BASSETERRE, St. Kitts -- WITH the 14th edition of the International Cricket Council Under-19 World Cup set to bowl off in the region in just over a month, authorities in the Federation are stepping up preparations for the tournament which will see five local venues being featured.
Cayon, Conaree, St. Paul’s, Mollineaux and Warner Park are the venues set to host 18 matches across warm up and competition fixtures when the tournament hits St.Kitts and Nevis in the middle of January 2022.
That disclosure came yesterday (Nov 29) at a media launch of the St. Kitts and Nevis leg of the tournament, where Minister of Sport, Jonel Powell promised that the government will do all in its power to ensure that the matches are held in the Federation.
From the upgrading of venues to shifting of protocols are some of what the government will have to undertake to ensure that the compeition remains in the Federation.
The tournament will be staged during the ongoing pandemic, and the recent announcement of the discovery of the Omicron Variant of COVID-19 has raised several questions surrounding teams from Africa participating and the fact that access to vaccines on the continent is a challenge.
When asked if the government would be opened to sharing vaccine with the two teams that are unvaccinated, Minister Powell confirmed that it is a decision that they are opened to in order to make the games happen.
Minister Powell reiterated that the government will work within the perimeters of the health protocols to ensure that teams, staff and the country are protected from COVID-19.
Fawwaz Bash, Tournament Director, explained that hosting the event forms part of Cricket West Indies’ strategy of attracting more young men and women to the game, while at the same time, developing world class facilities across the region.
At the end of staging the world cup, Bash announced, the region will have 21 “world class facilities”.
This tournament is described as one of the most logistically challenged for any host nation due to the amount of matches to be contested. According to officials, 16 teams will make of the competition to be split across four venues - Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts-Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda.
Unlike in major men’s and women’s competitions, this will feature 64 matches where all teams will be in action until the final days of the tournament.
In the cases of St. Kitts and Nevis, teams are expected to arrive on January 3 and be placed in quarantine for approximately one week. Warm up matches are expected to begin on January 9, before the tournament officially bowls off on January 14, and the following day in St. Kitts.
The Federation will play host to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Canada, England, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Sri Lanka, Scotland and host West Indies.
