With less than a month to go for the ICC T20 World Cup, the showpiece event has hit a block with reports of terror attacks threatening to hamper it. The reports gained momentum after Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley confirmed that security agencies in the West Indies were monitoring a possible terror threat to the event.
Taking note of Rowley’s confirmation, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket West Indies, assured all stakeholders that a “comprehensive and robust security plan” is in place for the T20 World Cup, starting June 1.
A report in Trinidad’s Daily Express quoted Rowley as saying that the Caricom and security agencies are working to combat the threat to the World Cup. It has been further reported that the Barbados regional security officials are monitoring potential threats to the ICC event.
“Unfortunately, the threat of terrorism in its many and varied expressions is an ever-present danger in the world of the 21st century. It is against this backdrop that all nations, like our region, when hosting large or vulnerable gatherings, make an extra effort in national security preparations and response readiness to take seriously, all threats, expressed or implied,” Rowley said.
“Given the fact that bad actors can choose to misbehave in any way possible it makes it virtually impossible to completely seal off all opportunities. However, in order to ameliorate these dangers, we at the local and regional levels have remained alert to many threats and singularly or together have our intelligence and other security agencies working to protect the population in countries and at venues throughout the tournament,” he added.
The ICC and CWI responded with a joint statement assuring all stakeholders of the security measures in place.
“We work closely with authorities in the host countries and cities, and continually monitor and evaluate the global landscape to ensure appropriate plans are in place to mitigate any risks identified to our event,” the statement said.
“We want to assure all stakeholders that safety and security of everyone at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is our number one priority and we have a comprehensive and robust security plan in place,” it added.
The forthcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled from June 1 to 29, will be jointly hosted by the USA and the West Indies. In the Caribbean, matches will be held across Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. Florida, New York, and Texas are the three venues in the US shortlisted to conduct the matches. Currently, no specific threats have been reported to US venues.
The final will be played in Barbados, and the semi-finals will be held in Trinidad and Guyana. This is also the first time the West Indies will host the World Cup since 2010 when it last organised the ICC World T20 14 years ago.