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HEADLINE: ICC to seek answers after massive overspend in US leg of T20 World Cup
CaribbeanCricket.com
2024-07-18 14:50:57
No sooner had India beaten USA on June 12 in the 2024 T20 World Cup at the Nassau County International stadium in New York than cricket's first fully modular stadium was being brought down, packed and folded up. Cranes were at the venue before both teams had left, to remove the four drop-in pitches, with workers ready to dismantle the stands, to be returned to Las Vegas Formula One, from where most of the infrastructure had been borrowed by ICC.
The New York project was among the most ambitious the ICC has undertaken with the venue built from scratch in 106 days. However, questions have hovered over the USA leg, where 16 of the 55 World Cup matches were hosted, almost from the moment the tournament began. Now the ICC Board, which meets this weekend in Colombo, will zoom in on several of those questions, in particular the claims that costs of the US leg significantly overshot the original budget, why that might have been the case, and who should be held responsible for it.
According to one board director, the ICC Board had initially approved a budget in the range of US $40-50 million for the USA leg of the tournament. Though ESPNcricinfo has not been able to independently verify that amount, the director said in that initial estimate, $15 million was meant for operational expenses and roughly $30 million for the construction of the temporary stadium outside New York City.
However, on the eve of the World Cup, T20 World Cup USA Inc, the US-based entity created by the ICC's commercial arm IBC (ICC Business Corporation) to run the US leg, sent in a request for an additional $20 million. This "outraged and alarmed" a number of board directors, according to a second director, not least the fact that the request was made at the last minute. Why, the director asked, were no red flags raised with the board at any stage before the request?
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bird
2024-07-18 15:43:34
In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com
I am pretty sure some unbelievable disclosure will come out of this thing
Narper
2024-07-18 23:23:58
Most of the answers will likely come during the October round of ICC's quarterly meetings when the audited accounts for the World Cup will be ready for the ICC Board to refer to.
I won' t be surprised if CWI is suspended from holding another WC for 20 yrs
US will get away with no penalty
positiveg
2024-07-19 03:34:56
In reply to Narper
CWI will get suspended for money spending like water on the 'US- leg' of the ICC T20 world Cup?
So for something that CWI is not responsible for they'll get suspended?
You did read that even the header speaks about money spending on the US leg. Nowhere did West Indies get mentioned only in the fact that the name was ICC World cup t20 West Indies and USA.
Plus dis part
However, on the eve of the World Cup, T20 World Cup USA Inc, the US-based entity created by the ICC's commercial arm IBC (ICC Business Corporation) to run the US leg, sent in a request for an additional $20 million. This "outraged and alarmed" a number of board directors, according to a second director, not least the fact that the request was made at the last minute. Why, the director asked, were no red flags raised with the board at any stage before the request?
Narper
2024-07-19 06:14:24
In reply to positiveg
he questioning is not going to be restricted to the US leg alone. Some directors on the ICC Board are expected to highlight the hits to the image of the tournament because of the questionable quality of pitches at some venues, as well as empty stands during the Caribbean leg. Despite the surfaces having been kept fresh, the slow and uneven nature of the pitches as well as the outfield raised immediate questions about whether they were conducive to T20 cricket.
One example was the first semi-final at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba where South Africa beat Afghanistan on a surface which the latter's head coach Jonathan Trott criticised as "not the pitch that you want to have ... a semi-final of a World Cup."
Another issue was the swathes of empty seats around the grounds in the Caribbean starting with the tournament opener at Providence stadium in Guyana where West Indies played Papua New Guinea, watched by sparse crowds. That game was a day match, the timings of which were mainly responsible for the low turnouts across the Caribbean leg
Day matches were arranged with the Indian broadcast market in mind, with the broadcaster keen to beam the games - especially those involving India along with both semi-finals and the final - at prime time in India: 8pm in India meant 10.30am starts in the Caribbean. While that was a clear deterrent, officials point out CWI had the largest marketing budget of any T20 World Cup to promote the event in the Caribbean alone.
Narper
2024-07-19 06:15:57
In reply to positiveg
With the International Olympic Committee including cricket as part of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the US leg was, in theory, a dress rehearsal.
US will not be touched because of the above
Cricket USA have a long history of ICC violations....yet they were chosen to cohost 2024 WC....US is untouchable....ICC needs them....CWI will be the scapegoat
Chrissy
2024-07-19 12:15:19
Some of us knew dis was one big racket in di US.
Cyan wait fi di names of di tief dem.
Maispwi
2024-07-19 12:42:58
De ICC chose dere own team to manage de US leg, so if anybody tief is dere own people.
And who in dere right minds expected Caribbean patrons to pay upward of 80 US$ and as much as 250 US$ to watch any match other than a Final?
