The cricket fever that has gripped Barbados during the International Cricket Council Men’s T20 World Cup over the past three weeks is expected to soar to new heights at Kensington Oval tonight.
Anticipation was mounting yesterday as West Indies prepared to make their first appearance of the tournament at the iconic venue before a near-capacity crowd.
A few hours after India and Afghanistan completed the first Group 2 match of the Super Eight stage, local officials reported that tickets for the 8:30 p.m. contest featuring the two-time champions and debutants United States were almost sold out.
Tickets going
Chairman of the National Organising Committee Noel Lynch said 13 000 of the 16 000 tickets available for sale had been snapped up.
“I expect that we will have a (big) crowd supporting the West Indies. I can’t tell you who have bought the tickets. There will be 13 000 people in the stadium.
“We had about 13 000 people for the game between England and Australia. In there was pretty rammed. I am convinced that there will be just as many.
“The numbers that we are seeing . . . there will be West Indians in there tomorrow night. West Indies will have a crowd behind them,” he told the Weekend Nation.
West Indies, champions in 2012 and 2016, are seeking to become the first team to win the T20 World Cup three times. They played impressively in the Group Stage to emerge with a 100 per cent winning record by registering four successive wins but stumbled in their first Super Eight match when they lost to defending champions England in St Lucia on Wednesday night.
Tonight, they come up against a United States team that features a player with Bajan roots. Aaron Jones was born in America but grew up in Barbados, attended Christ Church Foundation School and played for Barbados Pride in the 2017 regional first-class cricket competition.
“The real human interest story unfolding is Aaron Jones coming home to Kensington Oval – a Barbadian playing for the United States. Nobody expected the United States to be in the Super Eight but here he is,” Lynch said.
“He learned his cricket in Barbados. It says a lot about our cricket and what can happen for our cricket in the future. The cricket factory that we talked in the field is happening.”
Iconic Oval
Kensington Oval
also staged five Group Stage matches in the T20 World Cup from June 2 to 9 and following three Super Eight games, the ground will also be the venue for the final next week Saturday.
It is the third time the Oval will have the privilege of hosting a global championship match, after staging the 2007 World Cup (50-over) and 2010 T20 World Cup finals.
Lynch, a former minister of tourism, reiterated that Barbados stood to benefit from hosting the event.
“The real story is what this tournament is doing for Barbados and for Barbadians. The economic impact for this tournament is going to be felt for years to come.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), I saw Indians from the Indian diaspora, not necessarily Indians from India, but Indians living in the United States, Canada and parts of Europe,” he said.
“I was really pleased to see how much they are into Barbados and into the Caribbean. I spoke to a number of them who were very impressed with Barbados’ infrastructure and the friendliness of our people, which is known all over.
“One man actually told me he felt that this was a society that he can live in. He lives in Austin, Texas and his daughter is one of these Indian cricket prodigies. He felt very much at home. He felt this was a developed country, a First World country. Sometimes we take for granted the quality of life that we have in Barbados.” (HG)
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