A team of officials representing the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket West Indies (CWI) visited Guyana over the past weekend to inspect venues ahead of the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2022.
Guyana has submitted a bid to host the initial stage of the ICC Under-19 World Cup. The venue inspection was aimed at determining Guyana’s readiness for this major international event.
The ICC team included a number of planning experts in Ben Leaver, Joanna Taylor, Andy Atkinson, Ruchika Rana, Hamish Roberts and Roberto Almansa.
The CWI representatives were Tournament Director, Fawwaz Baksh, Event Manager KJ Singh, Head Curator Kent Crafton, and representatives Krystal Jean-Baptiste and Marcus Francis.
According to a Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) release, “They were joined by GCB’s officials Secretary Ronald Williams, Chief Executive Officer/Public Relation Officer, Claude Raphael, Assistant Secretary, Devteerth Anandjit, Technocrat on Marketing and Financing, Anil Beharry and Territorial Development Officer, Colin Stuart. Experienced Venue Manager, Sabrina Panday was also present.”
On Saturday, the team visited the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, the GCB’s La Bonne Intention Facility, Malteenoes Sports Club, the Guyana Defence Force Ground and the Enmore Community Centre.
Similar inspections were conducted on Sunday at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC), the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC), the Everest Cricket Club and the Police Sports Club.
The President of the GCB, Bissoondyal Singh has expressed his satisfaction with the visit, positing that the ICC/CWI team was very professional in their approach.
The release detailed, “He opined that the forthcoming report on the inspection will indicate what standards were met and what measures need to be undertaken.”
Singh was also pleased that the ICC and CWI representatives were able to meet with Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr.
Further, Singh expressed confidence that the GCB, with the invaluable support of Ramson Jr., and the Government of Guyana, will ensure that all venues assigned to the tournament will meet the ICC standards by mid- November 2021 when another inspection is expected.
