Guyana looking forward to hosting Indian cricket fans

Georgetown (Guyana) -- Guyana is looking forward to hosting Indian cricket fans when they come visiting this picturesque nation during the cricket World Cup next year.

"We Guyanese are a friendly people and we are specially looking forward to having Indian supporters as our guests," Karan Singh, chief executive of the Guyana Local Organising Committee (LOC) of World Cup 2007, told IANS.

The new 15,000-seat Providence Cricket Stadium, dedicated to the people of Guyana by Indian Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Wednesday, will hold six matches in the Super Eight stage of cricket's biggest tournament next year.

"You know, there are many families out here who are ready to host Indian fans even for free," he said.

Guyana is home to over 325,000 Indian origin people, most of whom are descendants of Indians who had come in the 19th and early 20th centuries to work as indentured labour in the sugarcane plantations here.

However, Singh lamented a rumour that has been gaining ground in recent days - that upper class (read rich) Indians are planning to set up base in Trinidad, come to Guyana by chartered flights on the day of the match and then return to Trinidad in the evening after the match.

"They should know that the World Cup means as much to the Guyanese tourism board as us organizers," he said.

Amid the hum of computers in the Guyana LOC's office in Georgetown's Middlesburg Street, one can see fliers on the wall proclaiming an India versus South Africa match scheduled for April 7, 2007, in the Super Eight stage of the tournament.

India in Super Eight? Sure?

"We expect India to be playing that match if there is no major upset. India playing will mean a lot to us here in Guyana," the suave chief executive said with a big smile.

Asked about ticket availability, Singh said that around 70 percent of all tickets for the six Super Eight matches have been sold out.

"The higher categories have all been sold out," Singh said.

Three categories of tickets have been priced at $100, $75 and $25.

A fourth, dubbed the 'Party Stand', will accommodate around 5,000 people on a grass mound with stalls selling food and beverages. Tickets for this have been priced at $90 each.

According to Singh, former Guyanese international stars like Clive Lloyd and Rohan Kanhai have been playing active roles in organising the Guyana leg of the tournament.

"Clive Lloyd has been giving us invaluable advice and we are constantly keeping Kanhai updated with the minutes of all meetings," he said.

He reiterated what is being proclaimed as a tag line on the fliers for Guyana's tryst with World Cup cricket: "Preparing for a legacy."

"Be sure to be here in Guyana next year," he told this correspondent.