Dominica, Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago will be the seven venues in the Caribbean that will co-host the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup in addition to three cities in the USA shortlisted by ICC earlier this week.
The biennial tournament, which will be played between June 4-30, and being co-hosted by West Indies and the USA will see 20 teams playing a total of 55 matches across the 10 venues. In addition to three cities in the US – Dallas, Florida, and New York – seven countries in the Caribbean would be hosting the World Cup, which ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said in a media release, on Friday, makes it the “biggest” T20 World Cup “ever.”
While the media release did not list which of the venues would host the knockout matches, ESPNcricnfo has learned that Guyana, Barbados, and T&T were primed to stage the Super Eights and final. It is also learned that the Brian Lara stadium (Tarouba, Trinidad) was the frontrunner to host the final along with Kensington Oval in Barbados. At this stage, the three venues in the USA would only host the group-phase matches.
How were the venues chosen?
The final list of venues in the Caribbean was determined by the ICC in coordination with Cricket West Indies based on the bids from local governments. This May, the CWI sought bids to host the 2024 World Cup, which it advertised as the “Carnival of Cricket.” Johnny Grave, CWI’s CEO, had pointed out then that the T20 World Cup would help the local governments in the Caribbean along with CWI and ICC to “unlock new commercial and economic growth opportunities.”
It is understood that all the popular cricketing destinations across the Caribbean bid, barring three countries: Jamaica, Grenada, and St Kitts and Nevis. Consequently, these three venues will not host any World Cup matches.
It is understood that of the 55 matches, about 39 or 40 would be played in the Caribbean and the remaining – 15 or 16 – will take place at the three venues in the USA.
The 2024 event will be the third time a men’s World Cup will be held in the West Indies, and the first in 14 years. The Caribbean previously hosted the 2007 ODI World Cup and the 2010 World T20. On Friday, Grave said the CWI was encouraged by the “overwhelming responses and enthusiasm” of several countries “for hosting what will be the most significant sporting event held in our region for a generation.”
The 2024 T20 World Cup will be the first of eight men’s global events in the ICC’s next commercial cycle from 2024-31, which was finalized in 2021. The format will also be different from the last two editions, where the first round was followed by Super 12s.
This time around, the 20 teams will be divided into four groups of five each for the first round, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the Super 8s. The Super 8 teams will be split into two groups of four apiece, with the top two in each group reaching the semi-finals.