TT host Cricket World Cup 2007

LONDON: The International Cricket Council yesterday announced the eight venues chosen to host the ICC World Cup West Indies 2007. The host venues are Antigua/Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts/Nevis, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. Bermuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States were the three unsuccessful host venues. ICC president Ehsan Mani and West Indies Cricket Board president Teddy Griffith shared the duties of announcing the eight successful venues through an audio-visual presentation in the Denis Compton Suite at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in St John’s Wood, adjacent to Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Next Tuesday, the details of the specific matches to be played at the eight venues, including the opening ceremony and match, semi-finals and final, will be announced in a ‘live’ radio and television broadcast from Jamaica, where the headquarters of ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc is located. The ceremony will take place at the Ritz Carlton in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The announcement of the host venues followed last weekend’s presentation of the host venue recommendations from the ICC CWC 2007 Inc. board of directors to the committee of CEOs of the ICC. Chris Dehring, managing director of ICC CWC 2007 Inc, presented the recommendations in London and ICC members were asked to give their final approval at their meeting over the weekend in Monaco.

The ICC CWC 2007 Board made their recommendations following presentation of reports by the Venue Assessment Team, who recently concluded a Verification Tour of the venues bidding to host matches. From May 24 to 29, the VAT visited St Lucia, St Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Barbados. Then from June 7 to 13, the team ventured to the United States, Antigua/Barbuda, St Kitts/Nevis, Jamaica and concluded in Bermuda.