LYNCH...Fundamentally, this is an important step for Barbados, an important social and economic step going forward.
Barbados Today
Noel Lynch says members of the National Organising Committee (NOC), of which he is the chairman, are equally upbeat about the positive spin-offs that will come as a result of Barbados hosting games from the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
According to Lynch, hosting matches from the June 1-29 showpiece has not only served to transform Kensington Oval into a multi-purpose stadium, but it will also create opportunities for Barbados’ young proficient cricketers.
This, as he explained that the venue will be used to foster new cricketing talent, which in turn will bring more skilled local players to a number of franchise tournaments.
“This is the real basis for the cricket factory that we want to produce for the future. I can’t think of anything that a boy or girl could do in Barbados that can earn you more money now than playing franchise cricket,” Lynch said as he addressed members of the media during Thursday’s Open Day for citizens at the newly renovated Kensington Oval.
“Being able to play franchise cricket, and T20 cricket which is what this World Cup is about, is for all young Barbadians to ensure that they feel a part of the movement and this historic thing that we are doing,” he added.
Aside from the possibility that it will boost the economy, Lynch stressed that the tournament in which Kensington Oval will host nine games including the final, provides an opportunity to introduce social and sports development programmes.
“Fundamentally, this is an important step for Barbados, an important social and economic step going forward. The people who talk about hosting global events, say that the holy trinity of hosting global events are economic impact, infrastructural legacy, and promotional value. I think that Kensington Oval is the centerpiece of this tournament and fits right into the center of that,” Lynch said.
“This is not just going to be a cricket facility; the intention here is to have an all-purpose entertainment facility. Apart from what you see here and how the $37 million has been spent on the bathrooms, bleachers, new scoreboard etc – there is a new field covering that is coming. The reason that the new field cover is coming, is that you can play cricket here one day, cover the field, have an entertainment event here, come back the next day and play cricket all over again,” he explained.
Finally, Lynch revealed that there is another component of drop in pitches – which the Prime Minister insisted on – that will also assist in making the Oval a full-fledged entertainment facility.
“What we are talking about is that we could put down in here a track and field track, maybe a cycle track if you wanted to, you can hold tennis, we can shoot a movie, hold a concert, all of those things are important for the iconic Kensington Oval,” he noted.
Livingstone says England have grown into World Cup ahead of India clash
Liam Livingstone is hopeful England are coming good at the perfect time ahead of their T20 World Cup semi-final against India, having grown into the tournament after a slow start.
The defending champions almost succumbed to a humiliating group-stage exit, with only old rivals Australia keeping them in with a dramatic victory over Scotland.
Having finished second in Group B, Jos Buttler's team did likewise in Group 2 at the Super-8 stage, a resounding victory over the United States sending them through at West Indies' expense.
England now have a chance to reach their fourth T20 World Cup final and their third in the last four editions, while a third triumph at the tournament would take them clear of the Windies for the outright record.
All-rounder Livingstone says England have a chance to prove tournaments are not about how you start, but how you finish.
"In tournament cricket, sometimes it is better to sneak up and nick it at the end," said Livingstone. "Hopefully that is the way we will go.
"A lot of lads have been contributing in the last few games which should stand us in good stead going forward. We've hopefully got two more massive games."
Livingstone sustained a torso injury while batting against Namibia in the group stage but has shrugged that problem off to play all of England's matches.
He has yet to truly hit top form, taking two wickets and scoring 13 and 33 in his two innings with the bat in the middle order, but he is confident a big finish is coming.
"As a kid I always wanted to be involved, that's the reason I started bowling a few years back," he said.
"So batting at seven and maybe bowling one over, that's where the hard bit comes as you want to be involved.
"Thankfully the last two games I struck the ball well against South Africa and bowled pretty well [against the USA], so I feel I'm in a good place."
Rashid: T20 World Cup semi-final berth a "dream" for Afghanistan
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan hopes the team's "dream" run to the T20 World Cup semi-finals will serve as inspiration to young people across the country.
Afghanistan will face South Africa in their first World Cup semi-final on Wednesday after edging out Australia to escape the Super 8s with an eight-run win over Bangladesh.
This is Afghanistan's seventh participation at the T20 World Cup, with the first three all ending in the group stage before they reached the Super 10s in 2016 and the Super 12s in 2021 and 2022.
Speaking after finishing with figures of 4-23 in Monday's dramatic, rain-affected win over Bangladesh, Rashid said: "I think the semi-final is going to be a massive, massive inspiration for the youngsters back home in Afghanistan.
"We have done it at under-19 level, but at this level we haven't done that. Even the Super 8s was the first time for us. It's an unbelievable feeling.
"It's like a dream for us. It's all about the way we had started the tournament. The belief came when we beat New Zealand [in the second group match].
"I don't have any words to describe my feelings. Definitely back home everyone is so, so happy about this."
While Afghanistan will go into the semi-finals as underdogs, Rashid sees no reason why they cannot go even further.
"We are capable, as long we keep things very simple, and I think in the whole competition so far we kept things simple," he said.
"There were some tough times but we didn't let ourselves down and we always tried to come back stronger."
Afghanistan win topsy-turvy Bangladesh clash to eliminate Australia from World Cup
Afghanistan reached the T20 World Cup semi-finals for the first time and eliminated Australia from the tournament with a dramatic eight-run win over Bangladesh.
Afghanistan entered the final game of the Super 8s requiring a victory to join England, India and South Africa in the last four, while Bangladesh themselves could still qualify via net run-rate with a handsome win.
Both Bangladesh and Australia might have been positive regarding their prospects when Afghanistan reached just 115 in their innings.
Even Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 43 came off 55 balls as they made slow progress, before the opener handed Soumya Sarkar a simple catch off a 17th-over delivery from Rishad Hossain, who impressed with figures of 3-26.
It was the Bangladesh innings that brought the drama, though.
Repeated rain stoppages meant they were left chasing a series of revised targets, and the losses of Najmul Hossain Shanto (5) and Shakib Al Hasan on back-to-back third-over balls, the latter for a golden duck, made their chances of qualification unlikely.
However, they could still send Australia through with any victory, and opener Litton Das did his best to do so, making an unbeaten 54 as wickets tumbled around him.
With Bangladesh nine runs from victory but with just one wicket remaining in the 18th over, it was Naveen-ul-Haq who sealed Afghanistan's place in the last four.
He joined captain Rashid Khan on four dismissals by trapping Mustafizur Rahman lbw, ensuring Afghanistan will face South Africa in a historic semi-final in Trinidad on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Farooqi earns a slice of history
While Afghanistan captain Khan (4-23) and Naveen (4-26) hogged the headlines on a historic day for the team, team-mate Fazalhaq Farooqi also had an outing to remember. He trapped Tanzid Hasan lbw for the first wicket of the Bangladesh innings, his 16th wicket at this year's tournament.
That drew him level with Sri Lanka's PW Hasaranga (in 2022) for the most wickets in a single edition of the T20 World Cup, and he will look to take the record outright against South Africa later this week.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
