Melbourne, Mar. 4 : Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland has said Australia is ready to host the 2011 World Cup.

"Officially, we are the standby hosts for the 2011 World Cup -- our strong preference is for the event to go ahead in Asia, hosted by the countries that the ICC sees fit," Sutherland said.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) was doubtful over holding World Cup 2011 in Pakistan, saying that the Lahore attacks had changed the global scenario of the game.

However, he said, he would prefer the tournament to go ahead as scheduled in Pakistan, along with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"We''re the hosts for 2015 and we''re confident we can put on a fantastic event... but we want the appropriate lead time into that event because of all the planning considerations necessary for it," Sutherland said.

New Zealand are also standby hosts for the 2011 World Cup.

The ICC board will discuss the fallout from the Lahore ambush and its consequences for the World Cup in Dubai next month. (ANI)