Ticket Sales For ICC World Twenty20 2010 Begin

1 November 2009

Ticket Sales For ICC World Twenty20 2010 Begin
Legendary former West Indies batsman, Sir Everton Weekes (left), chats with (from second left to right) ICC WT20 West Indies 2010 Tournament Director, Mr. Robert Bryan; ICC Chief Executive, Mr. Haroon Lorgat; and West Indies Cricket Board President, Dr. Julian R. Hunte.
ICC World Twenty20 West Indies 2010 may still be nearly six months away but the Caribbean is nearing “event mode”.

Tournament director, Mr. Robert Bryan, signalled this at the ICC WT20 West Indies 2010 Ticket Sales Launch at Kensington Oval in Barbados where the finals will be held on Sunday May 16 next year.

Presenting an update on a number of key tournament elements, he said: “This Ticket Sales Launch signals that the ICC WT20 is here and underscores the need for us to put the finishing touches to our preparations to ensure the tournament is executed in a manner that meets the standards of the ICC and its commercial partners, as well as to ensure the most tremendous spectator experience possible within the context of the unique West Indian environment and traditions.”

In his speech, Mr. Bryan highlighted the following developments as the West Indies moves towards hosting its second international cricket showpiece, having staged ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007:

· The match schedule has now been finalised
· All organising committees and planning committees are in place and working
· The draft master security plan has been completed and is being reviewed
· Medical planning mostly complete in all venues
· Inspections of all match and practice venues and recommendations for remedial work have been shared with the stadium authorities and work continues to monitor implementation in a timely manner. Specifically the unique requirements for four dressing rooms have our focus and attention. We are now in design phase and expect to complete these in the required timeframes. Other cricket operations preparations are in an advanced stage of planning including the support staff structure required for the tournament
· The volunteer programme has been largely finalised
· Travel and accommodation arrangements are being finalised which will provide the final components of our transportation and VIP hospitality programmes
· The process of selecting a regional marketing agency has been completed and an appointment is expected within the month of November
· The concept for the ‘sportainment’ programme has been drafted and is in the process of consultation and finalisation towards approvals

“Before the end of the year we expect to finalise a lot of this planning phase and in 2010 we expect to test procedures to complete the planning phase,” the tournament director told guests at the cocktail reception and press conference in the Worrell, Weekes and Walcott Stand.

Meanwhile ICC Chief Executive, Mr. Haroon Lorgat urged fans worldwide not to miss out on what he anticipates will be an unforgettable and festive Twenty20 experience.

“This is the third edition of the ICC World Twenty20 and, I am every bit as excited and confident about its success as about the previous two. Tickets go on sale from November 1 and with a very reasonable and affordable pricing structure in place, we expect them to be snapped up very quickly. Already we have had many enquiries for these tickets,” he said.

“We want to see fans filling the party stands and enjoying the sights, sounds and fellowship of international cricket with a real West Indian feel.

“For the cricketing-loving people of the Caribbean, the ICC World Twenty20 2010 is a rare opportunity to view the world’s top cricketers – both men’s and women’s – performing at their best. The countdown to April 30 is on.”

In his speech, West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) President, Dr. Julian R. Hunte, said: “The process of selling tickets will define how well we are planning and naturally how well the tournament is received by fans in the Caribbean and around the world. The sale of tickets is one of the most effective and tangible barometers for measuring public excitement and expectation about a particular event or occasion.

“We anticipate that we will see that mounting goodwill borne out in the ticket sales, both regionally and internationally. Strong and speedy ticket sales will auger well for the match-day spectacle of packed stands with screaming spectators cheering every free hit and balls flying over the dugouts and out of the grounds.”

Dr. Hunte also pointed to the important transformation in the psyche of the Caribbean since 2007. “Not so long ago, the possibility of a world-class sporting event coming to our shores would have been considered at best a fanciful notion.

“Preparing diligently for our second international cricket tournament in less than three years with the confidence and professionalism of seasoned experts,” he said.

ICC WT20: England Women Win T20 Cricket World Cup

England 86-4 (C Taylor 39no, S Taylor 23) beat
New Zealand 85 (Satterthwaite 19, Brunt 3-6, Shaw 2-17) by six wickets
Scorecard
ICC Women's World Twenty20 Final, Lord's
By John Pennington
England beat New Zealand in a world final for the second time in 2009, crushing their major rivals by six wickets to lift the inaugural ICC Women's World Twenty20 at Lord's.

Their win was first set up by a stunning bowling performance, led by Katherine Brunt who took three for six as New Zealand were bowled out for 85, and confirmed by an unbeaten 39 from Claire Taylor, the win coming with three overs to spare.

After being put in by England, New Zealand were soon in trouble when their leading tournament run-scorers Suzie Bates (1) and Aimee Watkins (2) were dismissed cheaply, Bates stumped as England's tactic of opening with off-spinner Laura Marsh found more success, and Watkins clean bowled by an inswinger from Brunt.

Brunt bowled quite beautifully and fully deserved her figures of three for six, which included two maidens, getting reward for movement and excellent discipline wih the later wickets of Rachel Priest, caught and bowled for a duck and Lucy Doolan, who reverse swept her into wicket-keeper Sarah Taylor's gloves for 14.

