Dehring dispels W/Cup fears

KINGSTON: Chris Dehring, managing-director of the International Cricket Council World Cup 2007, has rejected claims that concerns have mounted in the ICC about the West Indies being able to stage the event. Dehring was reacting to a news article written by Trevor Marshallsea in The Age, a Melbourne-based newspaper, that Australia has a chance of hosting the CWC 2007 because of growing fears that the cricket infrastructure of the Caribbean might not measure up. “Far from concerns, the ICC has been expressing quite a great deal of confidence in the West Indies Cricket Board’s and the Caribbean’s ability to host the CWC 2007,” Dehring told CMC Sports. “We have been working closely with the management of the ICC to put in place everything that is required for the CWC 2007 and they have been impressed at the level of preparation that the Caribbean has been undergoing to host the CWC 2007.”

Marshallsea, who followed the Australian tour of the Caribbean earlier this year, wrote that Cricket Australia chairman Bob Merriman has told state cricket administrators that fears about the West Indies’ ability to host the event have reached a significant level within the ICC. The report noted among the list of concerns the poor standard of cricket facilities in the Caribbean, organisers’ ability to raise money needed to stage a world-class event, the difficulties associated with intra-regional travel, and the WICB’s long history of infighting with territorial boards. New WICB President Teddy Griffith told CMC Sports he had noted the comments attributed to Merriman, but did not have an opportunity to meet with the Cricket Australia president and was in no position to say whether the news report was accurate. “Indeed, the CWC 2007 is an agenda item at the ICC meetings over the next two days and it would be disappointing if any fellow director were to seek to prejudice sentiment outside of the meetings,” Griffith remarked.
“To the best of my knowledge, neither the ICC board nor IDI board has met since the June meetings in London and Monaco respectively, to discuss the matter.

Griffith added that the WICB was fully aware of the significant challenges that they face in hosting the CWC 2007. “We are confident that as a nation we have the capacity to deliver on our obligations,” he said. “We expect the fullest support and cooperation from all our fellow members of the ICC as we undertake our tasks.” Dehring also indicated that the ICC has not raised any concerns about the West Indies being able to host the CWC 2007, since the process commenced close to five years ago. “Any report indicating anything different is erroneous and we will be doing another presentation about our preparedness to the ICC President Ehsan Mani and chief executive Malcolm Speed when they travel to Jamaica next week,” he revealed. “We have a schedule with which we are working and we will be sticking to this schedule. We will be signing our Host Agreement with the ICC at the end of the month and we know of no concerns the ICC has about our ability to host the CWC 2007.”

Dehring also answered charges that little or no excitement has been generated about the Caribbean hosting the CWC 2007 in the region itself. He related that the mobilisation effort has reached the highest levels of governments in the region and this will help to make the CWC 2007 a fantastic and involved event. It is not the first time Marshallsea has painted a less-than-glowing picture of the ability of the West Indies to host the CWC 2007. In an interview with the Nation newspaper in Barbados in June, the Australian writer said the service industry in the Caribbean left much to be desired. He said frustrations with airlines, hotels, restaurants and taxi drivers created a “bad public image” for the Caribbean. The Board of the ICC’s commercial arm, ICC Development (International) Ltd., will discuss the format and other Cricket World Cup 2007 issues at their meeting in Barbados today.