Local reaction to Guyana being selected to host matches in the International Cricket Council's Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 was generally one of elation.
"It is a very emotional experience for us," Vice-President of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Alvin Johnson stated.
Johnson, who is holding the fort for GCB President Chetram Singh while he is away, said the board was a bit sceptical of the naming, since the venue assessment team gave good reviews to all of the sites visited. "At first we thought that Guyana was a definite but then we saw that all the sites were given good reviews. We thought either all the sites were good or that the assessment team was just trying to appease the public."
Johnson, who is also the President of the Essequibo Cricket Board said now is the time for all Guyana to come together, forget the issues of crime and politics and work to make CWC 2007 a success, since it will take the strength of the entire nation to do so.
Public Relations Officer of Guyana's CWC Committee and for the GCB, Terry Holder said the news of Guyana being selected as one of the eight territories to host World Cup matches is wonderful for Guyana and cricket in Guyana.
"Hosting the World Cup would kickstart development in our country. I don't see it as a challenge but more as an opportunity. The venue assessment team had the confidence in Guyana, now we must ensure that everything is in place for 2007," Holder stated.
For Guyana to be ready for 2007, the stadium is not the only concern, but also that of infrastructure and development of the tourism industry.
To this end, Executive Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Donald Sinclair is hoping that the people of Guyana can prepare themselves for a stiff two years of work.
"Clearly it is a time for celebration. But beyond the celebration, we have to get down very quickly to get ourselves ready since there are challenges and opportunities at every level.
"It is a tremendous organizational challenge for us. We want to have everything in place to go beyond 2007, we do not want after the World Cup we are left in a vacuum."
He indicated that apart from the World Cup stadium there was need to look at a number of different issues, including infrastructure especially of roads and other facilities; not just sporting but entertainment since tourists coming for the cricket would be interested to see what else Guyana has to offer.
One plus for tourism in Guyana, is that most likely Guyana would be part of a network pioneered by the Caribbean Tourism Organi-sation, to overlook tourism in the region.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced yesterday that Guyana was one of eight territories to host matches during the ICC, CWC 2007, and along with Antigua is the only country that would build a stadium from scratch.
The other venues for World Cup matches are Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and St Kitts all of these countries' venues will be upgraded to increase seating capacity.