World Cup crumbs

THANKS to the Government’s refusal to bid for 2007 World Cup Cricket matches, Trinidad and Tobago will have to be satisfied with virtual crumbs from this prestigious tournament, hosting just six first round matches. It may be only our imagination, but we believe we are hearing the disappointed groan of cricket fans all over the country as they learn that TT will not be holding  the opening ceremony or hosting any of the semi-final games as we had confidently expected. When the packages of World Cup matches were handed out to various Caricom states at Montego Bay on Tuesday night, TT found itself in the virtual cellar of the tournament. We were presented with the “Brown Package” which will feature six first round matches among India and three other teams from the qualifying series which are yet to be played.

As a result, what we will be seeing at the Oval are the Indians, for whom we will be the hosts, playing against three teams who do not play Test cricket but who would have qualified from a special preliminary contest. While we should be pleased to entertain the Indians who are the World Cup runners-up, the fact is we will not be seeing them play against Test class opposition. But certainly the most agonising disappointment of the “Brown Package” is the fact that we will not be hosting the opening ceremony of the biggest event in world cricket or the opening match against the West Indies. The honour and pleasure of having these two events have gone to Jamaica which, in addition, will host the West Indies in all its matches. The Bajans should also be happy since they get to host three of the biggest Super Eight encounters together with the finals which will determine the champions and  climax the tournament.

All this results from the fact that the TT government, in a misguided gesture of Caricom generosity, had chosen to surrender the country’s bidding rights, effectively quashing the TTCB’s proposal. Mr Manning felt that prosperous TT should not be seen as “grabbing” or competing against countries who are supporting our bid to host the headquarters of the FTAA. Whether this hemispheric free trade agreement will ever get off the ground and whether other Caricom states had ever called on Mr Manning for this quid pro quo we do not really know. What we are certain of, however, is that the TT government has deprived cricket fans of seeing the best of 2007 World Cup competition at the Oval and has missed a tremendous opportunity of exposing the cultural diversity of our country to one billion television viewers across the world.

We say without hesitation that Trinidad and Tobago is not only entitled to a better package than “Brown” but is also  best suited among all the Caricom countries to host the opening ceremony which falls in mid-February, a few days after our world-famous Carnival celebrations. The World Cup opening, almost coinciding with our national festival, would have been strategically placed to benefit from the spectacle and pageantry of this celebrated event. But apart from these cultural considerations, the fact is that Trinidad and Tobago contributes more to regional and international cricket than any other Caribbean state. The hospitality of our country and the sportsmanship of the Oval crowds are legendary among Test playing teams and we produce more gate receipts for the game than any other Caricom territory. There was no question of our “grabbing” for what we rightly deserve, for what, by our historic contribution to regional and Test cricket, the organisers of the World Cup should have been happy to present us.