Guyana is among 12 countries that have submitted letters of intent to host matches in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
According to a release from the organisers, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States have all submitted letters of intent to host matches in the ICC's Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 (CWC 2007).
The release quoted Venue Development Director of the ICC CWC 2007 Donald Lockerbie as saying: "The purpose of the letter of intent is to receive an indication of the countries which intend to submit a bid by May 6, having reviewed the Bid Book over the last three weeks."
Lockerbie said the organisers are very excited to know that they now have 12 candidate countries that are preparing bids with a full working knowledge of what the ICC and CWC 2007 require and expect.
Chris Dehring, managing director and CEO of CWC 2007, is also quoted in the release as saying: "We have been waiting to see how many countries would indicate commitment to bid, once they truly had an idea of the major and challenging requirements that the Cricket World Cup entails. To have 12 countries still in the running at this point is a very encouraging sign and it shows that the preliminary work done with Bid Committees and with governments has been effective over the last several years and especially since CWC 2003 in South Africa."
Dehring expressed satisfaction with Venue Summit 2 that was held last weekend in Barbados, which according to the release, had allowed countries to have their concerns and queries answered in an open forum.
"We felt this meeting enhanced the fairness and transparency of the selection process as countries proceed with the formulation of their bids and lay the foundation for the execution of those proposals if selected," Lockerbie said.
Bids must be submitted to PriceWaterHouseCoopers in Barbados on May 6 by 4 pm and countries will learn if their bids are successful during the announcement of the Award of Matches planned for July 12, 2004.