International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive David Richardson received detailed updates in Wellington and Melbourne this week regarding next year's Cricket World Cup and has expressed his satisfaction with preparations for the tournament.
The briefings and presentations took place in the two host cities from August 25 to 27, and followed venue inspections in which the ICC and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) assessed the 14 tournament stadia and discussed a wide variety of logistical and operational matters with the local authorities.
In the three-day meetings, Richardson received updates on various aspects of event management, including match and non-match day venue operations, safety and security, ticketing and marketing, hospitality, status of construction work at various grounds, preparations being made by the host cities, media and broadcast operations, event legacy programmes, and PR and community engagement, Sport24 reported.
Richardson also attended the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Board meeting in Wellington, which was also attended by the tournament's Chief Executive John Harnden, Head of New Zealand Therese Walsh, Cricket Australia Chairperson, Wally Edwards, New Zealand Cricket Board member, Greg Barclay, and Cricket Australia Chief Executive, James Sutherland.
Richardson said that the updates he has received from these meetings give them great confidence that they are on track to deliver a really memorable event.
He said that there is tremendous enthusiasm and anticipation amongst the LOC staff and no stone is being left unturned to ensure the teams, officials, sponsors and media are warmly received and enjoy a great experience during the ICC's flagship ODI event.
Richardson said that for fans in Australia and New Zealand, this is once in a generation opportunity for them to see a galaxy of modern day stars battle out for the ultimate prize in cricket.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will start on 14 February with New Zealand taking on Sri Lanka in a day match in Christchurch, while on the same day in Melbourne, host Australia will go head to head with England in a day/night match. Melbourne will also host the final on 29 March, the report added.