The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Unfolding the World Cup preparation story

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 19, 2006

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Unfolding the World Cup preparation story

S. Ram Mahesh

Basseterre: Far more interesting than the broad brush strokes of international competitions such as the Olympics and the World Cups are the preliminary charcoaled lines that give shape to the final conception. The 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean is a fascinating story — its most interesting sub-plot belongs to this region.

Despite not having produced a single international player for West Indies, St. Kitts was chosen in June 2004 as a venue for the group stage (March 14 to 24).

In an era of concrete monstrosities, Warner Park is refreshing with stretches of grassy mounds at both the eastern and the western ends providing for an intimate viewing experience.

The smallest facility in the Caribbean with a capacity of 4000 to be increased to 10,000 by adding temporary seating for the World Cup, Warner Park, found favour with both the West Indies and the Indian teams when they contested the first ever ODI in May.

Ahead of the third Test that begins on Thursday — the first ever Test here — Richard `Ricky' Skerritt, former West Indies manager, current

Minister of State for Sport, Tourism, and Culture, government of St. Kitts, spoke to The Hindu on birth pangs, the involvement of Taiwan, and what hosting the World Cup means to `Kitticians'.

Excerpts:

On getting ready for World Cup 2007: We started construction in 2004. We knew about the allotment of World Cup matches in June 2004. The design stage had started in 2003.

We hadn't put plans in place to bid, when we were designing it. So, by the time we completed construction, the design had taken on a bit of change.

The construction is entirely local — and when I say local I mean local to the Caribbean region. The architect is from St. Lucia, the developer is from Trinidad, the construction firm, Carillon, is Trinidadian. The 29 local sub contractors are local as well.

On the decision not to go overboard: It was always going to be the smallest facility. There's no point having a big white elephant. There will be local cricket here, it'll be a multi-purpose facility as well, with the southern end being used for the music festival. It was not developed just for the World Cup.

On Taiwan's involvement: The governments of these regions have had to invest a lot to achieve the kind of facilities West Indies cricket needs for hosting the World Cup and for future development. The WICB is a poor board, as are the governments. Our Prime Minister, who is also in charge of Finance, approached Taiwan. Winning the bid also gave us the urgency needed.

Taiwan has invested a lot in the facility. It's very generous — about 80 per cent of the total cost. It's a friendly gesture by the Taiwanese government. We've had 23 years of friendly diplomatic ties, and they knew how important this was for us. Their involvement is purely financial, they have not supplied men or materials.

On why St. Kitts won the bid: We won the bid because of our organisation, our desire. When the World Cup venue assessment team came here they saw we were very desirous of conducting a World Cup game.

On what it means to the people of St. Kitts: It means a higher profile in tourism. An opportunity to see world-class cricket. It's an opportunity for us as a country to get recognised as an international destination. Your visit here gives millions of enthusiastic fans back in India a chance to see us on television. It's like a dress rehearsal for the World Cup.

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