Wall collapse at World Cup venue is 'minor' incident say officials

A cricket official in charge of the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai has described yesterday's wall collapse at the World Cup venue as a "minor" incident.

Hundreds of fans had queued up outside the stadium to buy tickets for matches due to take place at the stadium, where England are set to play two group stage matches, when a recently-renovated section of the periphery gave way due to crowd pressure. Two people were reportedly injured in the collapse.

The incident comes barely a week after an International Cricket Council inspection committee deemed Kolkata's Eden Gardens - the erstwhile venue for England's clash with India on February 27 - as unfit for use due to missed deadlines on repair work.

The tie was moved to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

However, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association secretary KS Viswanathan moved to dispel fears over yet another late change in venue for cricket's flagship tournament when he said: "The wall is at the periphery of the stadium and a small portion of it collapsed when fans pressed against it. It was a minor incident."

Chennai will host four matches during the 14-team tournament: New Zealand versus Kenya on February 20, England versus South Africa on March 6, England versus West Indies on March 17 and India versus West Indies on March 20.