Windies strongholds vie for 2007 WC final

The 2007 World Cup semi-finals and final will be staged in three of the 14 countries which form an official part of West Indies cricket, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said on Wednesday.

Chris Dehring, managing director of Windies World Cup 2007, said the policy had been incorporated into the planning of the tournament.

"This means that those three important matches, as far as the WICB are concerned, must be played in three of the 14 countries who are an official part of West Indies cricket," Dehring told the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

However, the traditional first class venues of the West Indies have been told they have no divine right to host matches during the rest of the tournament.

Responding to concerns that the United States, Cayman Islands or The Bahamas could be involved, Dehring stressed that the WICB could not treat the World Cup as its own.

"Windies World Cup 2007 has to be seen and appreciated as a global event that the West Indies has been given the privilege of hosting," he said.

"There have been various expressions of concern when mention is made of the United States, Cayman Islands or The Bahamas as potential venues for the hosting of matches in 2007.

"But understanding that this event belongs to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and, given their vision to spread the gospel of the game, then the possibility that the ICC will want to have matches played in these territories is logical."

EQUAL BASIS

Dehring outlined the need to maintain an element of competition between the potential venues in the Caribbean.

"There will be no such thing as a traditional venue. The so-called traditional venues -- Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana -- will all have to submit a competitive bid like everybody else and will receive no preferential treatment," he said.

"Countries who have invested in new facilities like Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda insisted on an assurance that when it comes to the 2007 World Cup, they will be treated on an equal basis with the so-called traditional venues."

Dehring indicated that venue development officials would assist the WICB in assessing venues for the allocation of matches.

"It will not matter to professional venue master planners the special mystique attached to (grounds) because these are professionals who have performed similar assessments in football World Cups and in Olympic Games," he said.

"They will assess venues and stadiums objectively for quality, and on the basis that a World Cup is being staged in the Caribbean and that suitable venues and stadiums will be required to stage a world class event."

The 2007 World Cup is scheduled for April to May that year.

Mail Cricket Editor