Caribbean World Cup mistakes rectified at World Twenty20
It was only in 2007 that cricket fans were presented with a World Cup that was so sanitised it was difficult to believe it was taking place in the Caribbean.
As high as you may have turned up the volume on your television, you still wouldn’t have heard the drumbeats of an enthusiastic West Indies crowd. It mightn’t have been quite so bad as to say the only music to be heard was the wind whistling through the near empty stands in the early stages of the tournament before some restrictions were eased, nor was such an assessment too far from the mark.
High ticket prices and tight security restrictions combined to squeeze the calypso out of the Caribbean, with the much criticised tournament ending in farcical circumstances when Australia and Sri Lanka played out their final in conditions where night-vision goggles might have been a useful addition to their kits.
Three years later, organisers seemed to have learned their lesson. The 2010 World Twenty20 will be a tournament for the local fans.
On the eve of the tournament ICC President David Morgan has again stressed the point that cricket’s governing body has been keen to promote in the months leading up to the World Twenty20: there will be no mistaking the location this time around.
"Over the next 17 days, I am looking forward to a celebration of all that's good about West Indies cricket,” Morgan has said. “We're encouraging the people of the Caribbean to bring their enthusiasm and passion for cricket to the matches and make it a memorable event for everyone involved.
"Bring your musical instruments, your songs and cheers, your flags, banners and colourful costumes. And, above all, bring that party spirit for which cricket matches in the West Indies are famous.”
It’s not just talk either. With prices ranging from low as US$5 for a group-stage match to a high of US$40 for a seat at the finals, organisers have been intent on packing the stands with local fans this time around. It’s a strategy that seems to have worked too, with the ICC announcing 50 days out from the tournament that just a few tickets remained for the finals matches.
While it’s not unfair to attribute at least some of the anticipation for the tournament to the ever increasing popularity of Twenty20 cricket compared with the One-Day Internationals, where authorities are grappling with shrinking crowds, it’s also an indication that organisers might have learned from past mistakes and got the formula right this time around.
It won’t be long before we find out.
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