QUEENSLAND has become a cricket World Cup wasteland because of penny-pinching state politicians.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Queensland cricket fans have been sentenced to a diet of World Cup minnows when they should have been chowing down on a blockbuster game and a quarter-final.

The Gabba has instead copped a dull three-game schedule, with Australia’s only Brisbane appearance a pool game against lowly Bangladesh on February 21. The other matches are Ireland versus the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan against Zimbabwe.

World Cup organisers were keen for the Gabba to have a quarter or semi-final but The Courier-Mail has learned:

* The Campbell Newman government demanded full venue and operating costs from World Cup bosses for Gabba games, despite other state governments offering significantly reduced and underwritten venue costs;

* The Queensland State Government’s promotional budget for World Cup games in Brisbane was almost non-existent;

* Tourism, marketing and other incentives such as fan zones which were provided in other cities would not have been funded in Queensland.

The bottom line was that the Queensland government showed scant interest in the cricket World Cup and its offers were small-fry compared to other states.

Not only have Queensland sports fans been short-changed but the state has also missed out on valuable tourism promotion.

The World Cup will be watched by more than one billion fans in a global television audience and will literally stop traffic in the streets of major centres in the subcontinent.

Yet the World Cup didn’t even consider the Gabba for any major games, or finals, because the Newman Government would not come to the party.

‘’We went to State Governments and asked if they wanted to host a World Cup game and told them some of the basic requirements for hosting a game and what additional support needed to be provided,’’ a source said.

With Queensland missing out on finals matches, the newly redeveloped Adelaide Oval has snatched a quarter-final.

When World Cup venues were announced, then Queensland Tourism and Major Events minister Jann Stuckey claimed she had wanted a World Cup quarter final but Queensland’s offer was outstripped.

“Would we have liked more? Of course we would but the highly competitive nature of it,’’ Stuckey said at the time.

“I have had two meetings with the ICC officials. We did try and put in a bid (for a quarter-final) but we were unsuccessful.’’

The World Cup quarter-finals will be staged in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Wellington, the semi-finals in Auckland and Sydney and the final at the MCG.

Officials are predicting Australia’s Gabba clash against Bangladesh will be close to a sell-out, but the proof will be in the pudding.