United States put in their World Cup bid

A grand total of 11 countries, including the United States, have bid to host matches during the 2007 World Cup.

The nations who put themselves forward were, as expected, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and the USA. However, no request was received from the Bahamas, who originally indicated their interest.

Eight different grounds are needed for the competition, and those which make the grade will be announced on July 2 after the Venue Assessment Team (VAT) has visited each country to inspect the facilities and their suitability. The final tournament schedule will then be confirmed 10 days later.

Chris Dehring, the tournament's managing director, said, "We are extremely pleased that so many countries have made themselves available to share with the WICB and CWC 2007, the responsibility of hosting this mammoth event."

The World Cup will comprise of 16 teams, two more than for last year's tournament in South Africa, and will have a total of 51 matches, and a new Super Eight round.

Ehsan Mani, president of the ICC, supported the World Cup organisers. "The ICC strongly supports the diligent approach and selection process that CWC 2007 has implemented, which is a fair and transparent one used with success in other major sporting events," he said. "The responses from so many countries in the Caribbean and the USA augur well for the organizers and we look forward to the next stage when the submissions are assessed and matches awarded."