World Cup: Eden Gardens not ready, loses India vs Eng game

Jan 27, 2011 |

New Delhi

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The International Cricket Council on Thursday decided that the World Cup match between India and England, due to be held at the Eden Gardens on February 27, will be shifted to some other venue after the stadium failed to meet the deadline for completion of renovation.

Tournament director Ratnakar Shetty said, "We will work with the new venue, the tour operators and the ticket distributors to manage the logistical challenges that will surely arise."

The expert report, determined that Eden Gardens in Kolkata would not be ready within an acceptable time frame to host the match on February 27, stated an ICC release.

The main reasons behind Eden Gardens losing the match were the host venue obligations in relation to cricket operations, media, broadcast and sponsorship facilities which were not finalised and/or confirmed by the venue.

"All venues had ample time in which to prepare for World Cup matches. We had been understanding and had provided extensions to the deadline dates but unfortunately we are now at a point where we must carefully manage our risks," Lorgat was quoted as saying by the release.

"The COC had provided venues with a deadline of 30 November 2010 to complete all construction work and then to be match-ready by 31 December 2010. An extension was granted by the ICC for five venues, which were again inspected over the past week.

"Sadly, Eden Gardens in Kolkata was unable to meet the final deadline date of 25 January 2011. Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time. This was no easy decision to take and while it is most unfortunate, it is absolutely necessary," said Lorgat.

However, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has been approved subject to minor finishing work being completed within specified time frame not exceeding 14 days.

The inspection team drew on the knowledge and experience of some of the leading experts in the field of stadium and ground preparation and the view was that Eden Gardens would not be ready in time.

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