A wave of confusion and conflicting claims has arisen regarding the venues for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
Conde Riley, the president of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) and a member of Cricket West Indies (CWI), recently asserted that he possesses documents designating Barbados as the host for the final of the 2024 Twenty20 World Cup. However, top CWI authorities quickly dismissed this claim, and ICC sources later stated that no such decision had been made.
Riley revealed, “We have documentation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and CWI suggesting that Barbados will be the venue for the final.” He further claimed that based on these documents, Barbados would host the final, a semi-final, and several matches involving teams like India and England.
In response, CWI President Kishore Shallow contradicted Barbados’ claim, stating that he had no such information and clarifying that, “the venues for the final and the semi-finals would be Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.” He added that the final decision would be made by the ICC during a meeting in India in November.
The ICC recently announced seven venues in the Caribbean to host the World Cup, with Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago selected. Additionally, Dallas, Florida, and New York in the United States were designated as venues.
While Barbados remains a significant cricketing hub in the Caribbean, this controversy has highlighted differences in interpretations of the decision-making process. It remains to be seen how the matter will be resolved in the lead-up to the tournament.
