The official Intro Video for the Cricket World Cup 2011.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 will be hosted in India. This is the introduction presentation for the event. Enjoy!

 

ICC Cricket World audio show celebrates CWC 2011

On this week’s special edition of ICC Cricket World audio show, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat reviews 2010 and previews 2011 while ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Tournament Director Prof. Ratnakar Shetty, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan and former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena look forward to ICC’s flagship event which starts in Mirpur, Dhaka, on 19 February.

Mr Lorgat, looking back at the year that has just finished, says: “Restructuring of the Future Tours Programme (FTP) was quite significant where we created the Test Championship model. This will add a lot of context and meaning to the bilateral cricket. “The anti-doping code was introduced and came into effect in 2010 while the Decision Review System (DRS) was also significant. We have seen how it is aiding the umpires in the current Ashes series. “There was a change of guard in the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) with Sir Ronnie Flannigan taking over from Lord Paul Condon. This year there was also a change of presidency when Sharad Pawar took over from David Morgan.”

Look ahead to 2011, Mr Lorgat says: “The single big objective is to deliver a world-class ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. That is our flagship event. It’s The Cup that Counts. “We will also like to finalise the new FTP League structure that we have got. We have got the new league rules to agree on. Hopefully during the year we can agree that the first World Test Championship can be held in 2013. It is still something which is a work in progress.” The show can be used in whole or part by radio stations that want cricket content, while the public can also download it straight from the ICC website at http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/media_interactive_zone/podcast.php.

Prof. Shetty, giving an update on the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 preparations, says: “The Central Organising Committee (COC), which is headed by Mr Sharad Pawar, who is also ICC President, has taken several decisions in trying to make this event a memorable one and to ensure that the non-India, non-Sri Lanka and non-Bangladesh games also have good spectator attendance. “What we have also impressed upon the venues is to keep the ticket rates at the minimal and affordable so that people come to stadia, and to look after the spectators, media and players facilities. The emphasis has been not on the size of the stadia but at ensuring that the facilities are good at all the grounds.”

Shakib Al Hasan, talking about the fitness of fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza and the players to watch out for from his side, says: “I had a chat with Mashrafe and he told me that he will be able to play after a month. It will take him four weeks to get back to the ground. I firmly believe he will be fit and that will be a great bonus for us.” The number-one ranked all-rounder on the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders, adds: “Tamim Iqbal for the last one-and-a-half year has been terrific. Imrul Kayes has been the highest run-getter for Bangladesh last year. Mushfiqur Rahim is the other one who is improving and Abdur Razzak has been bowling really well.”

Jayawardena, who led his side to the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies, believes Sri Lanka will look to pace itself well during the tournament. “I don’t want to consider ourselves as favourites. We can be a force to be reckoned with. “We will just like to start slowly and concentrate on one game at a time. I know the conditions will help us, the crowd and home advantage and all that. But we can only control things on the field. We can just keep our focus on that. I think we have got a pretty good chance.” Apart from the above interviews, the show has the usual round up of cricketing news plus an update of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test and ODI cricket. This week’s ICC Cricket World audio show runs for 25 minutes and has been put together by the ICC’s global broadcast partner ESPN STAR Sports.

S-E-L to compose ICC Cricket World Cup 2011's official theme song

The coming year 2011 promises to be a treat for all cricket lovers as the mother of all tournaments - The ICC Cricket World Cup- is scheduled to take place from Feb 19 to April 2nd. This time the World Cup is being hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The countdown to cricket's biggest tournament has already kicked off with just 50 days to go. When you talk about cricket, can Bollywood be far behind? Well, not really, and this time Bollywood would be making its presence felt through the musical trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The trio have composed the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011's official theme song.

The song is titled 'De Ghuma Ke' which in itself is a passionate expression that creatively captures the fierce sense of competition and the desire to win. The song has been composed in 3 different versions namely Hindi, Bangla and Sinhalese that will feature in the build-up to and during the tournament in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

For all of you who can't wait to hear this pulsating number, there's good news. The song will be released on December 31st via various radio networks in India and also on ESPN STAR Sports, ICC's global production and broadcast rights holder.

ICC World Cup 2011 gets insured for Rs 600 crore

Ahead of the cricket world cup this year in the Indian subcontinent, ESPN has taken insurance cover for the ICC World Cup 2011 for Rs 600 crore.

New India Assurance will provide insurance cover against terror and adverse weather. BCCI will take additional insurance cover for all 8 Indian venues. The World Cup begins on February 19.

