Cricket a possibility in FIFA World Cup stadiums - CSA

Cricket South Africa (CSA) is exploring the possibility of utilising more of the country's state-of-the-art soccer stadiums, which hosted the recently concluded football World Cup, for cricket. Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium is already scheduled to host a one-off Twenty20 international between South Africa and India on January 9 next year and CSA's chief executive, Gerald Majola, hopes it will set a precedent for the other stadiums to open their doors to cricket.

"The game between South Africa and India is important for us to be able to take cricket to everyone," Majola told Reuters. "We would like to utilise some of the soccer stadiums that were used during the World Cup to help us in that effort."

The country constructed five new stadiums for the 2010 World Cup and renovated the existing ones. Majola said the multi-capacity stadiums will come in handy especially for Twenty20 games which are expected to draw massive crowds. Durban's Kingsmead, which hosts international games, has a capacity of 25,000, but the Moses Mabhida Stadium is way ahead with 62,760.

"We would like to see if it is possible to play at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg and a few other soccer grounds because we would be able to extend our season into August but it is important to see what the viability of the grounds are."

For international cricket, the venues will have to satisfy the ICC's prescribed playing regulations. Currently, the Moses Mabhida Stadium falls short of meeting the ICC's minimum playing area requirement but Majola said the addition of an athletics track would help to increase the space available. If it passes the test, Majola said CSA would look at pushing for Test status for the venue.

"Not all grounds can be used for Tests but for Twenty20 internationals, which attract huge grounds, it would certainly be an option," Majola said.

Mike Sutcliffe, Durban's municipal manager, said there were already plans in place to make the it a multi-purpose ground.

"Our first objective was to develop an iconic stadium that would make for a great soccer ground, but we also had to break into other markets and Twenty20 cricket is a perfect sport for us," Sutcliffe said.

In Australia, Sydney's ANZ Stadium, which hosted the 2000 Olympics, is being used as a venue for Twenty20 games. Melbourne's indoor Colonial Stadium, normally used for Australian Rules Football, has hosted one-day internationals.