WI W/Cup ‘prep’ under scrutiny

REGIONAL cricket administrators risk serious criticisms about their inadequate preparation for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, unless there is a lot of quick corrective action taken by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

It has been learnt that at a recent meeting of the West Indies Board executive and the World Cup 2007 Cricket team led by Chris Dehring, there was widespread disagreement about the state of affairs ahead of a crucial visit by the Inter-national Cricket Council and Global Cricket International. “There have been a lot of people who believe that we have not yet done anything except talk before the World Cup. There are still a lot of inadequate grounds all over the Caribbean, and in many cases there are not much signs that changes are coming,” a close source said on condition of anonymity. “We must all remember that some people believe that Chris Dehring was being unfairly treated because of his closeness to the previous regime and therefore he was not given all the support he needs. But things are different now, he is going to need a lot of funding to convince the ICC that the West Indies Cricket Board can manage this major event adequately,” he added.

“It seems that the WICB will have to again go begging to the Caribbean governments otherwise a lot of these things will not get off the ground, although Dehring, because of his financial connections, believes he can raise a fair sum from the banking institutions in the region,” the souce said. It has been reported that President of the West Indies Cricket Board, Wes Hall is fearful of any further embarrassment to the WICB, following the recent incidents involving Bennett King, Carl Hooper and Chris Gayle,” the source added. During the upcoming Third Test in Barbados between the West Indies and Australia, the ICC, led by their president, Australian Malcolm Speed and several other executives along with leading World Cup sponsors Global Cricket will be in the Caribbean. “These guys are expected here from around May 2, and there is a lot of concern in West Indian circles” he noted.