Teams vying for next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup will on Thursday and Friday (September 21 and 22, 2006) get a comprehensive view of what to expect when they come to the Caribbean for the tournament. Representatives of the…
Teams vying for next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup will on Thursday and Friday (September 21 and 22, 2006) get a comprehensive view of what to expect when they come to the Caribbean for the tournament. Representatives of the 16 Participating Nations will attend the Pre-Tournament Team Managers Meeting in Barbados, hosted by the ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc. Cricket Operations Department. Senior officials from the ICC and CWC headquarters as well as Cricket Operations Managers from the nine Local Organising Committees (LOCs) will also take part.
The two-day event, which is being held to provide critical information to team managers about next year’s tournament, will feature presentations by members of the CWC Cricket Operations team – headed by Cricket Operations Director Michael Hall – as well as hearing from CWC Venue Development Director, Donald Lockerbie (a virtual venue tour of the tournament venues); CWC Security Director, John Collymore (an overview of the Master Security Plan) and CWC Chairperson of the Medical, Health & Anti-Doping Directorate, Dr. Marion Bullock DuCasse (an overview of the Medical, Health & Anti-Doping plan).
ICC CWC 2007 Managing Director & CEO, Chris Dehring, will welcome the delegates on Thursday morning while ICC General Manager, David Richardson, and ICC Host Liaison Officer, Chris Tetley, will speak on various Team Obligations.
The team officials will also be updated on areas of interest to them, including: the confirmation of international flights; the special CARICOM visa (legislation in place for the tournament); airport arrival and departure protocols for teams; domestic flight arrangements; confirmation of hotel arrangements; ground transportation plans; team practice schedules; the tournament schedule; support staff arrangements (liaison officers, close protection officers, baggage handlers and net bowlers); administrative issues (such as match tickets and financial arrangements).
“This meeting is not only being held because it is one of our obligations under the Host Agreement between CWC 2007 Inc. and the ICC, but because it will be an extremely useful tool in assisting all the participating teams in their preparation and planning for the tournament,” explained CWC Cricket Operations Director, Michael Hall.
“It will also present an opportunity for team managers to establish important contacts with the Cricket Operations Managers from the LOCs and allow for meaningful dialogue between them, between now and March 2nd next year, when all teams arrive in the Caribbean.”
Delegates will also be taken on a tour of Kensington Oval on Friday afternoon. The visit will be preceded by a keynote address by Reverend Wes Hall, former West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) President and West Indian cricket icon, entitled “The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup – the West Indian Way”.
Many team representatives are combining their attendance at the meeting with visits to the Host Venues where their respective teams will play Group Stage matches. In fact, officials of all four teams being hosted in St Kitts (Australia, Scotland, South Africa and the Netherlands) will be visiting that country, either just before or immediately after the Barbados meeting.
“A similar meeting was held in South Africa ahead of the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup, and it proved to be extremely useful. We at CWC 2007 have been preparing diligently to host this meeting, and we are confident that the team managers will leave the Caribbean assured that we are doing everything to stage the Cricket World Cup to world-class standards,” said Michael Hall.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
