Cricket: Doubts over new World Cup pitches

New Zealand Cricket is confident the World Cup will be played in the Caribbean - its only question now concerns what it will be played on.

New Zealand manager Lindsay Crocker was so impressed with the pre-tournament briefing in Barbados last week that he's declared the 2007 event a likely administrative triumph - off the field, at least.

The only note of concern he struck yesterday was about the tournament's 11 pitches, most of which will be still virgin surfaces when the first match, between the West Indies and Pakistan, begins at Jamaica on March 13.

"Most of them will be brand new; a few will have some sort of play on them before the tournament, but it's definitely going to be a journey into the unknown for all teams, including the hosts," he said.

All grounds for the World Cup would be fitted with sand-based outfields to better accommodate the region's downpours, something he felt could change the basic characteristics of the wickets.

"Merely upgrading the outfields so that they're sand-based and able to drain well is likely to make some sort of difference to the pitches, given they'll potentially be a shade drier and might need slightly different treatment."

Based in St Lucia for the group stage of the tournament, New Zealand will square off against England on March 16, before preparing themselves for what should be guaranteed wins over Kenya on March 20 and Canada on March 22.

However, Crocker said intelligence on the venue at St Lucia was thin on the ground, as it was undergoing a major reconstruction and wouldn't be completed until two or three months before the opening ceremony.

"We have scouted the venues but because they're all being reconstructed there's not much to assess in terms of pitches or grounds."

The World Cup's tournament and pre-tournament games were to be played at a dozen upgraded venues, but Crocker said Trinidad's Brian Lara Academy Ground had already been dropped because of a lack of progress.

The off-field organisation for the tournament had been outstanding and had put to rest any suggestions that the hosts couldn't cope with the scale of the event, or that it might yet be switched to South Africa.

"The work that's gone into this tournament, given they've had to get nine separate sovereign Governments to work together on issues such as transport, visas and border control, has been extraordinarily good," he said.

"I can't imagine cricket events that have been better organised.

"Any fears we might have had in terms of logistical arrangements have been well and truly allayed."

Meanwhile, Crocker said injury-stricken all-rounder Scott Styris would be monitored at a high-performance camp in Lincoln this week before any decision was made on his Champions Trophy future.

Styris, who has a back complaint, returned prematurely from English County duty with Middlesex to attend the camp and be assessed for his readiness for the mini World Cup, which begins on October 7.

"We now start him on a loading problem and see how he reacts," said Crocker.

"Realistically we'll have to make a call midway through next week."