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The four host countries of the 2011 cricket World Cup will ask the International Cricket Council (ICC) if they can hold the tournament over a shorter period of time, an official said on Tuesday.

Representatives of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh met in Bangalore and have reached a consensus on a format for the 2011 tournament, which they will submit to the ICC for discussion and ratification, a Pakistan cricket board official told Reuters.

"We want to have the eight team quarter finals directly after the preliminary round of matches between the two groups of seven," he said.

In 2003, the ICC had a super sixes stage after the preliminary round, followed by the knockout stage matches.

In the 2007 edition in the West Indies, the format of 16 teams drew criticism for lasting over a month.

Pakistan and India also bemoaned the first round format, which saw their teams eliminated from the competition after just two matches.

"The format on we have reached a consensus will save time and also provide every team a chance to play a minimum of six matches in the preliminary round before the knockout stages," the official said.

The four countries also discussed having a single visa for visitors to the World Cup, which would enable them to go to all four countries on the same visa.

(Source: Reuters)