West Indies upbeat after ICC endorsement

Following the vote of confidence delivered by the International Cricket Council last week, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has set out to promote confidence that it can host a successful World Cup in 2007. The ICC formally confirmed that the tournament would be held in the Caribbean at the end of its meeting in Barbados last Friday.

Roger Brathwaite, chief executive of WICB, said that he had no doubts the event would be a success, and stressed that one of the main aims was for West Indies to be in a position to mount a serious challenge to become the first side to win on home soil. "There are two components to the World Cup. The first is the tournament itself, which is being handled and put together by Chris Dehring and the World Cup 2007 office," he explained. "The WICB is more about getting a team in place to challenge for the trophy. The focus is on winning the World Cup. This is 2003 and we are looking at just under four years to get the team together.

"We have development programmes and others in mind looking at bringing to the fore young players," Brathwaite continued. "The selectors will make the choices but the board will ensure all is done to have a strong team."

Meanwhile, Teddy Griffith, the president of the WICB, said that the hosting of the World Cup was being approached with "the utmost seriousness and resolve". As the documentation from the ICC was handed over, he added: "We have moved from symbolism to reality. Now is the time for performance and delivery and that is all that really matters henceforth."