Steyn, Morkel to shark dive with World Cup trophy

DUBAI - South African cricketers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel will perform a shark dive here Tuesday to mark the 100-day countdown to the opening ceremony of the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Steyn and Morkel will do the diving stunt in the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo holding the World Cup trophy.

The Proteas are currently playing a one-day series with Pakistan and the players of both teams will also be present at the event arranged ahead of the World Cup in the sub-continent.

Also present to watch the South Africans take the prestigious trophy of International Cricket Council’s (ICC) flagship event to the bottom of the Dubai Aquarium will be ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.

The Dubai Aquarium is one of the largest indoor aquariums of its kind in the world at 51m x 20m x 11m in size and holds the Guinness World Record for The Single Largest Acrylic Panel at 32.88m long x 8.3m high. With the capacity to hold 10 million litres of water, Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo showcases one of the most diverse collections of aquatic life worldwide. It has more than 33,000 aquatic animals, representing more than 250 species. Over 400 sharks and rays live inside this tank, including the largest collection of Sand Tiger Sharks in the world.

The opening ceremony of the 10th World Cup will be staged in Dhaka Feb 17 and two days later, co-hosts Bangladesh and India will clash in the tournament opener in Mirpur Feb 19.

Sri Lanka, the third co-host of the tournament, will open its campaign against Canada in Hambantota 20 Feb.