NEW DELHI, Jan 3: On the sidelines of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) centenary celebrations, the game’s world governing body announced that Australasia will be the back-up venue for the 2011 World Cup in case there are security concerns in the sub-continent.

“We do have reserve venues for all our ICC events, and the reserve venue for the next ICC Cricket World Cup is Australasia,” ICC President David Morgan said on Friday. “Having said that, we’re confident that the sub-continent will be able to stage the next World Cup.”

Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the joint hosts for the 2011 World Cup. In recent months, several countries have expressed their security concerns over playing in the subcontinent.—Agencies