Contributed
ICC CWC 2007 Chairman, Ken Gordon (left) and ICC CWC 2007 Managing Director and CEO, Chris Dehring, at last Friday's press conference.

Major work across all nine host venues has stopped the international cricket community from questioning the Caribbean's readiness for ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.

Speaking at a press conference in Nevis recently, ICC Chief Executive, Malcolm Speed, noted that each ICC visit to the region for quarterly meetings has shown 'significant progress' with stadia and other infrastructural development taking place for next year's tournament.

"There is a level of excitement around the region now...and around the world people have stopped asking "will the West Indies be ready?"

"We are very pleased with progress and we look forward to coming back to see a great (Cricket) World Cup," he said.

As officials marked the 100-day countdown to the event's opening ceremony, international cricket's top administrator noted there is nothing 'unusual' about the fact that some work remains to be done at this stage.

"Things are always done in the last 100 days - even the last ten (days). It happens everywhere and it's nothing to worry about. Chris (Dehring) and his team have done an excellent job of getting it this far and they will make each of the 100 days left count. It's time to focus on the event and the many positives that will come out of it," added Speed.

Tribute

The ICC CEO hailed the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup as a tribute to the "greatness of West Indies teams between the 1970s and 1990sÓ.

"The West Indies Cricket Board has earned this ...we want to recognise the great contribution of those players to world cricket."

In his remarks to the media, ICC CWC 2007 Managing Director & CEO, Chris Dehring, cautioned that while CWC's overall rating from the ICC regarding tournament prepara-tions is 'good', there are some issues that require close monitoring.

"We are feeling comfortable but not complacent,Ó he said, lauding the work of the nine Local Organising Committees (LOCs) who have stuck diligently to the task.

Looking ahead, Dehring stated that CWC headquarters will be communicating with each LOC regarding the respective areas of concern in their preparations. A close eye, he added, will be kept on practice facilities and operational elements, such as transportation plans.

"We're over a major hump of delivering the venues on time. There are no longer questions on whether the West Indies can do it. Now they're looking at the things that make it workable."

Underlining the importance of world-class practice grounds, the CWC Managing Director stressed that "the experience of the teams and officials is paramount" and therefore special consideration must be given to their needs.

"If one player says one negative thing it can be all over the world in minutes. We need to focus on the facilities because cricket is at the centre of everything we do. The players' experiences need to be the best," declared Dehring.