GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP):
WEST INDIES cricket officials said yesterday they had accepted an offer from South Africa, the host of the last World Cup, to help prepare the region for next year's tournament.
High Commissioner to Jamaica, Fath Doreen Radebe, said the offer fulfils a promise South African President Thabo Mbeki made to Caribbean leaders during a meeting in Jamaica in 2003.
HELP FOR SECURITY
Radebe said her South Africa delegation, which arrived on Wednesday, will meet the Antigua-based West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) this week to begin talks.
"We can help the Caribbean mostly in the area of security, as we have a lot of experience in that regard," Radebe said yesterday. "No one in 2003 got hurt and there was no violence to talk about."
Caribbean governments and the private sector are spending close to US$1 billion (euro840,000) on stadiums, hotels, parking lots and improved infrastructure for the tournament. The competition starts on March 2007 in Jamaica, with Barbados hosting the final.
Chetram Singh, president of the Guyana Cricket Board, said security will emerge as a major issue in planning for the tournament.
"We have to be serious with all the things happening in the world today. We have to be careful. Their advice will be useful," Singh said.
