TT under W/Cup 2007 scrutiny

Chairman of ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Inc Chris Dehring said on arrival at the Piarco International Airport on Wednesday night, the Venue Assesment Team (VAT) was merely here to assist this country in obtaining matches, instead of condemning the ideas put forward. The VAT team arrived at Piarco at 7.30 pm from Grenada and was immediately whisked into a press conference with Sports Minister Roger Boynes and Public Utilities Minister Rennie Dumas.

Dehring said: “We are here to assist where we can to help your country in staging World Cup matches. In February last year we sent out a 290-page bid book and on May 6 this year  we received submissions from 11 countries wishing to stage matches. “At the end of the day, we are going to visit all the countries and in the end we are going to have to find eight countries that will host the 51 matches - the largest in World Cup history. “So far we have visited about 30 percent of the countries and we still have a long way to go. “We are here now in Trinidad and I must say that I am very confident that you are going to host matches. Anybody who can host the most successful Carnival in the world can definitely host World Cup matches.”

Donald Lockerbie also of ICC World Cup 2007 Inc said so far they have been very impressed with the proposals of the three countries they have looked at. “We have gotten some really interesting proposals and I must say that we are very, very impressed with what we have seen so far,” he said. Minister Boynes said Trinidad and Tobago were guided by the “Yellow Package” which involves six preliminary matches as well as the opening ceremony and one semi-final match.

“While in Trinidad and Tobago you all will be exposed to the culture, the food and people of this lovely country. We are opening our warm hands to welcome you and we are positive that you would enjoy your stay in Trinidad,” Boynes said. David O’Brian chairman of the government-appointed “Technical Bid Committee,” said the 12-member team will visit the Queen’s Park Oval as well as the Hasely Crawford Stadium before their departure. The VAT team comprise Robert Laing, Peter Calf, Andrew Wildblood, Nigel Rushman, Rory Steyn, Mandy Keegan and Lorrian Holding. And the ICC men are Eugene van Vuuren and Andrew Atkinson.