Twenty-two days remain before the International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 World championship in the Caribbean on April 30 and the Guyana leg has stepped on the pedal for the event with the launching of the `Bring It’ bus tour for the tournament.
Led by a police outrider from the Guyana National Stadium, Providence yesterday, in extremely overcast conditions, the bus made its way to the Stabroek Market square where fans got a taste of the imminent calendar event. They were treated to `Bring It’ t-shirts and 10 lucky persons were the recipients of tickets for the opening day of the Sri Lanka and New Zealand match at 13:00 hours and West Indies against Ireland encounter from 17:00 hours.
Sabrina Panday, Pro-motion and Corporate Services Officer – Guyana, said the purpose of the event was to raise more awareness among the people of the magnitude of the event that is about to be brought to the Caribbean for a second time. Panday said she wants persons to be hyped up about the World Cup competition and she wants them to know that they are still tickets on sale for fans to bring all the trimmings to the games. Tickets are currently being sold at the at the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) ticketing office on Regent Street. Yesterday’s tour was the first of four treks before the event with the second one scheduled for Sunday at 18:30 at the Sherriff Street and Rupert Craig Highway. The aim is for afternoon patrons to the seawall to get into the World Cup blitz. The bust will then make its way to New Amsterdam on April 24 and to Parika on April 25. Stabroek Sport was also told that a similar promotion was started yesterday in St. Lucia while Barbados will start their’s on Saturday. St. Lucia and Barbados are the other two host countries for the male tournament while St. Kitts will host the female version of the tournament.
”We are giving fans a different taste of what to expect; we will also be playing the ‘Bring It’ song and we will have entertainers distributing t-shirts and free tickets for this promotion”, Panday said.
On the other hand, local comedians Kirk ‘Chow Pow’ Jardine and Linden ‘Jumbie’ Jones created the Stabroek Market square in front of Demico House with their witty and humourous comments and quizzes of cricket related issues. Many passersby, braving the intermittent drizzles, queued up for a piece of the electrifying action yesterday.
Some said that they are already feeling the “vibes” of the world cup and that they will be indulging in all the festivities that come with the shortest and most electrifying version of the modern game.
Meanwhile, patrons are urged not to bring firearms or other instruments that may be used as a potential dangerous weapon. Alcohol also will not be permitted to the venue because of the pouring and spirits clauses in effect that are attached to all major events