GROS ISLET (St Lucia), March 12: St Lucia will celebrate one of its greatest moments when the island hosts group matches and a semi-final in the Cricket World Cup, the head of the local organising committee said on Sunday.

It has a population of around 150,000 and was not traditionally on the international cricket circuit, but careful planning and a state-of-the-art stadium has helped St Lucia jump the queue of West Indies nations eager to host the big matches.

“In St Lucia we are pretty excited. Undoubtedly it is one of the most important moments in our history,” Ernest Hilaire said in an interview.“We are really looking forward to putting on a show for the world.”

St Lucia will host all the Group C matches involving England, New Zealand, Kenya and Canada with Friday's clash between England and the Kiwis a standout. The second semi-final on April 25 will be the highlight, however.

The Beausejour Cricket Ground was built in 2002 and authorities were so impressed that it became the world's 88th Test venue when it hosted the first Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka in 2003.

The stadium made more history in May 2006 when it became the first ground in the West Indies to host a day/night match.

Redevelopment work for the World Cup has improved an already impressive arena.

“The ground has really been transformed. Beausejour is a proven facility, so we had a decent advantage when bidding for World Cup matches,” said Hilaire, who has a background in sports administration.

“We made quite a statement quite early of our capability. We are very proud to have a very good infrastructure and facilities.”—Reuters