Ken Gordon: Be the best hosts for CWC

As the Caribbean begins its 100-day countdown today to the Opening Ceremony of the CWC 2007 Chairman of CWC 2007, Ken Gordon, is urging the region to be the best hosts ever of the international sporting event.

Recently back from India, where he – as West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president – attended the ICC Board meeting and the ICC Champions Trophy final, Gordon said fans from the Indian sub-continent cannot wait to come to next year’s event and are anticipating a great spectacle – as much for the hospitality as for the cricket.{{more}}

“The people who are coming here are expecting you to treat them with warmth, to treat them specially and to ensure that they enjoy themselves. The response of the host population to these events is second only to the games themselves. We must therefore give our visitors the full treatment of Caribbean warmth and hospitality.

“Let the world see us at our best because, we are incomparable.”

The CWC Chairman revealed that throughout his stay in India, people often stopped him to talk about the ICC Cricket World Cup.

“The interest is tremendous. Excitement is building. Indian people are almost cricket-crazy. They want to know how are things going; are we on stream? They are all very expectant of it being a success.

“There are high standards expected of us and I think that, fortunately, we are in a position to meet those standards. The interest is strong and it’s up to us to deliver now,” stated Gordon.

Another major talking point on his India trip was, naturally, the resurgence of the West Indies team in One-Day International cricket – having reached the final of the ICC Champions Trophy – and how important the home team’s performance will be to the success of CWC 2007.

The man at the helm of both CWC 2007 and the WICB was emphatic about this issue.

“The significance of that (resurgence) cannot be overstated. If we (the West Indies) find ourselves in the (Cricket) World Cup’s final run-down, the interest among Caribbean people will explode even further. As of now, I have every reason to expect us to emerge in the Semi Final and go on to the Final.

“In fact, I have every expectation that we will win the Final.”