So, how much do you think it costs to organise a cricket World-Cup event? Forget the Women’s World Cup, for it’s too meager a budget to merit a mention. It’s the men’s event that spirals, at times, out of control.

So much so, that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been forced to cut the budget for the 2015 World Cup. The budget sanctioned for the 2015 edition, set to be played in Australia and New Zealand, it’s learnt, will be about $150 million, nearly 35 million more than the 2011 edition.

In Indian currency, it’s almost 200 crores of appreciation in value but this paper has learnt that it’s a considerable reduction from the original estimate. ICC board sources have revealed to this paper that the demand from Australia and New Zealand was for about 180 million.

The IDI (ICC Development International) board of the ICC, which deals in the financial matters, did not approve of such a steep budget. How does it compare with the tourney held in India in 2011? For each match staged in that World Cup, the ICC paid $750,000 though India didn’t get to earn for all the 29 games held in this country.

The BCCI hosted some matches free of cost as the ICC wanted to compensate Pakistan, who were originally scheduled to host 14 games but were stripped off its hosting rights due to the poor security situation in the country. The budget for that World Cup was just about $115 million.
 
Then why do Australia and New Zealand demand the extra $65 million? One of the reasons for the low cost in India is that the cricket boards used their staff for the tournament. Down under, Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket have set up an organising committee staff of which is independent of the CA and NZC.

The committee is called Local Organising Committee (LOC) which looks into the World Cup activity. Sources say the additional cost is because of the payment to the staff of LOC.

“The LOC was set up last year, overseen by a board composed of an independent chairman (James Strong) and deputy chairman, Ralph Waters, CA Wally Edwards and chief executive James Sutherland and New Zealand Cricket chairman Chris Moller and chief executive David White.

ICC president Alan Isaac and general manager (commercial) Campbell Jamieson attend the board meetings as observers,” said a spokesman for the LOC. “The LOC is working closely with the ICC, Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket on all aspects of the tournament,” he said.

An ICC spokesman refused to go into details of the budget. “We do not discuss financial information but surface it to say that the ICC Board felt that it was an appropriate budget to deliver a world class event which is the ICC flagship global tournament.”