The Caribbean can ‘hold its head high’ with its staging of the ninth ICC Cricket World Cup. That’s the word following an interim report on the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup which has been favourably received by the Caribbean Prime Ministers.

The report was presented by ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc. Managing Director and CEO, Chris Dehring, at the Caricom Heads of Government meeting held recently in Barbados.

Speaking from a post-meeting press conference at the Hilton Hotel, Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell expressed satisfaction, on behalf of the leaders of the region, regarding the successful hosting of the event.

“All the Prime Ministers expressed how pleased we were generally with the Caribbean’s hosting of the event. We demonstrated to the world that we are very capable of hosting as well as anybody.”

He cautioned against the region not recognising the significance of what was achieved by focussing only on any negative aspects.

“This is the first time we have hosted anything of this scale and complexity and the first time in history that nine countries were coming together to do it. It is only natural that there are areas where we might have done better. Still, what is important is that the event overall was successful and we delivered. The lessons learnt will only serve us better in the future as we host other events including the Champions Trophy in 2010.”

Caricom leaders also commended the organisers of the event; both the WICB and the Local Organising Committees (LOCs), for the tremendous work done, particularly the construction and refurbishment of 12 stadia and 22 practice facilities in time for the staging of the event.

“We wish to commend the leadership of Mr. Dehring, the WICB and the entire team which undertook this project on behalf of the region. The Caribbean owes them a debt of gratitude and we as Prime Ministers recognised their outstanding contribution in our meeting today”, noted Prime Minister Mitchell.

“It has been an incredible ten year journey and the leadership and vision of Caricom leaders and the secretariat never wavered,” Dehring stated, thanking the Prime Ministers for their ongoing support.

“What was particularly impressive was the ability of the nine countries in the region to come together when it mattered most and in the process meet all important timelines. In the context of a Caribbean Single Market, this should serve as a model for the future and an example of what can be achieved through unity,” he added.

Mr. Dehring reported to the Caricom Heads that the financial forecasts for the event remained robust and should shore up the finances of the WICB by eliminating the accumulated deficit of that organisation.

“Wrapping up an organisation of this size will take some time but our forecasts show healthy profits for the event. In fact we hope to go down as the most profitable Cricket World Cup to date when the final numbers are tabulated.”

“We had the highly unusual circumstance of ticket sales substantially outpacing attendance. Over 672,000 tickets to the event were sold which surpasses the last Cricket World Cup in South Africa which sold 625,000 tickets. However, only 436,000 persons actually came through the turnstiles,” Dehring elaborated, addressing the issue of attendance which has been one negative highlighted by critics of the tournament.

“On a native population of 6 million people that would be creditable, but it is somewhat disappointing given the high level of ticket sales. However, the Caribbean can still hold its head high in this area. The ticket sales of US$32 million are the highest ever recorded for any Cricket World Cup or ICC event and that is a record we can be proud of. The ticket revenues of South Africa in 2003 and England in 1999 were US$9.7 and US$22 million respectively. When you consider the size and value of these markets compared with the West Indies, it makes what is already a respectable performance even more creditable.”