BRIDGETOWN, June 9: The man responsible for running 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean has claimed that two of the region’s highest-profile cricket grounds are in desperate need of renovation.

Chris Dehring, chief executive officer of Windies World Cup, said Jamaica’s Sabina Park and Barbados’s Kensington Oval were not fit to be used in 2007 World Cup, and that investment of several millions of dollars was needed to get them ready in time.

“You are talking about two countries which have been so-called traditional venues of international cricket in the Caribbean,” Dehring explained.

“Yet, because of their status as traditional venues, very little, or certainly not enough, has been done, to improve the quality of stadiums in these countries over the last 40 years.

“So what you have is a situation where the best or the most modern cricket stadiums are actually now in the Eastern Caribbean: St Lucia, Antigua, St Vincent and Grenada, which have new facilities and purpose-built cricket stadiums.

“That’s one area where both Jamaica and Barbados have fallen behind. I think it’s quite sad when you think about tradition of cricket in Barbados where you have Kensington Oval, which Barbadians refer to as Mecca. I ask myself if this is Mecca, why hasn’t an investment befitting a Mecca taken place in Barbados over last 30 years.”—PPI