Bidding time at the 2007 World Cup

The 2007 World Cup may be three years away, but preparations for the event are gathering momentum. On Thursday (May 6), a dozen countries will submit their bids to host various matches of the tournament.

Chris Dehring, the managing director and the chief executive officer of the Windies World Cup 2007, was confident that the event would be a huge success. "The region should be very proud in advance for the work and effort by all to date as this exercise is a critical building block on the road to a successful event," he said. "We are very confident that the collective resources, intellect and will of the region will result in exciting proposals which will meet and even surpass expectations of the ICC and the global cricket fraternity."

The countries involved in the bidding process include Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts/Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.

The bids will be checked by a Venue Assessment Team over a two-month period, following which they will make their recommendations to the ICC and organising committee of the World Cup. The venues for the matches will be announced on July 12, 2004.

Doubts had earlier been raised about the ability of the West Indies' to host an event of this magnitude, with concerns being voiced about the lack of facilities and infrastructure. At one point, it was even rumoured that Australia had been asked to step in and host the tournament. Now, with the ICC backing the West Indies, they need to prove that they can pull off an event of such a huge magnitude.