Grange says Jamaica intends to launch bid to host games at next year’s ICC T20 World Cup

SportsMax - Minister of

C u l t u r e , G e n d e r, EntertainmentandSport,the Hon. Olivia “Babsy” Grange, says Jamaica intends to throw their hat in the ring in hopes of being able to host matches at next year’s ICC T20 World Cup set to be held in the West IndiesandtheUSAinJune.

“In relation to the World Cup, we are interested. We are looking at the numbers and I’m in discussion with Billy Heaven, President of the Jamaica Cricket Association,” Grange told SportsMax.TV

“A letter was written to the Prime Minister about it by Cricket West Indies and he has referred the matter to me. We’re looking at the numbers and having discussions The bid is coming up shortly so we havetomakeadecisionvery soonbutitissomethingwe’d like to do,” the minister added.

Forcontext,Jamaicahas not hosted a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) match since 2019 and will, once again, not host any in the upcoming season. The country last hosted an international game in January2022whentheWest Indies hosted Ireland for threeODIsandthreeT20Is. As it relates to 2023, “things didn’t quite come together for matches” according to CPL Head of PR and Communications

Peter Miller “Talks are ongoingfor2024andweare hopeful that we will have matches in Jamaica in the future.” The main problem, as put by CPL CEO Pete Russell, has been “a lack of s u p p o r t f r o m t h e Government and the private sector.” “We have made no secretofthefactthatwehave lacked support in terms of bringingtheCPLtoJamaica over the years and this has been a challenge,” Russell told the Jamaica Observer recently

TheCEOemphasizedhis point by drawing a comparison with Guyana, whowillhosttheplayoffsfor this year’s tournament and have also submitted a proposaltohostgamesatthe WorldCup.

“We feel that what CPL does for the host countries speaks for itself, with Guyana Government’s Cricket Carnival a prime example of what can be achieved if stakeholders work together There was a 9 0 % i n c r e a s e o f international arrivals into Guyana in September 2022 with 31,050 international visitors arriving in the country Therewerenohotel rooms available, and money was being put into the Guyanese economy,” he said.

“We want to be able to come back to Jamaica but, for this to happen, we need s u p p o r t f r o m t h e Government and the private sector,”headded.