– GCB president Chetram Singh
President of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Chetram Singh said yesterday that Guyana was in an excellent position to host the regional one-day tournament scheduled for later this year.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sports Singh said that the GCB was always prepared to host regional as well as international matches when called upon.
“I have been talking to the West Indies Cricket Board to see if I can convince them that Guyana is best suited to host the tournament,” Singh told Stabroek Sports.
Singh recalled that over the past 15 years Guyana had been on record for hosting numerous under-15, under-19 and even regional one-day competitions.
He pointed out that as recently as last year Guyana hosted the regional U-19 competition.
Information from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) suggests that some 10 teams should be participating in this year’s tournament including nine-time champions Guyana, eight-time champions Tri-nidad and Tobago, seven-time champions and present cup holders Jamaica, six-time champions Leeward Islands, five-time champions Bar-bados, two-time champions the Windward Islands, the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC), and the regional under-19 team.
Two additional teams from the United States, Canada or Bermuda are also expected to participate.
Singh said last year only eight teams participated and the decision on how many teams would be taking part this year would be settled over the next few days as the WICB continues to meet.
And with the possibility of Guyana hosting the 2008 tournament Singh is of the view that the only charge that will be expensive in Guyana will be hotel costs as transportation and meals are relatively reasonable in comparison to the other Caribbean countries.
Singh said that at the end of the day when his negotiations are over with the WICB he is of the view that Guyana would be given the green light to host the tournament.
This year’s tournament was originally scheduled for Florida, USA in October, with the final being held on October 18 but due to the hurricane season the USA Cricket Association (US-ACA) was forced to call off the tournament.
The rescheduled tournament, according to Singh, should start by November 12 and end on November 27 or 28 giving the host nation some five weeks to prepare.
Guyana and Jamaica are the front-runners to host this year’s tournament and with the present dry season holding up Singh feels Guyana should get the nod.
