WICB Chief Executive Dr Ernest Hilaire (left), ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat (centre) and ICC WT20 West Indies 2010 Tournament Director Robert Bryan pose with some of the trophies for next year's tournament in the Caribbean. - Contributed
Bridgetown, Barbados:
Tickets for next year's International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 championship, which will be held here in the Caribbean, are now available online, and at ticket offices in Jamaica, and the host territories of Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts and St Lucia.
The tickets, which range from as low as US$5 (J$450) to a high of US$40 (J$3,600) for the final, were officially made available to the public yesterday after a launch on Saturday night.
Planning guide
"The process of selling tickets will define how well we are planning and naturally how well the tournament is received by fans in the Caribbean and around the world," said West Indies Cricket Board president, Dr Julian Hunte, at the launch, which was attended by a number of regional, international dignitaries and cricket legends.
The 15-day, 42-match championship, which will be divided in men's and women's categories, will include 12 teams, Test-playing nations, Zimbabwe and two ICC affiliate qualifiers, and will played as on a double-header basis during the day and under lights.
Host countries
Guyana, who will host most of the men's preliminary round matches, including West Indies', will kick off the event on Friday, April 30.
It will then move to Barbados and St Lucia for the Super Eights stage before the latter takes over as host of the men's and women's semi-finals, and Barbados as host of the equivalent finals.
"This is the third edition of the ICC World Twenty20, and I am every bit as excited and confident about its successes as about the previous two," said chief executive officer of the International Cricket Council, Haroon Lorgat, during his address in which he lauded the local organisers for what he describes as a good job so far.
"Tickets are available and will go on sale and with a very reasonable and affordable pricing structure in place, we expect them to be snapped up very quickly, as already I we have had many enquiries for these tickets," he added.
The ticket process, which will be run over four phases leading up to, and, if necessary, during the championship, saw Sunday's debut sales acting as the first phase, with the second to be started on November 15, the third on March 1, and the fourth and final on April 4.
In this the first phase, tickets will be made available to Caribbean nationals only for two weeks, while in phase two international sales will begin.
Ticket Prices (US$):
BARBADOS:
First Round - Stands - $10, Grounds - $5; Super Eight - Stands $15, Grounds - $8; Finals - Stands - $40, Grounds - $20, U-16s - $10;
ST LUCIA:
First Round - Stands - $10, Grounds - $5; Super Eight - Stands $15, Grounds - $8; Semi-Finals - Stands - $20, Grounds - $10, U-16s - $6;
ST KITTS: St Lucia:
First Round (women) - Stands - Free, Grounds - Free