Global cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket
Conference (ICC) has recently announced that the West
Indies and the USA will host the 2024 T20 World Cup,
the tournament’s third successive edition in as many years. This
undoubtedly wonderful ICC World Cup hosting assignment couldn’t
have come at a better time for West Indies cricket. Understandably,
morale among even its most genuine fans must now be at an all-time
low, following the team’s calamitous performance in the recently
concluded ICC 2021 T20 World Cup.
It is hoped that looking forward to 2024 both the ICC and CWI won’t
make as much of a royal mess as they did during the Caribbean Region’s
hosting of the 2007 World Cup. The colossal mistakes that were made
in 2007 and which need to be avoided in 2024 are easily identifiable.
At the very top of the list would be the actual timing of when the
tournament should ideally be held. The 2007 tournament was staged
from March 13 – April 28, at prime time for Caribbean hotels when
available rooms were still being filled by the normal sun-seeking
tourists. Adding the associated accommodation requirements of
sixteen participating country representative teams, their respective
players, support staff, media, and tournament staff severely strained
hotel room capacities in the hosting countries, long before the needs
of attending spectator fans were even addressed.
Rather than a March – April time frame the 2024 World Cup should
instead ideally be held from July – August. This would arguably be
the time frame that would be most advantageous for the Caribbean
Region’s hotels to accommodate all those associated with the
tournament.
The pricing of entry tickets for the tournament’s matches was another
2007 fiasco that will need to be corrected. Unlike the 2007 experience
match entry ticket prices for the 2024 World Cup must be accurately
reflective of the economic realities of the Caribbean hosting countries.
It would be immoral for the ICC and/or CWI to repeat the unfortunate
2007 World Cup practice of establishing match ticket prices that the
local fans simply could not afford.
Rather than its current unscrupulous overpricing, between now and
2024 CWI should instead seek to produce a highly affordable and
attractive West Indies team shirt that every fan would not only want
to purchase, and more importantly, would be easily capable of doing so.
Whenever the West Indies team steps onto to the field for its 2024
World Cup matches, therefore, it should be against the backdrop of
venues filled with a majority of supportive local fans, well decked out in
their West Indies team shirts.
Unlike in 2007 when local fans were initially prohibited from taking
their flags, conch shells, horns, yuzelas, and other supportive noise
makers into the match venues, such an abomination must not be
repeated in 2024. A World Cup staged in the Caribbean must be fully
reflective of our way of life and with absolutely no imposed restrictions
to the way we express ourselves in support of cricket being played at
its highest level.
There are now two full years of preparation time available to get things
absolutely right for the big show in 2024! Hopefully, this time around
it will actually be an event of which all West Indians can be justifiably
proud!
About The Writer:
Guyana-born Reds Perreira has served as a world-recognized West
Indies Cricket Commentator for well over fifty years. Reds made his
broadcasting debut during the 1971 West Indies-India Test Series, and
has commentated on hundreds of matches since then!