Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland believes next year’s World Cup will be the biggest event Australia has hosted since the Sydney Olympics, no matter how the national team fares.
The pressure will be on the co-hosts to reclaim the silverware they surrendered in 2011, when India thwarted Australia’s hopes of winning four World Cups in a row.
But regardless of how Michael Clarke’s men perform on the pitch, Sutherland has high expectations of cricket supporters.
“I’d love to say it’s not important at all (for Australia to do well in the tournament), but clearly it is,” Sutherland said.
“We obviously wish for them to do very well and be playing at the business end.
“But I can say categorically the World Cup will be a huge success, irrespective of the performance of the Australian team.
“It’ll just be much, much better if we make it through to the end and win it.”
Sutherland opined the World Cup would “certainly be the biggest event in Australia since the Olympics in 2000”.
“It will be a far bigger event than most Australians expect,” he added.
“I don’t necessarily expect everyone to have grasped the fact the World Cup is coming.
“I think people will really start to notice it’s coming when we’re 100 days out on November 6.”
Sutherland reported that ticket sales were strong, and not just for the finals or Australian games.
“India versus South Africa (at the MCG on February 22) is on track to be a sell out. Which is unbelievable,” he said.
Sutherland and chairman Wally Edwards both spoke of the legacy they hoped the event would create at CA’s recent annual general meeting.
“I personally hope at the end of it that the Australian population gets the feel of the multicultural nature of cricket,” Edwards said.
“And the fact that our society has changed so much since ’92 (when Australia most recently hosted the event). Our society reflects the representation we’re going to have here – countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, UAE, Scotland and Ireland.”
Sutherland and Edwards recently met local World Cup Organising Committee counterparts John Harnden and James Strong.
West Indies’ recent walkout of their Indian tour remains a concern, but Sutherland is confident it will be resolved long before the tournament starts on February 14.
