Sri Lankan ambassador opens his residence for World Cup final

In a rare gesture, Sri Lankan ambassador to the United States has invited cricket lovers and friends of his country to his residence to watch live the final match of the World Cup.

"The Embassy of Sri Lanka extends an open invitation to all cricket lovers to join this occasion," said a mass email sent by the Sri Lankan Embassy, adding that breakfast would be served to all those who join them to watch the mega event on a large screen.

"The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington DC is pleased to invite you to watch the live telecast of 2011 - ICC Cricket World Cup Finals between Sri Lanka and India, on large screen from 4.30am onwards on Sat., 2nd April, at the Ambassador's Residence," the invitation read.

Well aware that this could attract a large number of people, the invitation urged cricket lovers to send in their confirmation and seats would be reserved on a first-cum-first serve basis.

Indeed this would be one of the rarest occasions when the residence of an ambassador would be thrown open to the public at 4-30 in the morning.

BCCI-ICC at loggerheads over ticket sales for World Cup final

MUMBAI: A storm is brewing in the International Cricket Council (ICC) corridors due to the pressure and compensation threats it has been facing from World Cup sponsors over sale and distribution of tickets.

This issue was raised by ICC's legal head David Becker in a letter to ICC president Sharad Pawar, leaving the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) red-faced.

Becker also suggested that the window sales of 2000 tickets for the final should be cancelled for fear of injury to ticket-seekers - as happened in Bangalore on Thursday. Instead, the ICC has said that it will take care of distributing these tickets.

Shetty termed it a case of overreaction.

"We feel that it (letter) was totally uncalled for. The Wankhede Stadium was officially approved for the final on January 27 and it takes time for the ticketing process to be completed. You can't expect tickets to be made ready beforehand," said Shetty.

Countering the charges about the delay, Shetty added, "we have delivered tickets to the ICC for the first two league matches (on March 13 and 18). The tickets for the final will be delivered by March 2 which is a month ahead of the final on April 2."

Shetty also differed with the legal head's suggestion of scrapping the window sales for public saying, "We just don't agree with that. The common public has to be obliged no matter how small the number of tickets maybe. We shall send a reply to the letter very soon," he added.

Cricket World Cup ticketing website crashes, fans fume

NEW DELHI: The official ticketing website of the Cricket World Cup crashed today amid a mad scramble for tickets for the tournament's summit clash on April 2 in Mumbai.

The website, www.Kyazoonga.com , showed an error message soon after business began at 1pm IST, leading to fans venting their frustration by lashing out at the organisers at the website's Facebook page.

"The (website) team is still working on it guys. Please bear with us. We understand your frustration and feel your pain. We are working non-stop to get you the tickets you need. Rest assured, not a single ticket that was meant for sale has been sold yet. We can't wait to get them to you as soon as the site is back up," a statement posted by the website on its Facebook page said.

"We are facing absolutely unprecedented amounts of traffic from all over the world, with hundreds of millions of people hitting at once. Some of you may have trouble accessing the site. It seems that cricket fever has surpassed all anticipations and expectations. Please bear with us as our global network team works on," the statement added.

But the fans expressed their anger through the feedbacks to the Kyazoonga.com statement, with some saying that it was a "disgrace" that the tickets for the final were not available.

Some said the company should have been prepared for the huge demand in cricket-crazy India.

"If you couldn't handle this crazy traffic then you shouldn't have been responsible for the tickets in the first place," posted one.

"You only have 1,000 tickets to sell online for the World Cup final - how could you not expect insane traffic?" said another.

Others speculated that tickets had already been handed out to officials at low prices or free of charge and they will not be sold at counters in a repeat of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, where many tickets were distributed to bureaucrats and politicians.

Just 4,500 tickets are on sale for public for the April 2 final at the historic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai , with the rest being distributed through clubs and other cricket authorities.

There was not much interest on other non-India matches, even the tie between South Africa and the West Indies in Feroze Shah Kotla here on Thursday.

"Tickets to the SA v WI Feb 24th match at Delhi which arrived from the DDCA on Saturday have been shipped today, Monday, Feb 21st for domestic delivery by Tuesday, Feb 22nd. For venue pick-up customers, please visit the KyaZoonga pick-up counter at the Ambedkar stadium on the 22nd and 23rd from 11am thru' 5.30pm," a statement by the website said.

ICC Cricket World Cup : Only 4000 tickets to be sold for World Cup final

Ratnakar Shetty, the World Cup's tournament director, has said that the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will have all the necessary permissions in place before it hosts the group-stage game between New Zealand and Canada on March 13. The stadium recently failed a fire inspection, raising concerns that it may not be ready in time for the match. It is also scheduled to host the final on April 2.

"There will be no compromise of any requirements for any government body or agency," Shetty said at the unveiling of the renovated Wankhede stadium. "Every permission that is required will be obtained."

He explained that the fire department was concerned primarily with the newly built areas, specifically the basement under the north stand that will serve as the broadcaster's control room, and that the Mumbai Cricket Association was already in the process of fixing the problems. However, he refused to be drawn into the exact nature of the permissions required or whether any deadlines had been set to obtain them. ESPNcricinfo understands that the fire department is not scheduled to make a second inspection of the venue.

On the subject of tickets, Shetty said that the association is limited to offering only 4000 tickets for the final to the general public because it is contractually obligated to offer tickets to the ICC (8500), as well as its member clubs (roughly 20,000). The limited number of tickets was further exacerbated by the renovation, which reduced the capacity of the stadium from 38,000 to 33,000. One thousand tickets for the final will be available online at Kyazoonga from February 21 and the remaining 3000 tickets would be sold through the association.

When asked whether it was unfair that only 4000 tickets would be sold for a game as important as the World Cup final, Shetty said the members of the clubs are also part of the "public" and so he disagrees with that assertion, but at the same time he also pointed out that the association's hands are tied because it has to honour its contracts.

While the pitch is ready for play, Shetty was noncommittal on the subject of a practice match, saying only that there are plenty of "cricket experts on the committee" who are monitoring the pitch and that the curator has always managed to produce a good wicket. They are also monitoring the shadow created by the new roof that creeps across the pitch as the sun sets, but Shetty said it was "not an immediate problem".

IPL 2011 To Comprise Eight Teams And 60 Matches

The 2011 edition of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition will comprise eight teams and include 60 matches with an altered play-off system.

Although the competition's governing council has decided on the number of teams, it is not clear which teams will be participating as issues surrounding the Kochi franchises are yet to be resolved.

The tournament is scheduled to begin on 8th April, just six days after the World Cup final in Mumbai and player auctions are to be taking place on 8th and 9th January - also in Mumbai.

Teams will be allowed to retain four of their current players ahead of the auction and their auction purse will be reduced accordingly.

The new play-off system will see the top two sides in the league standings play each other to determine the first finalist. The sides finishing third and fourth will then meet to determine which side plays the loser of the first play-off for the second final place.

Chennai Super Kings are the reigning champions, while the Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural event in 2008 and the Deccan Chargers triumphed in 2009.

Earlier this year, the governing council revealed that the Kings XI Punjab and the Royals had been thrown out of the tournament.

Kochi, who have been given a deadline of 27th November to sort out internal problems, are one of two new teams for 2010 along with the Pune Warriors.