Taylor put in a sharp performance behind the stumps, as did the rest of the fielders, and she also picked up the catch of Sara Tsukigawa (5) late on as Jenny Gunn, who missed out on the Sydney success at the last minute, proved how important she is to the team with two wickets at the death.

There were also two wickets for Nicki Shaw, who once again turned in a big performance in a big game to have Amy Satterthwaite, whose 19 in 42 balls was the innings top score, well caught by Claire Taylor and Nicola Browne (1) bowled via her pads.

Charlotte Edwards bowled the final over of the innings with the White Ferns eight down and quickly snuffed out a late charge from Sophie Devine (ten from six balls) and Katherine Pulford (14 from ten balls) by having Pulford caught by Claire Taylor before Devine ran herself out from the final delivery taking on Lydia Greenway's throw from the deep.

There were just five boundaries hit by the New Zealanders, a testament to the pressure built up by England and some superb outfielding.

England were off to a flyer when they came out to bat, Edwards (9) and Sarah Taylor (23) helping themselves to a pair of boundaries each before Edwards was bowled by a Sian Ruck inswinger. Ruck was getting the kind of swing that Brunt was earlier, but was not able to put the ball in the right areas as Brunt had been.

The two Taylors added 20 more runs, their partnership broken when Sarah edged Pulford for a simple catch to Priest and Claire then took centre stage, just as she did against Australia.

She dominated a 31-run stand for the third wicket with Beth Morgan (6) and although Morgan was unable to see the match through this time, that partnership, and the way that Taylor accelerated just when some pressure was beginning to build, saw England to the brink.

Nicola Browne had dropped Morgan on two but she hit back to have her caught at mid-on by Sara McGlashan and shortly after Greenway was bowled by Devine for three, Taylor straight drove Browne over mid-off for the boundary that confirmed England's dominance of world cricket, adding the ICC World Twenty20 crown to their Ashes and World Cup successes.

ICC WT20: Pakistan Win Twenty20 Cricket World Cup

Pakistan 139-2 (Shahid Afridi 54no) beat
Sri Lanka 138-6 (Sangakkara 64no, Abdul Razzaq 3-20) by eight wickets
Scorecard
ICC World Twenty20 Final, Lord's
By John Pennington

Shahid Afridi blasted an unbeaten 54 to power Pakistan to a fairytale eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka to win the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord's.

Afridi took control of the match batting at number three, thumping two fours and two sixes to guide Pakistan to their victory target of 139 with eight balls to spare. Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara held the Sri Lankan innings together with a classy unbeaten 64 but even that wasn't enough to put a defendable total on the board.

Sangakkara, adept at finding the gaps and punishing the bad ball, was the only top order Sri Lankan batsmen to effectively combat the fired-up and aggressive Pakistan bowling attack.

Led by Abdul Razzaq, who picked up three for 20, they reduced Sri Lanka to 70 for six to seize early control of the match. Mohammad Amir had man of the tournament Tillakaratne Dilshan caught by Shahzaib Hasan for a duck, Jehan Mubarak also failed to score before he spooned another catch to Hasan as Razzaq struck for the first time.

Sanath Jayasuriya (17) hammered two fours and the first six of the day but he was soon out when he went for a booming drive, only to inside edge onto his pads, shortly before Mahela Jayawardene (1) guided Razzaq into the hands of Misbah-ul-Haq.

Chamara Silva's disappointing tournament ended when he pulled Umar Gul straight to Saeed Ajmal at midwicket for 14 and when Isuru Udana was bowled by Afridi for just one, Sri Lanka were in all sorts of trouble at 70 for six.

However, Sangakkara finally found a willing ally in Angelo Mathews, who finished unbeaten on 35 in 24 balls, sharing in an unbroken, vital stand of 68 with his captain, who scored seven fours in his 52-ball innings.

If any team could defend 138, it would be Sri Lanka, with their variety of unorthodox bowlers but they were put under early pressure by Kamran Akmal (37 in 28 balls) and Hasan (19 in 23), who raced to 48 in the eighth over before Akmal was stumped, charging down the track to Jayasuriya's first ball.

Hasan fell soon after when he lobbed a catch to Jayasuriya and with Muttiah Muralitharan in the wickets, Sri Lanka were back in the game.

Afridi and Shoaib Malik then combined to forge a match-winning partnership but as the runs came in more of a trickle than a flurry, thanks to some excellent bowling, the game was still in the balance.

The turning points came in the 14th over, when Afridi launched Muralitharan into the stands at long-on, then swept for four and when Sangakkara turned to Udana to bowl the 18th, Afridi took full advantage with another six, and 19 runs coming from that over in all meant that barring something extraordinary, Pakistan would be home.

Lasith Malinga tried to pull off some magic, but it wasn't to be, Afridi squirting a ball into the off side for the victory, which finally gave Pakistan cricket something to smile about and put the ghosts of Johannesburg 2007 to rest, when they missed out on victory by five runs to arch-rivals India.

The thoughts of Mohammad Aamer before Afridi took Muralitharan and Udana apart might have been interesting given that the 17-year-old's final over of the Sri Lanka innings disappeared for 17 and some felt that gave Sri Lanka the chance to win the game.

It did, but Pakistan had an in form Afridi to counter with while the ever-cool Malik was unbeaten on 24 from 22 balls, with just one four, when the winning run was hit.