As the eyes of the cricketing world turn towards the West Indies for the latest edition of the ICC World Twenty20, ICC President David Morgan says the event is a chance to celebrate the unique contribution cricket in the Caribbean makes to the global game.
Mr Morgan said: “Over the next 17 days, I am looking forward to a celebration of all that’s good about West Indies cricket. We’re encouraging the people of the Caribbean to bring their enthusiasm and passion for cricket to the matches and make it a memorable event for everyone involved.
“Bring your musical instruments, your songs and cheers, your flags, banners and colorful costumes. And, above all, bring that party spirit for which cricket matches in the West Indies are famous.
“The West Indies holds a special place in the international cricket family, having contributed some of the all-time great of the game. But I believe there are still great times ahead for cricket in this part of the world and the successful staging of this event is part of that positive future.
“I want to congratulate Afghanistan and Ireland for making it through the tough qualifying stages to be here and I would like to extend my best wishes to all 12 of the men’s teams and the eight women’s teams as they will all play their part in this festival of cricket. Good luck to all of you.”
The action gets underway in Guyana on Friday (30 April) as New Zealand takes on Sri Lanka followed by local favourite West Indies playing qualifier Ireland. All the action builds up towards the final, which takes place in Kensington Oval, Barbados on 16 May. St Lucia is the other venue for the men’s event with the early stages of the women’s tournament taking place in St Kitts.
In an initiative designed to promote women’s cricket, the semi-finals and final of that section of the tournament will take place as double-headers with the men’s version in St Lucia and Barbados.
For a full schedule and more information about the event, including how to access rights-free audio clips, go to www.iccevents.yahoo.com.