Cricket: World Cup bids sought

The International Cricket Council says it is inviting potential commercial partners to bid for the 2015 cricket World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.

The event will be offered to companies - which meet the ICC's criteria for bidding - in Dubai at the end of the month, indiantelevision.com reported on its website.

Australia and New Zealand were chosen in April to co-host the World Cup when the ICC's executive board decided to award the 2011 World Cup to a joint Asian bid.

As a result the ICC drew up a programme of 18 events over an eight-year period from late 2007 and Australia and New Zealand were slotted in to host the 2015 World Cup.