London Cup bid stumped

CRICKET World Cup bosses have ruled out using West Ham’s London Stadium for next year’s tournament.

It would have cost up to

£8m to convert the stadium and managing director of the World Cup Steve Elworthy said: “The decision was fairly easy but it was a long process to get there.

“It was probably more than 18 months ago that we commissioned drop-in portable pitches to be grown, and built, ready to potentially be sent to the London Stadium.

“But after we understood the unique elements of what cricket would require in that stadium we found ourselves at the point where the infrastructure costs were probably going to be way too much.”

England will launch the tournament against South Africa on May 30 at The Kia Oval, with Old Trafford and Edgbaston staging the semi-finals and Lord’s the final.

Organisers have settled on 11 grounds for the

10-team contest, with Edgbaston, Headingley, Old Trafford, Trent Bridge and Durham’s Riverside also being used along with Cardiff, Bristol, Taunton and Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl. Middlesex bowler Toby Roland-Jones has been ruled out for the season after a recurrence of the back injury that forced him out of last winter’s Ashes.

The 30-year-old suffered a stress fracture at the end of last season and bowled just five overs on his comeback last week.