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Chris Dehring, ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Inc. Managing Director & CEO, is confident next year’s tournament will not suffer negatively from recent international concern over terrorist plots uncovered in England.

However, addressing a Press conference last Friday in Jamaica, he assured that the issue is receiving due attention and will be dealt with depending on how it develops.

“It’s early days yet but we discussed it today (Friday) at the Board meeting and we certainly will be looking at it from a managerial perspective as we see how it unfolds,” he told media, following three days of meetings with officials from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Stating it’s “always unfortunate when these things occur”, Dehring pointed out that “what tends to happen is that the value of hosting mega-events is heightened as people see how world tourism markets can be negatively impacted by such occurrences”.

He added that he expects the “tourism demand” for ICC CWC 2007 to continue to be great as cricket fans are “highly motivated” to experience the Event in the Caribbean in spite of terrorist threats.

“We hope there will be no dramatic fallout (from terrorism) across any tourism market but we certainly don’t expect it to impact the demand for the Caribbean for the Cricket World Cup…Many people view coming to CWC 2007 as visiting the Mecca of cricket – there is a very special attachment to this Event being held in the Caribbean which will overcome this obstacle,” said the ICC CWC 2007 Managing Director.

Stressing that CARICOM and regional governments, particularly those of the nine Host Venues, are working closely on security initiatives for the ICC Cricket World Cup, he said the Event’s Master Security Plan and national security plans have dovetailed to form the overall regional security plan.

“So we have developed a comprehensive security architecture which will deliver a very safe environment for Cricket World Cup,” Dehring declared.

Meanwhile, ICC CEO Malcolm Speed is satisfied that the tournament’s Official Global Partners and Official Sponsors will enjoy the safety of legal protection from persons or companies which seek to infringe on their rights during ICC CWC 2007.

“There are very stringent processes that are being put in place to deal with ambush marketing for Cricket World Cup 2007.

“We’ve learnt a lot from other events that we have run and as much of that as possible has been passed on. It’s a pretty basic principle – sponsors, licensees and broadcasters are entitled to protection and that’s what we seek to do,” he explained.

“What that means is that from time to time we will be writing very stern letters to people who are taking advantage of the (Cricket) World Cup and who aren’t entitled to do that and in some cases we have to go to court and that may happen here.

“All of those arrangements are in place and we’re very comfortable with the way that’s been addressed here.”

Speed said that ambush marketing can be expected for next year’s tournament as there are always persons “seeking to take advantage of the glamour and lustre of such an event without paying for it”.

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The pitches and outfields on which next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup tournament will be contested will come under increasing scrutiny in the months ahead.

Both ICC CEO Malcolm Speed and ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 Inc. Managing Director & CEO, Chris Dehring, last week signalled that, while the 12 stadiums have been receiving much public attention, the playing conditions would be of utmost importance to the Event’s success.

“From now on we need to focus on the playing conditions – the pitches, the outfields – to make sure that they are of a very high standard because ultimately this Event will be judged on the basis of the cricket that is played here in the 2007 Cricket World Cup,” Speed stated, talking to media in Kingston, Jamaica, after three days of meetings with officials from ICC CWC 2007 headquarters.

Dehring, who also addressed the Press conference at which Speed spoke last Friday, agreed it is vital that the grounds on which cricket will be played are of world-class standard.

“We are very much focusing on playing conditions; making sure our pitches and outfields are the finest collection of pitches and outfields that would have been prepared for any Cricket World Cup – and we are very much on track to deliver that.

“We have appointed a Sports Agronomy Team that is testing the pitches and outfields and making sure that the requisite standards are achieved. You would have already seen some of the standards that we have imposed on the Host Venues. You would have seen it here at Sabina Park where the new outfield has palpably demonstrated what these new standards can achieve,” he said, referring to the first One-Day International between the West Indies and India earlier this year.

“An entire day’s play was thought to have been ruined when it poured with rain on the morning of a One-Day International. (Instead) we had almost an entire day’s play. That’s all been a result of the type of standards which we have required each country to implement.”

The pitches and outfields, Speed noted, would be part of the ICC CWC 2007 legacy and would allow the West Indies “to host great cricket matches in the future”.

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Sussex play Durham in the Liverpool Victoria Championship match from Wednesday 16 to Saturday 19 August at the County Ground, Hove.  Play starts at 11am each day with gates opening at 9.30am.

The Sussex Squad
RR Montgomerie, CD Hopkinson, MH Yardy, MW Goodwin,*CJ Adams, RSC Martin-Jenkins, +MJ Prior, Yasir Arafat, Mushtaq Ahmed, RJ Kirtley, JD Lewry, LJ Wright, OP Rayner.

No injuries to report.

Sussex vs Durham
Since Durham joined the County Championship officially began in 1992

Overall, Sussex leads by nine wins to one, with one draw
In matches in Sussex, the home side have won four times, Durham just once.
This will be the fourth meeting between the side at Hove, and Sussex again lead the series by two wins to one.

Interesting Facts about this fixture:
Since Durham joined the County Championship officially began in 1992

Sussex’s only defeat in this fixture came the last time the teams met at Hove, back in 2001.
Sussex won the first five fixtures between the sides, and following a draw then won the next three in a row too.
In May’s fixture at the Riverside, Sussex’s score of 229 became the lowest score to win by an innings in the County Championship since Leicestershire (209/8 dec) beat Glamorgan (24 & 66) at Leicester in August 1971.  In their second innings, Durham lost all ten wickets within the space of just 58 minutes.

UPCOMING LANDMARKS:
Murray Goodwin needs 79 more runs for 8,000 First-Class Runs for Sussex.
Mushtaq Ahmed needs 6 more wickets for 1,250 Career First-Class Wickets.
Michael Yardy  needs 2 more catches for 50 First-Class Catches.

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