In a recent congratulatory note to the WICB, he hailed the preparations for and delivery of international cricket’s most prestigious event which was hosted in the Caribbean for the first time.

“I have had the privilege of being involved in the last four (ICC Cricket) World Cups. The organisation of (ICC) CWC 2007 was the best I have seen.

“The stadiums were excellent and will be a lasting legacy for the future young cricketers of the region. Chris Dehring and his team did a superb job and I would be grateful if you could please pass on my gratitude and best wishes to them and members of the CWC 2007 Board,” read Mani’s letter to WICB President and CWC Chairman, Kenneth Gordon.

Mani, who stepped down as ICC President last June, also lauded the “outstanding hospitality and excellent arrangements” made for visiting dignitaries from the 16 Participating Nations as well as from 26 Associate-member countries of the ICC. These guests attended both Semi-Finals and the Final of the two-month tournament.

Bopara faced both nations for England during the competition before his side’s exit at the Super Eight stage.

After making a positive impression throughout the one-day tournament, Bopara returns to domestic action this weekend.

On Saturday the 21-year-old swaps the Caribbean for Hainault and Clayhall Cricket Club when he plays for Hainault and Clayhall against Walthamstow in a League Cup tie.

Bopara then makes his first Essex appearance of the season on Sunday when the Eagles take on Shane Warne’s Hampshire Hawks in a Friends Provident Trophy game at The Ford County County Ground.

Check out the Essex CCC website (www.essexcricket.org.uk) for an exclusive interview with Bopara where he discusses tomorrow’s World Cup Final and looks ahead to his own weekend fixtures.

Ryan is providing a blog for the Essex CCC website – www.essexcricket.org.uk – during his side’s participation in the tournament.

Part One is now available on the website home page in which South African-born Ryan looks ahead to facing his compatriots and offers his insights into being part of the showpiece event of the cricketing calendar.

Further blogs will appear next week when the Netherlands take on Australia and Scotland in Group A.

The four have all arrived in the Caribbean with their respective nations to prepare for the showpiece tournament with a series of warm-up matches.

Bopara (England), Nel (South Africa) and ten Doeschate (Netherlands) must wait a while longer but Kaneria could feature in the competition opener for Pakistan against West Indies on March 13 in Jamaica.

ten Doeschate was the first of the Essex contingent to make his mark in the warm-up matches when he took 5-57 wickets for the Netherlands in their match against India in Jamaica on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old struck with his first delivery to dismiss Sourav Ganguly as he came away with a wicket maiden at the end of his opening over. He followed that up by swinging one through the defences of Virender Sehwag in his next over before returning to claim three more wickets in his second spell. Despite scoring 31 in his team’s reply, the all-rounder could not prevent the Netherlands crashing to a 182-run defeat.

Netherlands bowling coach Ian Pont had earlier backed ten Doeschate to shine during the World Cup:

“Ryan is a world-class performer when he’s playing well. He won games with his batting and fielding for Essex last year, and now his bowling is back on track he’s a real contender as one of the stars of the tournament. We are targeting South Africa first – not least since we have three players with SA connections. There’s a determination to get amongst them and make things difficult. Pressure is on them as new world number ones and also after failing to get out of their group at the last World Cup, on home soil. I’ll be giving Andre Nel some friendly stick too.

“It will be a great experience for everyone associated with Netherlands cricket. But Ryan has the chance to show what he can do at the highest level of all. He’s one of those characters that thrives on challenges. And I wouldn’t put it past him to show his best against the best.”

Meanwhile, Essex Batting Coach Graham Gooch backed England’s decision to select Ravinder Bopara in his column for the ‘Essex Cricket’ magazine:

“I think Bopara’s selection is justified because he’s a good back-up for Paul Collingwood and you need players in your top order who can bat and bowl. I think he would do a good job even if I might be a little bit biased. If Collingwood got injured then they would have had no one to replace him (if Bopara hadn’t been selected) of a player who can bat in the top six and bowl a bit – the sort of job that Ravi does for us at Essex.

“I did put it to him a few years ago that if got selected to play one-day cricket for England then in an ironical sort of way it would be his bowling that gets him in the team, although that’s not his main suit. The fact he is an all-rounder makes him attractive to England because if he was a straight batsman he would be competing with a lot of other players.”

Follow the World Cup at www.essexcricket.org.uk

The Essex CCC website will be featuring our ‘fantastic four’ extensively over the next month and a half as they do battle in the Caribbean.

Bopara and ten Doeschate will be offering their own thoughts on the World Cup in the ‘Essex Cricket Blog’, which launches later this week.

You can get their initial thoughts ahead of the tournament in exclusive interviews with the Essex CCC website (log on to the home page to read them).

There will also be all the latest news of the exploits of Kaneria and Nel as Essex await their arrivals at The Ford County Ground soon after their World Cup campaigns end.

There’s now the perfect companion for fans attending the Event, especially first-time guests from outside the region.

The ICC CWC 2007 Official Visitor’s Guide to the West Indies is now available at bookstores and other retailers throughout the region. It will also be sold by concessionaires as well as itinerant vendors at CWC matches.

A compact, full-colour pocket reference of the Caribbean, the book features 140 pages of current information which visitors will find useful as they traverse the nine Host Venues, following the ICC Cricket World Cup. Produced by Jamaica-based companies, Great House Publishing and MAPCO Printers, it showcases a number of elements regarding the countries staging CWC matches, including:

• Overview of the Territories

• ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Match Schedule & related information

• Things to See & Do

• Restaurants & Pubs

• Beaches of the West Indies

• Carnival

• Historic Sites, Museums, etc.

• Entertainment & Nightlife

• Environmental/Wildlife Attractions

• Essential phone directories (taxis, emergency, etc.)

“This is a unique product which has been put together with input from the tourism organisations in the nine Host Venues to present the region’s attractions, services and amenities to the global community. It’s the brainchild of West Indian people – in the West Indies – and it will be an excellent road map for visitors to the Caribbean as they plot how to spend their time outside of Cricket World Cup matches.

“We are pleased to have had the opportunity to contribute to the tournament through CWC’s Licensing & Merchandising programme and proud to offer fans this high-quality publication,” said Director of Great House Publishing, Michael Grant.

“We’ve been able to condense attractions, calendars, the CWC Match Schedule, restaurants, essential stadium info and critical telephone numbers for every country into the Visitor’s Guide. It’s a comprehensive digest of the countries hosting Cricket World Cup matches.”

Commercial Director, Stephen Price, congratulated Great House Publishing and MAPCO Printers on a sterling job, noting that once again “home-grown Caribbean talent has come to the party and seized the opportunity to be involved in a world-class event”.

The ICC CWC 2007 Official Visitor’s Guide to the West Indies is being distributed in Jamaica by Novelty Trading and MAPCO Printers and in the Eastern Caribbean by Trinidadian style magazine, MACO, and its distribution company, Moving Magazines Caribbean Limited.

For more information on this Official Publication, contact Michael Grant at (876) 490-7111 or micgrant@ix.netcom.com.