Don’t be surprised if there are no 2007 World Cup matches in Guyana.
That’s the blunt warning from West Indies World Cup (WIWC) boss Chris Dehring who spent the last week in Guyana reading the riot act to administrators there to either get the venue up to acceptable standards or miss out on international cricket’s most prestigious ODI tournament.
Throughout his whirlwind visit to Guyana, Dehring repeatedly stressed that the 2007 World Cup tournament remained under the control of the International Cricket Council (ICC), meaning that ‘traditional’ venues would not automatically get games. Publicly, the Jamaican economist maintained the WICB line that all venues must meet strict ICC standards to be considered for games but it was during private meetings with Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) officials that Dehring laid down the law.
In fact, according to sources in Georgetown, Dehring has already sent a letter to the GCB saying that the Georgetown Cricket Club ground (Bourda) is ruled out as a site, even if it is joined with the nearby GFC ground.
GCB officials are mulling a proposal to merge the GCC ground with the adjoining football facility to expand and make the venue competitive for a World Cup bid but it is clear that time is fast running out on these plans. “Dehring said, among other things, that the GCC, as it is, is not a competitive site. [The GCB) has until December 2003 to put everything in order. I do not think that this can be done,” one well-placed source told CaribbeanCricket.com.
Despite Dehring’s gloomy message, the source said Guyana’s sports director Neil Kumar is said to be preparing a bid to host World Cup matches when the tournament comes to the Caribbean in four years. The source said the government is required to submit the bids and not the cricket organisations. Mean-while, published reports say Barbados is moving full steam ahead with plans to bid for the final of the World Cup at an expanded Kensington Oval. President of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Stephen Alleyne was confident: “We feel strongly about Barbados, about Kensington Oval and its traditions, and we will do all we can to generate a competitive bid.
Remember, it is a question of investment, and investment goes hand in hand with returns, so those to whom we are looking to attract to invest, whether it is Government or the private sector, are going to have to be assured that there is an adequate and appropriate return.” Alleyne added: “[The BCA’s] wish is that we can generate our business in such a way that the final is played here, and not only the final, but also one of the major groups.
That’s our aim and objective and you should regard us as serious in adopting that aim.” Barbados joins Trinidad and Tobago in planning to bid for the finals. Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board of Control (TTCBC) boss Alloy Lequay said T&T plans to bid to host as many as six World Cup matches, including the final. “We are interested in hosting the final and will be submitting a strong proposal as to why we should have the final here at the Queen’s Park Oval, which has the biggest capacity of all the other Caribbean venues,” Lequay said.
The TTCBC plans to propose four matches be held in Trinidad, and two on the island of Tobago. A new modern stadium would be built for the event next to Dwight Yorke Stadium, in Bacolet, Tobago, Lequay added. The WICB has made it clear the semi-finals and final of the 2007 World Cup will be staged in countries that fall under under the board’s administrative control. The board said the big games “must be played in three of the 14 countries who are an official part of West Indies cricket.”