Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
THE 2007 WORLD Cup of cricket is less than four years away and as far as the fans around the region are concerned, the big question is which territories will host what matches.
The big prize is the final, after that it is the opening ceremony, then come the two semi-finals, and who gets what will follow bids by the territories, inspection and evaluation by a venue assessment team.
Another question going the rounds, however, is why get into a bid system, and that is a good question.
Although Chris Dehring, general manager of the managing committee, is convinced that the bid system is the best system, that may not be so, and there are many people, knowledgeable and experienced people, who believe that it is not the best system.
Apart from it being a lengthy process, it is also expensive. According to those who should know, depending on what they are bidding for, the process could cost each territory in excess of US$1 million and in a region like this where money is in short supply, where so much money is needed at the grassroots level of the game, in the schools and in the clubs, that seems a waste of money.
On top of that, the deadline for bids to be tendered is January 31, 2004, according to Dehring, the process should be completed by June, and with the venues expected to be ready by the middle of 2006, even if it really comes in on time, that is a waste of valuable time.
How should the venues be selected? As Patrick Manning, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, has suggested, the selection of venues should be done by a committee, and that seems the way to go.
From costing less, much less, than a bidding process, it would be so much simpler. Despite what Dehring has been saying, when it comes to facilities, all things considered Bar-bados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Antigua are best suited to host the big games and the opening ceremony and it should not be difficult for a committee of distinguished West Indians to come together, decide what matches, for the entire tournament, will be played where and allow the territories to start getting themselves ready to host the matches they have been allocated.
BIDDING PROCESS
What is really interesting in the bidding process, however, is that based on who have been selected already and who, based on what is being said, will be selected, the vast majority of people on the venue assessment team will be, as it will be in other areas, from outside the Caribbean.
Dehring has said time and time again that the World Cup is being staged by the International Cricket Council, it may well be, as Dehring also has hinted, that the ICC is laying down many of the rules, and if that is so, then the West Indies - the board, the governments and the people - should stand firm on certain issues, including the selection of venues and who should select the venues.
The selection of venues should be left to the West Indies, those who select the venues should be West Indians, and there are many knowledgeable and experienced people in the Caribbean who can do a good job.
There are those who believe it is better if outsiders do the selection because of insularity and the row, the quarrel that could arise after the selections are made. The fact is, however, there are also West Indians of class, West Indians of character, West Indians who if not the best are among the best in the world and we should respect them by getting them involved.
One such West Indian is Mike Fennell - the president of the Jamaica Olympic Association who, among other things, is the chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation and a senior member of the International Olympic Council.
As one who has served on the IOC's evaluation committee, Fennell is experienced in deciding who gets what, and to those who decide who are called to service for World Cup 2007, the World Cup of cricket is small in comparison to the Olympic Games.
MANNING'S SUGGESTION
Prime Minister Manning's suggestion is a good one. He obviously does not believe that West Indians are incapable of handling something as big as the World Cup.
World Cup 2007 will be hosted by the West Indies, it will showcase the Caribbean, and that is good. What is important, however, is that West Indians are involved, really involved, in the presentation. There should be more West Indians than foreigners at all levels certainly in the decision-making process.
West Indian people have achieved in all walks of life, they are among the best in the world, and although they will need help in some areas, to tell them, to hint that they cannot run their own show, is an insult to them.
