ICC chief executive officer David Richardson said on Wednesday (14th October) that he was hopeful that next year's World Cup T20 tournament in India would be the biggest and best ever.

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SOUNDBITE: (English) David Richardson, ICC Chief Executive Officer

"The focus really over the next five years in particular is targeting certain members that can really make a difference. We want to improve the quality across the board but, more in particular we want to make sure there are more competitive teams at the highest level. And so that the likes of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the West Indies continue to improve and stay at the top level, but that the likes of Ireland, Afghanistan, even USA, you might have seen a specific reference to the USA..."

SOUNDBITE: (English) David Richardson, ICC Chief Executive Officer

"The idea is to make sure that this is the biggest World T20 ever. You'll know it's a combined event between women's teams and men's teams. We probably will be taking the event to more than the normal three or four venues and spreading the tournament throughout India. We've seen how India has been capable of hosting events before, whether it's the IPL or whether it's global events, and we're really looking forward to it."

SOUNDBITE: (English) David Richardson, ICC Chief Executive Officer

"Well, I think across the board over the last 10, 15 years, the improvements in many things have just gone through the roof. I think India can be very proud of the status it's got or the recognition it now has as to how to put on an event and to stage a global event."