‘World Cup reviving Caribbean unity’
Posted by Dresonic on January 26, 2007
With the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup roughly a month away, a renewed spirit of togetherness within the Caribbean has surfaced, according to Chris Dehring, managing director and CE of ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 Inc.
“It’s really unprecendented the kind of level of co-operation across the Caribbean… and getting things done to time lines,” Dehring told the Observer recently.
“It is unprecedented what has taken place in the Caribbean,” he reiterated, adding that that was “part of the thing that makes me proud to be involved. The things that Cricket World Cup… has been able to accomplish is nothing short of mind boggling”.
Dehring, who is seen as the man who wrote and won the rights for the West Indies to host this year’s Cricket World Cup, is spearheading a team mandated to deliver the best show in the sport’s history.
He said that unlike in previous times when governments failed to deliver on their promises, this is no longer the case after respective regional regimes committed themselves to hosting the world’s third largest sporting event.
Said Dehring: “You think about all the… announcements that would be made by governments, CARICOM, that never ever seem to come to fruition. But when it comes to the Cricket World Cup, what people have said they have done.
“And so you can criticise them for what they do, but you can’t criticise governments, the LOCs and the people… for not doing anything.”
Witnessing this show of unity among the regional bodies has given him a “really rewarding” feeling, Dehring added.
He noted that due to the frequent travels around the region to get a first-hand view, people have come to acknowledge that the World Cup will only be successful based on a collective approach.
“There is a sense that we are so dependent on each other,” said Dehring.
“There is a realisation that no matter how well Jamaica performs, if another Caribbean country falls down, Jamaica is going to be painted with the same brush.
“And therefore, the sense of unity has been borne by the sense of our understanding that we desperately need each other to be successful.”
