KARACHI, Dec 11: The four host countries of the 2011 World Cup will ask the International Cricket Council (ICC) if they can hold the tournament over a shorter period of time, an official said on Tuesday.

Representatives of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh met in Bangalore and have reached a consensus on a format for the 2011 tournament, which they will submit to the ICC for discussion and ratification, a Pakistan cricket board official said.

“We want to have the eight-team quarter-finals directly after the preliminary round of matches between the two groups of seven,” he said.

In 2003, the ICC had a super-sixes stage after the preliminary round, followed by the knockout stage matches. In the 2007 edition in the West Indies, the format of 16 teams drew criticism for lasting over a month.

Pakistan and India also bemoaned the first-round format, which saw their teams eliminated from the competition after just two matches.

“The format on we have reached a consensus will save time and also provide every team a chance to play a minimum of six matches in the preliminary round before the knockout stages,” the official added.

The four countries also discussed having a single visa for visitors to the World Cup, which would enable them to go to all four countries on the same visa. —Reuters