2009-12-29 | 11.55 PM
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has expressed its displeasure at the three cricket grounds offered by Sri Lanka Cricket to host 11 matches of the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Sri Lanka therefore, may lose the opportunity of hosting several World Cup matches.

The current situation has arisen following the report presented to the ICC by one of its Coordinating Officer James Fitzgerald who visited Sri Lanka recently.

The report presented to the ICC by Fitzgerald states that the three grounds presented by the Sri Lankan officials to host the matches were not prepared for the games and that there were no signs of the grounds
being ready in time for the first game.

Fitzgerald has stated in his report that the Hambantota ground where two matches are scheduled to be held and the Pallekele ground where three matches are to be played had several issues related to the completion of construction while the grounds at the R. Premadasa Stadium has been damaged by an event that was recently held at the venue.

It is learnt that the R. Premadasa Stadium and grounds had been damaged due to the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Army in September and the SLFP convention in November held at the venue.

It is also learnt that the Hambantota and Pallekele stadiums were deemed unfit by the ICC as they were constructed without adhering to the accepted quality standards.