Hosts to play knockout matches at Home

[Cevno]

MIRPUR: Setting to rest all speculations, Haroon Lorgat, the CEO of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday made it clear that World Cup 2011 co-hosts, India would play their knock-out matches at home if they qualify for the quarterfinals.

Lorgat further specified that should two host nations come up against each other, the side placed higher in the pre-tournament seeding will get preference, which means India will play all its knock-out ties on home soil if they get past the preliminary stage. So will Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, unless they come up against India.

This effectively means the original schedule, according to which the specific World Cup quarterfinal matches were marked, will be changed depending on where the hosts finish. As per the schedule, the quarter-final matches are as follows: A1 v B4 (Mirpur), A2 v B3 (Ahmedabad), A3 v B2 (Mirpur) and A4 v B1 (Colombo).

But now, as per the decision, India will play their quarterfinal in Ahmedabad, irrespective of where they finish in Group B. The March 24 quarterfinal is between third-placed team in group B and the second team in group A.

So if India finish second, they will take on the third-placed team from Group A. But even if Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men do not finish third in Group B, they will still play in Ahmedabad against a side which will not know their venue till the last league match ends on March 20.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will play their final-eight match in Colombo on March 26, unless they face India. In such a scenario, India will get pre-tournament seeding preference and will play in Ahmedabad.

Similarly, Bangladesh will play their quarterfinal match at Dhaka on either March 23 or March 25 — first if they qualify, and secondly if they are not drawn up against either India or Sri Lanka.

ICC's host country rule will also hold good for the semifinal clashes in Colombo and Mohali on March 29 and 30 respectively.
Meanwhile, talking about ICC's decision to tinker with the format in 2015 edition of the World Cup, Lorgat said that the lower-ranked sides won't be a part of the 50-over game in future as it demanded more skills from the players.

Lorgat said the ICC has decided to cut down the number of teams in the 50-over World Cup to 10 from the current 14 and make the World Twenty20 tournament an affair involving 16 sides instead of 12.

"We have felt in the past few years that Twenty20 is the best format to develop the game world-wide and it provides a better environment for competition," Lorgat said. "The 50-over format is more skill-based and suitable for the top teams," he added. Lorgat also felt the World Cup had become too long in recent editions. "The previous event was longer than was perhaps comfortable," he said about the 2007 edition in the Caribbean, which featured 16 teams.

"We have shed some days in this particular event. In a 14-team format, this was the most compact way we could produce the event. Regardless of T20 cricket, World Cup is our flagship tournament. We want to ensure that all three formats survive," said Lorgat, who also confirmed that the format in this edition was made to help top teams come through the group stage.


India's knock-out punch: All matches at home - The Times of India


Very good news for India.

Was worried about facing Srilanka in the semi's In Srilanka.

[marc71178]

Old news and a big joke.

[Cruxdude]

Deal with it

[Debris]

It really is only an issue when you have multiple countries hosting the world cup. Otherwise, it is a given that the host side will be playing at home so this advantage is there in any world cup.

Did I understand correctly that India would play SL in India regardless of where they finish on the table should they meet? That really is a disgrace, if true.

[gvenkat]

Originally Posted by marc71178

Old news and a big joke.

If any India is better off playing away than at home and yes deal with it.

[gvenkat]

Originally Posted by Cruxdude

Deal with it

[vcs]

Seems very unfair that India should play SL at home based on pre-tournament seedings even if SL finish higher in their group, even though I'm India's biggest cheerleader.

[Prince EWS]

I have no problem with the hosts all playing at home should they qualify (single-host nations get all their games at home for example) but like others I find it a bit farcical that pre-tournament seedings and not group stage performances dictate the venue should two hosts meet.

[Blaze 18]

I don't think it'll make a difference, as it is unlikely that Sri Lanka and India will meet in the quarters.

[Prince EWS]

Originally Posted by Blaze 18

I don't think it'll make a difference, as it is unlikely that Sri Lanka and India will meet in the quarters.

What about the semis? Or the final? What about Bangladesh?

[Blaze 18]

Originally Posted by Prince EWS

What about the semis? Or the final? What about Bangladesh?

The final will be played in Mumbai regardless of who qualifies, right ? My bad about the semis - I only skimmed through Cevno's post, and thought it was only for the quarters. As for Bangladesh - they'll be watching the knockout stages on television.

Anyway, don't see it as that big an issue personally.

[Bun]

Originally Posted by Cruxdude

Deal with it

It is such a non issue. SL and Ban are the only boards who have a small chance of getting a rough deal, but seemingly they're all sport for this.

[Himannv]

Should be based on group stage performances IMO. This seeding rubbish is just that, rubbish. Money talking I reckon.

[Howe_zat]

It barely makes a difference. The Bangladeshis will be happy that they got to host the opener against India, a quarter final would deserve to go the other way.

So we're down to one hypothetical game that may well not happen, it's hardly an issue.

[Blaze 18]

Originally Posted by Howe_zat

It barely makes a difference. The Bangladeshis will be happy that they got to host the opener against India, a quarter final would deserve to go the other way.

So we're down to one hypothetical game that may well not happen, it's hardly an issue.

This.