Australia captain Ricky Ponting said the seven-week Cricket World Cup is too long and challenged organizers to come up with a better format in 2011.

“It is a long event,” Ponting told reporters in Barbados. “In the future I think it can be condensed a little bit. We’ll learn lessons from this time around and hopefully make it a better World Cup next time.”

Ponting is the latest critic of a competition where grounds in the Caribbean have frequently been less than half full amid claims from former players such as ex-West Indies captain Viv Richards that the ticketing structure priced out local fans.

Tournament Chief Executive Chris Dehring said the length of the tournament was dictated by the decision to allow a reserve day for every match in case it was washed out, after weather disruptions at the 2003 tournament in South Africa. In the event, only the March 27 match between Australia and the Windies was pushed into a second day by adverse weather.

The 2011 World Cup will be held across India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.