‘I Don’t Like Cricket, I Love It!’: Caribbean Ready to Host ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2024
by Karen Rollins May 6, 2024
Cricket fever has fully taken hold in the Caribbean as the region gears up to stage the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup along with the US from 1-29 June 2024.
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago have been chosen as hosts for various group and final stage matches during the month-long international sporting event.
On 2 June, Guyana and Barbados will host the first games for the region with the West Indies playing Papua New Guinea at Providence Stadium at 10.30am (local time), and Namibia taking on Oman at Kensington Oval at 8.30pm (local time).
The final will be held at 10.30am (local time) on 29 June at Barbados’ Kensington Oval.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s sprint king Usain Bolt was recently announced as an ambassador for the competition. In an ICC press release, Bolt said he was “thrilled” to take on the role. He added: “Coming from the Caribbean where cricket is a part of life, the sport has always held a special place in my heart, and I look forward to attending West Indies matches at the World Cup and making a contribution to the growth of cricket globally.
“While I will of course be supporting West Indies at the World Cup, getting the sport into the US is big for cricket. It’s the biggest sports market in the world and the energy that we will bring for the T20 World Cup is a huge opportunity leading towards cricket’s inclusion in the LA Olympics in 2028.”
In addition, the official T20 World Cup 2024 anthem was released on 2 May. The collaboration between Caribbean artists Sean Paul and Kes is called ‘Out of this World’ and the accompanying video features regional cricket stars Stafanie Taylor, Chris Gayle, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
