Clarence Hiles reports from the Caribbean...
World Cup cricket is taking a two day beak and on an island where there are more churches than cricket grounds, prayers will be said for the demise of West Indies cricket, one of the hottest subjects in the local media these days. Disgruntled fans have not only turned their disappointment on the players and officials running West Indian cricket, but on their politicians for not delivering the economic windfall in tourist arrivals that was promised.
Barbados has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in preparation for this event, and while the criticism may be premature, there are plenty of warning signs that the predictions made many months ago are going to be well short of the mark. That will hurt small island 
economies just as much as the bitter disappointment of seeing their cricketing idols fail match after match, a desperate situation that veteran Barbados journalist Tony Cozier has said is the 'lowest point in West Indian cricket.'
But competitive sport is all about winning and losing, and so is business. Politicians and organizers took calculated risks in staging this tournament and if events haven't gone to plan in economic terms so far, then they must have been prepared for that possibility. But not so the ticket sales fiasco and the visible absence of so many West Indian spectators in the grounds, a situation that has taken much of the Calypso atmosphere out of the competition and brought widespread criticism from cricket experts and players worldwide. Fortunately there is time to rectify this situation and plans are afoot to release tickets at affordable prices to local fans next week.
Whether that comes in time to save face remains to be seen but despite all the turmoil, Barbados is up and ready to welcome ICC World Cup Cricket in style with a series of associated social events, and a magnificent new Kensington Oval, officially granted "Green" this week, the highest status available for rating stadia.
Visiting fans, local fans, politicians, players and organizers will relish the opportunity of creating history at this fine old colonial venue, now transformed into a modern stadium that will have long lasting sporting and social benefits for future generations.
That in itself will be worth its weight in gold for the Barbados people.
With India and Pakistan already out of the competition and England and the West Indies hovering on the brink, it is unlikely the tournament will produce the economic windfall predicted, but not everything in life needs to be measured in monetary terms. That's very evident in the local press coverage of Ireland and their supporters, as barely a day goes by without at least one article on our World Cup exploits and the shining example set by our players on the field and the 'Blarney Army" off it. Barbados is bracing itself for the Irish arrivals next week and amidst all the negatives of this competition to date, the Irish experience has been the fairytale of the event.
Sadly, Easter will also be a time to reflect on the passing of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, and former ICU President Bob Kerr, both of whom died in Jamaica three weeks ago in very different but equally tragic circumstances. The game will go on, as both these fine cricketers would want, and come Saturday we will be back to the business of winning cricket matches.
Let's hope there's a lot more to cheer about and that the forthcoming stories of this epic event are a lot more positive in memory to the two Bobs.
