ICC lauds hosts Bangladesh
International Cricket Council (ICC) CEO Dave Richardson yesterday congratulated the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for successfully hosting the ICC Under-19 World Cup. He said that there was 'no stone left unturned in providing a secure environment'.
“I would like to express our appreciation for the BCB for hosting a very successful event. Well done, not only to the Bangladesh board but also to the match venues and the practice venues. You can imagine how many of them there are that had to be used, thank you for all of them,” said Richardson at a city hotel yesterday.
“One of the most important facets of hosting any event, unfortunately, is the safety and security. In this respect, I'd like to express our appreciation to the prime minister of Bangladesh, the government and all the security agencies who worked together with the ICC and BCB.
“Certainly, for this event, probably more so than any previous event, absolutely no stone was left unturned in providing a secure environment. We realise this was a massive undertaking, some would say even a top one, on the occasion. I don't think we can be too careful with matters of safety and security, and the standards have been set for all our future events going forward,” he added.
Richardson further said that the success of the tournament proved that the ICC had taken the right decision when they allowed Bangladesh to host the World Cup despite Australia's pullout.
“I think we're very pleased with the fact that we made the decision to carry on with the tournament, despite Australia's decision to withdraw their team. I think the outcomes and the results show that that was the correct decision.
“A member country is not entitled to just withdraw from a tournament, it has to be justified. Now, as to whether Cricket Australia was justified, those questions have already been answered. At this stage, to carry on with the tournament was the correct decision, and we're pleased with it,” said Richardson.
“Another point is we can't force a particular country into competing. It's up to them. As I said, it might run the risk of being in breach of a contract, but that's the decision they need to take,” he added.
He also congratulated the West Indian team for winning the championship and putting on a brilliant show.
“We heard lots of rumours and stories about the young people in the Caribbean being attracted to other sports like basketball or football, etc. But I think the talent that we saw during the tournament was very encouraging for West Indies cricket, and for world cricket in particular,” he said.
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