MELBOURNE: The subcontinent will be ready in time to host the World Cup though five venues were still undergoing work, the International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat said Saturday. According to reports, the World Cup organizers have been racing against time to get the grounds ready for the Feb. 19-April 2 tournament jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. “Five stadia are still to be completed but there are no alarm bells ringing and I'm sure they will be ready well before the World Cup,” Lorgat told reporters. Mumbai will host two group matches on March 13 and 17 in addition to the final. Calcutta will host four group matches, the first on Feb. 27 between India and England. Both venues missed the original deadline for construction of Nov. 30, and the ICC ordered faster progress so the stadiums will be ready for handover to the ICC on Jan. 31. Criticism of the slow construction was similar to the buildup to the New Delhi Commonwealth Games last October, when officials raced to the last minute to prepare venues and accommodation. Lorgat added that the Feb. 5 verdict on spot-fixing allegations against Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir would not tarnish the image of the tournament. “There's some time between when the verdict is released on the fifth of February. We were keen to have it well before the start of the World Cup,” he said. The trio was alleged to have accepted payments for bowling no-balls at prearranged times in the fourth Test against England at Lord's at the end of August so as to fix spot betting markets. England won by an innings and 225 runs, handing Pakistan its worst Test defeat. Within days, Butt, Asif and Amir – named Pakistan's player of the series – were suspended by the ICC and charged with corruption. However, the tribunal acquitted Asif and Amir of all charges relating to the third Test at The Oval and Butt of all but one charge. The charges had never been made public until last week, and the tribunal did not say what the trio was accused of doing in that match. Pakistan won that Test by four wickets. ICC hopes for return of Pakistan tours Pakistan needs to convince international teams that it is safe to resume tours to the country, an official of the sport's global governing body told reporters Friday. Dave Richardson, the International Cricket Council's (ICC) general manager, said he hopes international cricket will soon return to Pakistan but acknowledged teams will only agree to tour if they are given reassurances over security. “We are extremely hopeful that international cricket will return to Pakistan as soon as possible,” said Richardson. “It's a security related issue where Pakistan has to convince teams in particular and the international community in general.”
