Mumbai: Learning a lesson from the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch fiasco, the Mumbai Cricket Association is planning to host a few practice matches at the Wankhede Stadium before the 2011 World Cup.

The stadium that is presently being renovated for the final of next year's mega event next year is expected to be ready by November.

Giving details about their plans, MCA vice-president Dilip Vengsarkar said, "A few local league games will be played here to get an idea about the pitch behaviour."

Though the Wankhede field at present is littered with debris because of the stadium construction but Vengsarkar was positive that the progress of work was on schedule.

"The pitch preparation will start early next month. The work will be done in two phases. First we will cordon off 60x40 yards at the centre where 13 pitches will come up. After the monsoon season, the work on the outfield will start," said Vengsarkar.

Wankhede curator and former Test player Sudhir Naik too feels that he has enough time on hand. "If we start work by March, I think we will be able to finish in time," he said. But he did add a note of caution when he said, "A lot depends on the monsoon. We want to prepare a typical Wankhede pitch and for that we need time."