Photographs: Reuters
The mascot of the 2011 World Cup, which is an elephant, has been named Stumpy.
The mascot, an elephant, has been named 'Stumpy' after an online selection process that drew proposals from thousands of cricket fans around the world.
The lucky winner will receive a cricket bat signed by the all-star quartet of India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena, all of whom attended the launch to express their excitement about the flagship event.
'We will see Stumpy throughout the cricket world'
ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: "This is another milestone in the build-up to our flagship event and it's great to see the game's best players like Dhoni, Kumar (Sangakkara), Sachin (Tendulkar) and Mahela (Jayawardene) looking forward to the ICC Cricket World Cup with such enthusiasm.
"As the excitement builds over the coming 200 days, we will see Stumpy throughout the cricket world, promoting the event and generating enthusiasm. I'm grateful to the thousands of cricket fans who showed their passion for our Great Sport and took part in the naming competition. I encourage all fans to start making plans to attend a spectacular event," he added.
With matches to be hosted in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is expecting the World Cup on home soil to be a career highlight.
"It can't get any bigger than the ICC Cricket World Cup in which the best of the best enter with just one objective to take home the Cup that counts.
"It's not only my dream to be a Cricket World Cup winner but it's the wish of every member of team India to put his hand on the Cricket World Cup trophy. We'll work as hard as possible to turn our dreams into reality," Dhoni said.
"This trophy has been eluding us for the past 27 years and I think we have a very good chance at home to break the drought," he added.Shetty happy with WC preparations
Meanwhile, World Cup tournament director Ratnakar Shetty exuded confidence that the preparation for next year's 50-over mega-event is on schedule and will be ready before the December 31 deadline.
Just 200 more days is to go before the opening match and Shetty said plans in all three host countries -- India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh -- were on track.
"The preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 are on course and I'm happy with the progress we have been making," Shetty said.
"Obviously, the readiness of the stadia is one of the key factors. The construction work is going ahead at a brisk pace which makes me confident that all the stadia will be ready by the end of this year," he said.
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