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the tenth Cricket World Cup, and will be hosted by three South Asian Test cricket playing countries; India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It will take place during the months of February and March 2011, with the first match being played on 19 February 2011.

29 matches out of 49 will be played in India including one quarterfinal, semi-final and final, 12 matches in Sri Lanka including one quarterfinal and semifinal and eight matches in Bangladesh including two quarterfinals.

The tournament begins in Mirpur, Dhaka, on 19 February with the much-anticipated opener between co-hosts Bangladesh and India.

Writing World Cup song was an emotional moment: Manoj Yadav

Lyricist Manoj Yadav, who has penned the popular ICC Cricket World Cup anthem De Ghuma Ke, says he initially struggled to write the lyrics for the song that is replete with fun Hindi phrases. His brief was that the song should strike a chord with the rural and urban cricket lover. Yadav was told that the song has to have a strong fun element. "I got a call from O&M (Ogilvy & Mather) that we need to make a song for the ICC World Cup and gave me the brief. The brief was that it should not sound like just another anthem, which is motivational and inspirational; it should have a fun element too," Yadav told IANS.

De Ghuma Ke has been composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and crooned by Shankar along with Divya Kumar for the world event that kickstarts Feb 19 and will be held in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. "I was told that a farmer should also like it and even a multiplex goer enjoy it. It was quite tricky for me initially because I didn't know what way to pick. It was challenging. Then I sat with Shankar and we came up with De Ghuma Ke," he added. It took Yadav two weeks to write the entire song, which is peppy and upbeat. He also revealed that Shankar was quite a guiding force when he was penning the lyrics. "In the beginning I was quite confused what to write. So I asked Shankar. He briefed me and his guidance was always there. He said, 'Forget that you're writing a song for cricket. Just write what you like and go beyond your imagination.' Luckily, what I wrote was liked by everyone," said Yadav, who has also written the Lux soap jingle for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

He also said that working on the song was an emotional moment for him. "A writer lives for these opportunities and so is the case with me. First of all it's a World Cup song, secondly it's with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, one of the top music directors, and third it's about cricket, which is my favourite game - what else does one want?" "I love playing cricket, used to play it a lot. I can't express how I felt when I got this song. Never thought I'll be chosen to write this. I'm thankful to god and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy that they considered me for this track. It's an emotional moment for me," he added.

De Ghuma Ke has commonly used Hindi terms like, aare paare (this way or that), guthi gutham (fisticuffs), juta hausla badla faisla (buck up and change the game) and jiyo khiladi wah re wah re. However, all was not easy for Yadav; while writing the song the fear of criticism always lurked. "As a writer you do wonder whether people will like it or not. This thought is always there, but when you make people hear it and they like it, then you get the positivity," he said.

"Yes, there was a fear of being criticised. The CWG (Commonwealth Games) song was so nice but people compared it to other songs of A.R. Rahman and criticised it. If it had been seen as a stand alone song I'm sure people would have liked it," he said referring to the CWG song Jiyo Utho Badho Jeeto, which was panned. "So I do have that fear too, but I will still hope that people like my song and take it in its right spirit," he said.

Sri Lanka name 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup squad

January 07, 2011 (Island Cricket): Sri Lankan selectors have named their final 15-man squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas and Suraj Randiv are the notable absentees.

Captain of Sri Lanka's 2007 World Cup side, Mahela Jayawardena, has been named as the vice-captain.

The squad is as follows:

Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Mahela Jayawardene (vice-captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.

Big Bazaar expects 10 pc growth during Cricket World Cup

MUMBAI: With sportswear segment witnessing an upward swing in the country, the flagship hypermarket retail chain of Future Group , Big Bazaar, is expecting a 10 per cent growth in sales from its fashion wear during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, a top company official said.

Big Bazaar has bagged the licence from ICC to be the authorised retailer of special merchandise for the World Cup 2011.

"We are delighted to be the authorised retailer for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 merchandise. Through our vast merchandise offerings in apparel, home and personal care, we attempt to cement a strong relationship with our customers by enabling them to express their appreciation and cheer for cricket by sporting the fan look," Big Bazaar's Joint CEO, Sanjeev Agarwal, told PTI here.

The specially designed cricket merchandise for men, ladies and kids have been priced in a range of Rs 199 to Rs 449. The range includes sports tees, active dry tees, track pants, shorts, sweatshirt, caps, head bands amongst others.

Besides, there is a graphic range of products built around cricket-inspired messages Agarwal said, adding that the third range is the soft toy called Stumpy, the official mascot of the ICC CWC 2011.