The Australian cricket team is coming to Canberra next summer and the 2015 cricket World Cup could be next.
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The ACT government has confirmed it is preparing a bid to be one of Australia's host cities for the 2015 World Cup and it has already received favourable feedback in a meeting with tournament organisers.
Buoyed by a meeting with 2015 World Cup chief executive John Harden last week, ACT Sports Minister Andrew Barr said Canberra would submit an application by the October deadline.
Australia and New Zealand will co-host the one-day international tournament in February-March 2015, made up of 42 pool matches and finals.
The ACT will bid to host up to two pool matches, a warm-up game and potentially be a base city for one of the international teams.
''[The World Cup organisers] are very keen for the national capital to be involved, they want all states and territories to host matches and so we will be putting in a submission to be part of it,'' Mr Barr said.
Funding to upgrade Canberra's Manuka Oval and install broadcast-quality lighting by the end of this year is already paying dividends.
The Australian men's cricket team will play in Canberra for the first time when it takes on the West Indies on February 6, 2013, as part of Canberra's centenary celebrations.
Because of Manuka's small 15,000 capacity, the ACT government does not anticipate Canberra's 2015 World Cup bid would involve games with Australia. But Mr Barr said it was an important step if the ACT was to prove itself as a city capable of hosting more international matches - the ultimate goal being to host a Test match.
''The infrastructure upgrades at Manuka make it possible for us to host more international cricket and so the goal here is to get us on the tour circuit for international teams every year ultimately,'' Mr Barr said. ''We think given the population base and the economic strength of this region that we're certainly on a par with Tasmania. In the short-term, we need to prove we can successfully host the national team in a one-day international next year and then after that we can successfully be a host city for the cricket World Cup. If we do those well, then it certainly strengthens our case down the track for Test cricket.''
While Canberra's 2013 centenary is shaping as one of the biggest sporting years in the city's history, and hosting matches in the World Cup would add to a mouth-watering start to 2015 for sports fans.
Canberra has already been confirmed as a host city for the 2015 Asian Cup soccer tournament, which will involve six pool games and a quarter-final at Canberra Stadium in January that year.
