Will the region be ready to host 100,000 cricket fans in seven months?
Andrew Miller05-Jul-2006In the Caribbean, the magnitude of the task that awaits the region next March is slowly beginning to dawn. Too slowly for comfort, in theopinion of many observers. In seven months’ time, the curtain will be raised on the ninth cricket World Cup, and at present the preparationsare lagging behind on all fronts.Yesterday Chris Dehring, the tournament director, finally confirmed what the rest of the world had already worked out – the influx of100,000 cricket fans, on top of the usual peak-season demands of the Caribbean tourist industry, means that hotel rooms throughout theregion will be at a premium. “We don’t expect to satisfy the entire demand,” he admitted candidly. “It is really going to be a challenge.”Contingency plans are urgently being sought, including the option of using a fleet of cruise-liners as auxiliary accommodation, but thelogistics of the tournament are threatening to overwhelm the hosts. The rich heritage of West Indian cricket has long distracted from theground-level reality: never before has such a high-profile tournament been strung across so many small – and in some cases, tiny – countries.In total, nine sovereign states with a combined population of roughly seven million (which would barely place them in the world’s top 100)are being asked to pull together to create the third biggest sporting event in the world. It is a huge undertaking for some of the world’ssmallest economies. In terms of Gross Domestic Product, five of the participants – Antigua, St Lucia, Guyana, Grenada and St Kitts & Nevis – are among the smallest 21 in the world, and only Trinidad & Tobago (89) features in the top 100 (out of 180).The Caribbean’s enduring popularity with tourists means that the poverty of much of the region has long been overlooked. The situationis not so very different from expecting Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast and Senegal to cut deals with their neighbours (and rivals) to host theOlympics or football World Cup. It is notable that neither of these events has yet taken place in Africa, and when the football doesfinally arrive in 2010, it will be held exclusively in resource-rich South Africa.The Trelawny pitch is rolled for the first time, as Jamaica steps up preparations for the World Cup•Andrew Miller/Andrew MillerLast week, Cricinfo was invited to Jamaica, where West Indies themselves and Pakistan are to be based for the event. The World Cupwas the only topic on anyone’s lips. Unfortunately, it was the wrong World Cup. At present, everything stops for football. Taxi driverssimply won’t budge while a match is in progress, meetings have to be delayed to accommodate penalty shoot-outs. And all the while, theclock ticks down as vital preparations remain unaddressed.Nowhere is this more apparent than in the state of the island’s venues. Last week, the disrepair at Sabina Park was showcased to theworld as West Indies slipped to defeat in the fourth Test against India. A recent cement shortage, coupled with industrial action fromthe Jamaican workforce, meant that the great ground was just a husk of its former (and future) self. Only the George Headley stand and theKingston Cricket Club pavilion were still in operation – which amounts to barely one third of the projected 21,000 capacity.And further to the north, there is the Greenfields Stadium at Trelawny. Cut from virgin scrubland and perched scenically on the topof a hill near the coast, it is the venue for the tournament’s opening ceremony and a selection of warm-up matches. Greenfields is intendedto become a prime sporting location, but at present it is just another building site, served by a single dirt track and presided over by aclutch of 110 Chinese labourers, in whose hands the island’s entire construction project seems to have been placed.China’s involvement in the Caribbean is controversial but far-reaching, and as the clock ticks down, increasingly essential. As Lyndon James, the venue manager at Greenfields, admitted, their work ethic is “very different” to that of the Jamaican population, as demonstrated by the countdown board outside their on-site compound, declaring “xxx days [sic] hard work left”.”Hopefully some of their attitude will rub off on our guys,” added James, although seeing as the interaction between the two camps wasvirtually nil, there seemed little prospect of that. The state of the wicket was none too encouraging either. In March, the JamaicaGleaner reported optimistically that the square could be ready for matches as early as June.Chinatown at Trelawny: Jamaica’s new stadium is reliant on immigrant workers•Andrew Miller/Andrew MillerIn fact, July was just days away when we saw it being rolled for the first time, under the supervision of Sabina Park’s groundsman, PatGordon – arguably the least relaxed Jamaican on the island. “We won’t know what it’ll be like until we play on it,” he stated baldly. Otherwell-placed sources confided that the ground is so remote that, after the tournament has been done and dusted, it may never again hostanother cricket match.The saddest aspect of the tournament preparations is that there seems to be little attempt to engage the local population in the activities- although seeing as they are sure to be priced out of most of the matches, it is hardly surprising that such apathy is taking hold. ACategory 1 ticket to matches at St Kitts costs US$420, roughly two months’ wages for the average blue-collar worker, while the ICCregulations stipulate that Kingston Cricket Club members have to pay for entry to their own pavilion at Sabina Park, a move that hasbeen met with predictable resentment.Perversely, what the region needs is to be cut some slack. The Caribbean lifestyle is as languid as it gets, and for all the currentfrustrations, it is this inimitable trait that will provide the World Cup with its best and most reliable failsafe. “No problem!” is Jamaica’s catchphrase, as reprinted on countless souvenir T-shirts. For those who do sample the country’s hotels, beaches, cocktails andnightlife, the experience promises to be unforgettable.What is less clear, however, is the extent of the legacy that will remain when the eyes of the world are averted once again. At present, there is little excitement, little involvement, and little evidence that the third-greatest show on earth is coming to town. It’ll be alright on the night, as these things usually are, but will the Caribbean reinvent itself in the manner that Germany has done through the football World Cup this past month? On the current evidence, the answer has to be “no”.
