Melbourne stakes claim to host 2015 cricket World Cup final

Melbourne, Jun 14 (ANI): The 2015 World Cup organizers have confirmed that the one-day final is likely to be played on the last weekend of March at a yet-to-be-determined Australian venue, with Melbourne and Sydney emerging as favourites to host the final.

The tournament will begin in February, with matches played in New Zealand and all Australian states over six weeks.

AFL chiefs, keen to take control of the MCG in mid-March starting next year, have been briefed about the World Cup plans.

"It's too early to say where the final will be held but the MCG is an obvious contender as are some other venues," ICC World Cup chief executive John Harnden said.

"We have already started discussions with the AFL about any potential disruption to their calendar and we will be meeting with other sports.... I think they recognise that the ICC Cricket World Cup is one of the biggest tournaments in world sport and a great event for Australia and New Zealand," News.com.au quoted him, as saying.

Cricket Victoria chief Tony Dodemaide yesterday said the final belonged at the MCG.

"Absolutely it does. The MCG is the birthplace of Australian cricket. It has a capacity of 100,000 and is a genuine cricket ground. We hosted the final here in 1992, where a record crowd came to a game where Australia didn't even participate," Dodemaide said.

But NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events George Souris said Sydney should get the nod, and added that a 170 million dollars upgrade of the SCG would be crucial to the decision.

Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland has, however, warned that neither Melbourne nor Sydney had a mortgage on the final. (ANI)