Seven Caribbean countries announced as hosts for 2024 T20 World Cup
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, alongside six other Caribbean nations, have been selected as co-hosts for the upcoming 2024 men’s T20 World Cup.
According to a recent media release by Geoff Allardice, the chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the upcoming biennial tournament will be jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA. The tournament is scheduled to take place from June 4th to June 30th and will involve the participation of 20 countries. A total of 55 matches will be contested across 10 different locations during the tournament.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) collaborated with Cricket West Indies to ascertain the definitive roster of venues in the Caribbean, taking into account the proposals submitted by local governments.
In May, the International Cricket Council (ICC) initiated a bidding process to determine the host nation for the 2024 World Cup, which was promoted as the “Carnival of Cricket” by the governing body. In a previous statement, Johnny Grave, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cricket West Indies (CWI), emphasized the potential benefits of the T20 World Cup for the local governments in the Caribbean, as well as for CWI and the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Grave highlighted the opportunity for these entities to explore and capitalize on novel avenues for commercial and economic growth.
It is widely acknowledged that the majority of renowned cricket sites around the Caribbean submitted bids, with the exception of three nations: Jamaica, Grenada, and St. Kitts and Nevis. As a result, these three stadiums will not be selected to host any matches during the World Cup.
It is well acknowledged that out of the total of 55 matches, around 39 or 40 are scheduled to be held in the Caribbean region, while the remaining 15 or 16 matches are designated to take place at the three sites located in the United States of America.
Although the specific venues for the knockout rounds were not mentioned in the media release, it was reported by ESPNcricnfo that Guyana, Barbados, and T&T were identified as potential hosts for the Super Eights and final matches. It has been ascertained that the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, was a leading contender to serve as the venue for the final match, alongside the Kensington Oval located in Barbados. Currently, the three venues located in the United States are exclusively designated to host the group-phase matches.
The upcoming 2024 event will mark the third occurrence of a men’s World Cup being hosted in the West Indies, with a significant gap of 14 years from the last edition.
The inaugural event in the ICC’s upcoming commercial cycle from 2024-2031 will be the 2024 T20 World Cup. This tournament marks the beginning of a series of eight men’s global events that have been formally established and ratified in 2021. The forthcoming edition will have a distinct format in comparison to the preceding two editions, when the initial round was succeeded by the Super 12s.
Additional Caribbean nations that have been selected to host games are Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad & Tobago.
