Dehring issues chilling warning

CASTRIES: Chris Dehring, the man in charge of putting all plans in place for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies has a very stern warning for Caribbean countries that plan to bid to host the cricket matches: There are serious consequences for contractual failures.

“I don’t want to frighten people, but you need to understand what you are getting into. This is big business. There are very serious contractual arrangements and if you fall down on them, we fall down on them, the ICC falls down on them and the world of cricket could be in serious jeopardy,” Dehring declared at a Venue Summit in St Lucia. Dehring said the consequences for failing to meet contractual requirements could range from heavy lawsuits, massive financial losses and embarrassment to the region. According to the Barbados Nation, Dehring’s warning was spelled out to approximately 170 delegates from around the Caribbean who have assembled for a summit dealing with the competitive tendering process for venue selection.

While countries stood to profit from economic benefits and international exposure and governments could gain big political mileage, they needed to be careful when submitting bids to host matches and other events, Dehring explained. “The reality is that if you mess up, there are serious consequences to pay, financially, in terms of the exposure your country will get and the liability that you create,” Dehring said. Using the abandoned Test match in Jamaica five years ago as an example, Dehring warned: “That’s not going to happen in the World Cup. You have a situation where there is a bad pitch and there is a host of contractual obligations which are not being met, there will be a host of lawsuits that could seriously jeopardise the economic viability of countries.”