australia	Sri Lanka
2003	SA, Ken, Zim	Wanderers, Johannesburg	Australia	India
1999	Eng, Ire, Neth, Scot	Lord's, London	Australia	Pakistan
1996	India, Pak, SL	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	Sri Lanka	Australia
1992	Australia, NZ	MCG, Melbourne	Pakistan	England
1987	India, Pakistan	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	Australia	England
1983	England	Lord's, London	India	West Indies
1979	England	Lord's, London	West Indies	England
1975	England	Lord's, London	West Indies	Australia

Cricket World Cup 2011 Schedule

Cricket World Cup 2011 Schedule

Group A	Group B
Australia	India
Pakistan	South Africa
New Zealand	England
Sri Lanka	West Indies
Zimbabwe	Bangladesh
Canada	Ireland
Kenya	Netherlands

Date	Match Details	Time IST	Place
Feb 19 - Sa	Bangladesh v India, 1st match Ind won by 87 runs	14:00	Dhaka
Feb 20 - Su	New Zealand v Kenya, 2nd match NZ won by 10 wickets	09:30	Chennai
Feb 20 - Su	Sri Lanka v Canada, 3rd match SL won by 210 runs	14:30	Hambantota
Feb 21 - Mo	Australia v Zimbabwe, 4th match Aus won by 91 runs	14:30	Ahmedabad
Feb 22 - Tu	England v Netherlands, 5th match Eng won by 6 wickets	14:30	Nagpur
Feb 23 - We	Pakistan v Kenya, 6th match Pak won by 205 runs	14:30	Hambantota
Feb 24 - Th	South Africa v West Indies, 7th match SA won by 7 wickets	14:30	Delhi
Feb 25 - Fr	Bangladesh v Ireland, 8th match Ban won by 27 runs	09:30	Dhaka
Feb 25 - Fr	Australia v New Zealand, 9th match Aus won by 7 wickets	14:30	Nagpur
Feb 26 - Sa	Sri Lanka v Pakistan, 10th match Pak won by 11 runs	14:30	Colombo
Feb 27- Su	India v England, 11th match Match tied	14:30	Kolkata
Feb 28- Mo	Zimbabwe v Canada, 12th match Zim won by 175 runs	09:30	Nagpur
Feb 28- Mo	West Indies v Netherlands, 13th match WI won by 215 runs	14:30	Delhi
Mar 01 - Tu	Sri Lanka v Kenya, 14th match SL won by 9 wickets	14:30	Colombo
Mar 02 - We	England v Ireland, 15th match Ire won by 3 wickets	14:30	Bengaluru
Mar 03- Th	South Africa v Netherlands, 16th match SA won by 231 runs	09:30	Chandigarh
Mar 03- Th	Pakistan v Canada, 17th match Pak won by 46 runs	14:30	Colombo
Mar 04- Fr	New Zealand v Zimbabwe, 18th match NZ won by 10 wickets	09:30	Ahmedabad
Mar 04- Fr	Bangladesh v West Indies, 19th match WI won by 9 wickets	14:30	Dhaka
Mar 05 - Sa	Sri Lanka v Australia, 20th match Match abandoned due to rain	14:30	Colombo
Mar 06- Su	India v Ireland, 21st match Ind won by 5 wickets	14:30	Bengaluru
Mar 06- Su	England v South Africa, 22nd match Eng won by 6 runs	09:30	Chennai
Mar 07- Mo	Kenya v Canada, 23rd match Can won by 5 wickets	14:30	Delhi
Mar 08 - Tu	Pakistan v New Zealand, 24th match NZ won by 110 runs	14:30	Pallekele
Mar 09 - We	India v Netherlands, 25th match Ind won by 5 wickets	14:30	Delhi
Mar 10- Th	Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, 26th match SL won by 139 runs	14:30	Pallekele
Mar 11- Fr	West Indies v Ireland, 27th match WI won by 44 runs	09:30	Chandigarh
Mar 11- Fr	Bangladesh v England, 28th match Ban won by 2 wickets	14:30	Chittagong
Mar 12 - Sa	India v South Africa, 29th match SA won by 3 wickets	14:30	Nagpur
Mar 13- Su	New Zealand v Canada, 30th match NZ won by 97 runs	09:30	Mumbai
Mar 13- Su	Australia v Kenya, 31st match Aus won by 60 runs	14:30	Bengaluru
Mar 14- Mo	Pakistan v Zimbabwe, 32nd match Pak won by 7 wickets	14:30	Pallekele
Mar 14- Mo	Bangladesh v Netherlands, 33rd match Ban won by 6 wickets	09:30	Chittagong
Mar 15 - Tu	South Africa v Ireland, 34th match SA won by 131 runs	14:30	Kolkata
Mar 16 - We	Australia v Canada, 35th match Aus won by 7 wickets	14:30	Bengaluru
Mar 17- Th	England v West Indies, 36th match Eng won by 18 runs	14:30	Chennai
Mar 18- Fr	Sri Lanka v New Zealand, 37th match SL won by 112 runs	09:30	Mumbai
Mar 18- Fr	Ireland v Netherlands, 38th match Ire won by 6 wickets	14:30	Kolkata
Mar 19 - Sa	Bangladesh v South Africa, 39th match SA won by 206 runs	09:00	Dhaka
Mar 19 - Sa	Australia v Pakistan, 40th match Pak won by 4 wickets	14:30	Colombo
Mar 20- Su	Zimbabwe v Kenya, 41st match Zim won by 161 runs	09:30	Kolkata
Mar 20- Su	India v West Indies, 42nd match Ind won by 80 runs	14:30	Chennai
Mar 23 - We	Pakistan v West Indies, 1st quarter-final Pak won by 10 wickets	14:30	Dhaka
Mar 24- Th	India v Australia, 2nd quarter-final Ind won by 5 wickets	14:30	Colombo
Mar 25- Fr	South Africa v New Zealand, 3rd qf NZ won by 49 runs	14:30	Dhaka
Mar 26 - Sa	Sri Lanka v England, 4th quarter-final SL won by 10 wickets	14:30	Ahmedabad
Mar 29 - Tu	Sri Lanka v New Zealand, 1st semi-final	14:30	Colombo
Mar 30 - We	India v Pakistan, 2nd semi-final	14:30	Chandigarh
Apr 02 - Sa	India/Pakistan v Sri Lanka/NZ, Final	14:30	Mumbai

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Description : The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the 10th Cricket World Cup and will be hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

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