Cricket NSW Hopes a Huge Crowd at ANZ Stadium Will Help in Bid to Host World Cup Final Ahead of MCG

The record-breaking Twenty20 match between Australia and India at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday night is the first shot in a stadium war to steal the 2015 World Cup final from the MCG.

While matches are yet to be allocated and the SCG is making a strong push to claim the tournament's biggest match thanks to a redevelopment, the MCG is considered the unbackable favourite because of its enormous capacity.

However, Cricket NSW chief executive Dave Gilbert believes Sydney's former Olympic venue can be the game breaker.

"If we can get 60,000-plus on Wednesday night to show Cricket Australia we can get crowds like that for the World Cup, ANZ might position itself for World Cup matches as well as T20s," Gilbert said.

"The MCG up to now has had pretty much carte blanche to get those big events because of capacity.

"We believe that ANZ filled with 80,000 people, the actual ticket yield could be better than the MCG at 90,000.

"By getting this (Twenty20) match under way it shows there is another player in the market."

While the SCG is the spiritual home of cricket in NSW and likely to be the best stadium in the country following its imminent Bradman Stand redevelopment, the capacity of 50,000 may not be enough to secure a World Cup final.

The record crowd to watch a day's cricket in NSW is a touch more than 58,000 at the SCG during an Ashes tour in 1928.

However, Gilbert expects that record to go as ANZ Stadium continues its push as a Twenty20 venue.

The NSW government has paid Cricket Australia $1.4 million to guarantee T20 internationals at ANZ Stadium over the next four years and Gilbert believes this is the perfect vehicle to push for World Cup recognition.

The 2015 event will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

With India and the subcontinent demanding to regularly host cricket's pinnacle event, the four-year World Cup, this will be only the second time the ANZAC countries have been able to obtain it.

The first was in 1992, when Australia failed to make the finals.

The sold-out semi-finals were held at the SCG and Auckland's Eden Park, while the final at the MCG between England and eventual winners Pakistan attracted more than 87,000 fans.

Gilbert claimed that ANZ Stadium was capable of hosting World Cup matches despite its short boundaries.

"While people have made a lot of issues about the straight boundary size, if you're hitting straight it's a 70m hit. That's not insignificant," he said.

"But it's the same for both teams and both teams have the opportunity to maximise it."

Cricket NSW Hopes a Huge Crowd at ANZ Stadium Will Help in Bid to Host World Cup Final Ahead of MCG

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